New Book Examines Where God and Pain Collide
Author, Bible teacher, and Board-Certified internist Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith reveals the true purpose of pain, apart from what society has made it out to be, in Come Empty: Pour Out Life’s Hurts and Receive God’s Healing Love (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, March 2015).
“The most overlooked aspect of healing is that pain is a natural part of the process. Despite the pharmaceutical company’s best efforts, conventional medicine cannot manufacture health and wellness. We don’t need more pills, we need a deeper understanding of the process of healing. Healing hurts and most people are afraid of pain.” — Saundra Dalton-Smith M.D.
Distinguishing Biblical truths about God from the constraints of our damaged emotions and personal disappointments, Dalton-Smith reveals a shocking but welcomed reprieve to readers—that the power to heal is within each of us, but your first step towards healing may be a cautious step towards the One you believe has allowed your pain.
“I was a Christian when I entered medical school.” confides Dalton-Smith. “By the time I finished residency, I wasn’t sure if God was good, if God cared, or if He even had any redeeming power left. In those early years of practicing medicine, I saw pain I could not explain and could not rationalize away with scripture. It wasn’t until I starting working with hurting people one on one that I came to understand the connection which exists between the power and purposes of God and the role pain plays in living fully.”
Metaphorically referring to the painful aspects of living as divine dehydration, she describes time with God as a spiritual IV, a necessary intervention to access the Living Water needed to revive, refresh, and replenish areas of our lives which feel dead and dry. “I want to remind us that strength is not a prerequisite for healing, but access and availability are two vital components. Our culture strives on busyness, but healing requires the ability to rest. If you want to receive something form the Healer you have to be willing to get on the examination table.”
Passionate for people to understand and know that healing is possible, Dalton-Smith compassionately takes readers through fifty days of devotions, prayer, and Bible teaching to bring new meanings to old pain-ladened perspectives. “I truly believe Anne Lamott got it right when she said, ‘This is who I think we are supposed to be, people who help call forth human beings from deep inside hopelessness.'”
“Pain demands to be relieved, and how you find relief will determine the ultimate outcome. Scarred or healed. Broken or whole.”
About the Author: Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a physician and speaker.
(Source: Christian Newswire)
