A few years ago I needed to have major surgery on my hand. Part of the rehabilitation process was to make a tight fist, but I could not even bring my fingers down to the palm. Therefore, my physical therapist decided to use electro-shock therapy. Electrodes were hooked to my forearm, and a battery-powered machine was supposed to give me a mild shock to help me make a fist.

The therapist, a young lady who was probably in her twenties, was having trouble getting the machine to work. She had me all hooked up, but the shock wasn’t being delivered. She kept turning the knob to increase the voltage, but nothing happened. She jiggled some wires, thinking there might be a loose connection.

Suddenly, the machine started to work. It gave me a shock that brought me out of my seat. I screamed into the face of this young lady who was trying to help me, “It’s too much! It’s too much!”

My outburst caused quite a stir in the facility. The receptionist peeked around the corner to see what was going on. Patients in the waiting room no doubt wondered what torture might be in their immediate future.

Thankfully, my therapist quickly adjusted the machine to the proper setting. Being the professional that she was, she did not hold any hard feelings against me for crying out in pain. I understood that she was just doing her job, and that she had no intentions to harm me. We all had a good laugh over the incident.

Sometimes life hurts. God allows us to experience various types of pain and suffering. We might react by screaming, “It’s too much”! However, there is always a purpose for our trials, and God, in his own timing, will dial it down so that it doesn’t hurt so much.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”—James 1:2-4.