I recently heard a story about a dad, his young son, and a dentist.
There was the little boy–sitting trustingly in the chair–waiting for his first tooth to be pulled. Up to this point, he hadn’t felt the sting of a shot in his mouth, and so he quietly sat there with his dad as the dentist began the procedure.
First, it was the shot. The little boy’s eyes raced frantically around the room until they finally locked onto his dad’s eyes. Without saying a word, his stare said, “I’m scared…this hurts…why is this happening…why did you let this happen…I trusted you.”
Second, it was having to secure his son to the chair. The dad was asked to hold down his son’s hands to the chair, in order to keep him from reaching up and knocking into the busy dentist while he was completing his necessary task.
It took every ounce of self control for the dad to faithfully do what he was asked and to watch his son in pain. While he looked at his son, he gave him all the assurances he could in that moment. What he really wanted to do–however–was to take the pain from his son and put it on himself. Nevertheless, he had to let this activity–though painful–happen. He knew he had to. It was necessary for his son’s healing, but he still felt helpless.
In the end, the tooth was pulled, the pain was gone, and the dad was still there to encourage and comfort.
At some level, we can all relate to these three roles:
- The dad: The one not directly connected to the pain, but still in a position to comfort, as well as ensure that the necessary action was fully completed.
- The dentist: The one performing the painful, but necessary action.
- The son: The one in need of healing, directly connected to the physical pain, as well as feeling a sense of being betrayed.
How Does This Apply To Us Today?
- Are there times when we want to take the pain from someone else, even though we know that their pain will actually bring their healing?
- Be patient. Trust God. Know and fulfill your role as the comforter. Remember, this is why God sent the Holy Spirit!
- “Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all.” -Henry Wadsworth Longellow
- Are there times when we have to administer discipline or an action that may be painful, but is necessary to bring healing?
- Take courage. Be faithful to the truth. Be full of grace. Seek first to understand, but then be ready to perform the painful procedure. Biblical restoration always requires this from every one of God’s children.
- Are there times when we are in need of healing or discipline?
- Be the man (or the woman). Stay humble. It’s always the darkest just before the dawn. Godly discipline is temporary, but it is wrought from a heart of love.
“…and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
Hebrews 12:5-7
— February 28, 2020