DEATH, PAIN AND PEACE

(UNDERSTANDING THE NECESSITY OF PAIN; AND HOW TO ENDURE, EVEN WHEN ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST)

Jeremee Michael Tyler

December, 2014

Death, one of the least talked about subjects, and quite often avoided. One might
assume that speaking of death, is consistently avoided due to its ties to pain. Death is
something I am very familiar with; and ever since I can remember, its been part of my life. Ive
lost many loved ones to its guarantee, that it will always happen, and itll eventually come. For
as long as the human-race walks this earth, death will be there. What I have found to be true as
well is that death refuses to come without pain. Often times the pain infests the loved ones of
the person who died. And sometimes death comes alongside for the ride before we ourselves
face death. Either way, pain and death are necessary. My goal in this entry is to share why.

WHY IS PAIN NECESSARY?

We must go back to the Garden, in Genesis, where we find Adam and Eve to receive this
answer. The corruption of Earth took place the moment Adam and Eve partook in eating fruit,
from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I highly encourage you to read Genesis,
chapter 3, to get a better understanding of this occurrence.
In short, God told Adam the very ground he walked on was cursed, and that all the days
of his life he will endure painful toil. He then made clear to Eve, that child-bearing will be
extremely painful, her desire will be for Adam, and he will also rule over her. Genesis 3 shows
us why, the pains of this life are necessary neither can be avoided; both are guaranteed to
us, and they have been from the very beginning. This goes for death as well; both of these
realities are unavoidable. And only God has the ultimate cure, that being: REGENERATION. And
while some detractors may say this is not a cure since pain remains. While this is true,

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hopelessness does not. We will talk more about the subjects of hope and hopelessness later.
For now, I have a short story to share with you all.

The other day, I asked my mother if I could die before she did; and with a short chuckle,
she sternly said to me, No thats unnatural, a Mother shouldnt bury her child, and youll just
have to wait your turn. I called her on the road, as I was heading back to Washington State
from Utah, where we lost Grandpa Edward, my Mothers father, and one of my greatest
mentors. During the entire process, my mother was extremely strong; she kindly asked my
brother and me to share scriptures from Grandpas favorite book (the Bible), at his funeral. It
was one of the toughest things weve ever had to do. And throughout everything, Ive learned
that deaths harsh reality does not have to debilitate us; it can make us stronger however,
that is only if we are WILLING to accept the reality that it will take place. We cant move
forward if we try to numb reality, mentally, or through some form of drug-induced toxicity.
Disillusionment is death to the soul, especially if youre responsible for it.

When I hung up the phone with my Mom, in that moment, I was reminded that there
are just some things in this life which can never be avoided.

Below are three very important things I have learned during my 27 year journey. I hope they
help you to see the goodness of God; for all that He is and all the goodness He possesses.

1) PAIN IS PART OF THE PROCESS.

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Just as a mother must endure hours of pain, and much labor, before the birth of her
beautiful blessing, so must we. There is no telling, nor any point in assuming, how
long the pain might last. But there is always the guarantee that the pain will in fact
take place.
Do you know how to deal with pain when it does arrive?

In the writings of Job, we find that he was one of Gods most faithful and beloved
children. And yet, Job still had to deal with the certainty of death. This certainty became all the
more real when he lost everything he knew, and/or possessed, such as, his family, his food, his
profits, and more. While I am certain Job would give all of his possessions for his family, that
doesnt matter.

It doesnt matter if you or I want it; we cant guarantee a resurrection of

(physical) life on planet earth. The Bible guarantees that we will receive new life once we have
Jesus; yet the fact remains embedded in our brains, death is not prejudice. We receive a
Spiritual re-birth from Christ, not the guarantee of a physically pain-free, easy lifestyle.

Death knocks on everyones door; from the baby in the womb, to the 100 year old War
Veteran. And whether or not we die on the day it knocks, this will become discovered when the
time comes. Being afraid is normal; but I beg of you, PLEASE, do not allow it to keep you
broken. The issues one faces are sometimes formed by negative thoughts that are part of our

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daily consumption. If you feed yourself fear, its all you will know. Hope is what you need, so
consume lots of it by spending time with Jesus Christ (every-day).

Although Job endured much, he still received an abundance and renewal of his strength.
God proved to Satan, (even though He didnt have to) that those who stay near to God, have
a hope and a peace to look forward to. This had to of gotten underneath the enemies skin, the
fact that although Jobs world collapsed around him, he still held on. This is not to say he didnt
have his questions, or his uncertainties, all of us do. Just know that when youre going through
the fire, even when it hurts, God is still working over-time to ensure His child will be taken care
of. Sometimes, our pain may last many seasons, and we may pass on to eternity while in pain;
either way, pain is part of the process.
Throwing in the towel comes with two options for Believers. You can either, throw in
the towel and give up on the God who has always been there for you. Or, you can throw in the
towel, crying out to God, and casting your cares ON HIM. Trusting yourself will lead you to
option one. Trusting Jesus will (always) lead you to option number two.

2) PAIN IS TEMPORARY, HEAVEN AND HELL IS FOREVER.

Therefore, I CHOOSE HEAVEN!

Jesus Christ endured the Cross for our sins (1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:25;.
this is a widely known truth amongst Evangelicals. And although it's mentally known; I
ask the question, is it spiritually known?
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Once again, Jesus Christ endured the Cross for Our sins. And yes, our pain. This truth
ensures that we will one day see Christ face-to-face, and join Him in Heaven. It does not
however, ensure that all of the pain in our lives will cease to exist. For as long as we walk this
planet, this is as long as pain is a possibility. Until we see Jesus, we are susceptible to trials and
tribulations. Think about it, even before Jesus went on the cross, He endured pain. Do not be
confused, although we still have pain, this does not take away from what Jesus did on the cross.
And we cannot blame Him for the pain that continues in this world. This is due to the sin and
free-will being abused. God is not to blame, and even though He knew man would take part in
foolish acts, He still went through the turmoil for our gain.

