Three of my four priceless babies entered this world without the assistance of an epidural. My relatively high physical pain tolerance combined with my perhaps rare intense desire to literally understand Bible verses about the God-designed cursed pain a woman endures during labor and delivery (Genesis 3:16; Psalm 48:6; Jeremiah 6:24, etc.) helped me accomplish this feat. My firstborn is the only one for whom I finally reluctantly relented and humbly requested the magic pain killer. I don’t know how those things work, but wow, I felt no pain!

Epidurals. Ibuprofen. Ice. Steroids. Surgeries. So many options exist to manage physical pain, but how do we endure emotional pain? I’ve recognized over the years that my emotional pain tolerance is significantly lower than my physical pain tolerance. Though it has taken me sometime, I’ve discovered an “epidural” to endure this very real and at times debilitating type of pain. This epidural is free, does not require an anesthesiologist, has zero negative side effects, can be injected as often as needed, and is available to everyone at every moment.

The epidural for emotional pain is truth. Plain and simple. Inject truth. Inject truth. Inject truth. Again and again and again.

What is truth? God’s Word (Psalm 119:160; John 17:17). Inject the Bible. Inject counseling consistent with the Bible. Notes from those counseling sessions. Sermons that match the Bible. Notes from those sermons. Letters from and conversations with friends that support the Bible. Articles that accurately explain the Bible. God’s Word is the epidural we must inject if we ever hope to successfully endure the onslaught of emotional pain we will all encounter.

Like a regular epidural, the positive effects are calmness, clarity, and comfort. In the spiritual sense, injecting truth gives one a gentle and quiet spirit (I Peter 3:3-4; Psalm 131). Though perhaps we still are perplexed, afflicted, and persecuted, this injection prevents despair from taking hold (II Corinthians 4).

What is my biblical basis that such an “epidural” to revive and strengthen us during the most intense emotional pain actually exists? All of Psalm 119 (especially note verses 25, 28, 50, 107, and 154). Over and over again we are told that such an epidural really does exist. Not only so, but it is a required epidural. In this cursed world, none of us alone can bear the weight of the emotional pain we will face over our lifetime. We will seek relief. Perhaps our temporary pain killer will be eating, drinking, drugs, video games, binge watching, shopping, work, sex, or self-righteousness. A problem with these alternatives are the negative side effects (Proverbs 14:12; Revelation 22:14-15). The only pain killer that has solely positive effects is God’s word. What do you take for your pain?