Let us not forget, the Cross is NOT the only place our Messiah was tortured; i.e. public
beatings, the crown of thorns, starvation, the actual carrying of that heavy cross, etc.

Although such examples may seem somewhat extreme (when comparing them to our
own lives); its not so far-off to use Jesus as a valid comparison. Those who are Christ followers,
call themselves Christians, which simply means you are a little-Christ. Youre not Jesus, but
youre claiming to follow His Teachings and live life as He did.
Based upon these findings, it is justified, rightfully so, that we mirror our lives with
Jesus so we know that, 1) we arent even on the same playing field, and 2) We are not
alone; and WE WILL ENDURE PAIN. And quite frankly, not to frighten you - we may need
to endure beatings if in fact we live to see the short reign of Satan and were told to
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demonic Jesus or die. I tell you this, not for you to be afraid, but because WITHOUT
THE TRUTH, WE ARE MERE PUPPETS, STRIVING FOR SOMETHING WE WILL NEVER
ATTAIN BY OURSELVES.

All content I have given you, leads to my final point

3) PAIN COMES BEFORE THE PROSPERITY.

*Side-Note:
By no means am I secluding this point with finances, as we so often like to do. And quite
honestly, I feel like people waste way too much time defining how they live by everyone else
instead of JESUS. Owning Money is not a sin, but teaching a Gospel that focuses solely on
money, or makes it the primary focus, is a watered-down, compromised, FALSE GOSPEL. Dont
fall into such a trap; its a waste of the human-life.
Remember this verse:
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it
have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1st Timothy; 6:10.

This verse does not say that money is the issue; it simply says that, LOVING money is
the issue. Im not going to delve in too deep on this matter, because I do believe tithing is a

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great faith-action to take part in. I just ask that you be sure youre biblically approaching this
matter or else you may fall into a never-ending cycle of preaching false doctrine.

When I say prosperity; I'm referring to, an incredible change of heart (circumcision
of self), faith renewed, and pride depleted, love respected, along with being, both
accepted and GIVEN, constantly. We must not refuse to give love and take it from
everyone whos willing. My mother reminded me on our trip, Im not the only one in
pain. And knowing this, Ive got a testimony to get out to the world, so that I can
help them through whatever their going through. Oh yeah, and so do you!

WHAT IS PROSPERITY?

PROSPERITY (Source: Merriam-Websters Dictionary).

Noun \pr-sper--t\
: The state of being successful usually by making a lot of money

Full Definition of PROSPERITY

: The condition of being successful or thriving; especially: economic well-being.

Let us look at one specific word in the previous mentioned definition: THRIVING.
Thriving in life, PRIMARILY though, thriving spiritually, mentally, physically, so much
so to the point that your mindset, although challenged, does not ALTER nor does it
conform!

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When Christ rose on the cross, His pain depleted He became brand-new. Understand
this; the pain-relief happened after, not before. Jesus had to go through the pain (in humanform), to finally see the prosperity from all of His fruit: followers of Jesus. I am a by-product of
Gods goodness. The pain Jesus endured is a reminder that I never want the God I serve to
endure such pain again. Not that God has given me a word that another crucifixion of His Son is
a possibility; thats completed. I mean in the sense that Wow! God really did that for me, He
legitimately died for my sins! Even though Im responsible for His pain, knowing this, He still
went through an astronomical, impossibly defined type-of pain, which only God Himself could
overcome.

If you know youre responsible for a murder that puts a pretty heavy burden on your
heart. With believers, this should remind us that the God we love loves us so much that He will
go through whatever He must to save us from our own filthiness. Jesus craved peace from his
pain, yet He still held on until the very end of the process, knowing prosperity and growth was
well on its way, for thousands of years to come!

Jesus was put in a very interesting situation; because the peace He craved from agony
completely rested upon His shoulders due to His Divinity. The only way the world could receive
peace, was by GOD Himself enduring the pain WE caused. Imagine having such pressure, letalone the pain.

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Friends, do you fear loneliness? Jesus had to embody pain, before the chains we
created broke (for all of us). Do you understand? We imprisoned ourselves. God knew this, and
still saved us. And now its up to us to help break the chains in others lives, just as Christ did for
us. Although we cannot resurrect souls, we sure as heck can play a role in resurrecting hope, by
pointing people to Jesus.

I dont know why, but I get the strong feeling that we KEEP forgetting JESUS IS PERFECT.
How, Im not sure, but we need to remember this every day of our lives. Jesus definition of
sacrifice is so far above ours that to not acknowledge or accept Him is extremely disrespectful.
Its one thing for us to sacrifice something, with our dirt, and our tendencies to sacrifice out of
want. Our wants tend to be selfish; Jesus wants were for OUR benefit. Call me insane, but
thats a pretty crazy mindset if you ask me.

When you accept Jesus, you receive Peace. You see, even when Im going through
trials, Im still holding onto the peace that I have in Jesus. That is the difference with all
of these other religions and beliefs; I WILL ALWAYS HAVE A PEACE THAT I CAN HOLD
ONTO, and so will anyone who has received Christ as their Lord and Savior. My old life
was filled with pain AND no hope. Now, I do have hope. And because of that hope, I will
continue to strive, I will continue to prosper, I will continue to survive.

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I once heard someone say that, When you have Jesus, you are immortal until Hes
done with you on earth. The more that I live my life, the more I find this to be true. And I truly
believe that if you accept Jesus, youll find out that, from now until eternity God has ALWAYS
had your back, even when you intentionally ignored Him. Dont give up on Jesus; He will never
give up on you.

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