Bill_Yount_NEW_150px.jpgI felt I could no longer endure the painful trial going on in my life for so long. In frustration, I cried out to God. "What are You doing to me?" He said, "I'm making a man of God out of you!" He continued, "I did not cause your pain but I'm using it."

The orthopedic doctor calls it a frozen shoulderJesus calls it healed. It's a muscle beneath the shoulder that becomes locked up and is painful. The orthopedic doctor said, "You must stretch your arm to loosen that muscle. Here are six exercises twice a day for six weeks including hanging on a bar. You must stretch your arm until it hurts. Then lean into the hurt and count for twenty seconds with excruciating pain and then repeat." After a few exercises I thought about the doctor, "He's got to be kidding me! It feels like I'm tearing my muscle apart. Like I'm ripping it out of my arm."

Is It a Good Pain or a Bad Pain?

He also advised me to visit a massage therapist. As she was working on my arm muscle I had to let her know something. "It hurts! That's painful!" She asked me a question, "But is it a good pain or a bad pain?" I said, "I am a no pain person."

laughermedicine_250px.jpgI was told if you want to recover faster, you can have someone else stretch your arm because they will pull it farther than you would. I thought to myself, "How stupid is that?" But in desperation to end this ordeal, I chose a physical therapist to stretch my arm. The pain was so great, I laughed. I said to him, "Am I going crazy? Why did I laugh when I felt the worse pain of my life?" He said, "That's your release! That laughter is your release!"

I now believe pain can be an ingredient of laughter. I promise if you are now in pain that is beyond words, there will be a time when you will laugh again, and even drown in God's laughter. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." Luke 6:21

There was a time when my pain almost stopped my ministry. On a ministry trip I became powerless to the pain that justified me not going to the next meeting. My wife and I prayed, but no relief. I phoned home to our intercessors for prayer. One intercessor, after praying, said, "Bill, you are on a mission. God has sent you there. You can trust Him." Something clicked in my spirit. I dragged my body to that meeting. The moment I stood up to minister the pain left me.

After the meeting it returned with a vengeance. It fought me to the next meeting two days later. When I got up to minister it left again and then followed me home. As this took place with many of my meetings, something dawned on me. I am stretching my spiritual muscles! I want to encourage you. Sometimes you must walk through some stuff to get to where God is. But remember, you are on a mission and the great I AM has sent you!

Spiritual Frozen Muscles in the Body of Christ

Golden and silver trumpetsMany times what I experience in my physical body is what is going on in the Body of Christ. I sense the Lord showing there are some spiritual frozen muscles in His Body.

And I hear the Lord saying, "You need to stretch those muscles. Stretch until it hurts! Many of your healings will come while you are being stretched by others. I am stretching you this season out of your frozenness. I am stretching your arms farther than you would like, so they can reach around a world full of pain, sin and brokenness.Those frozen muscles will thaw from the fire of My Spirit as you allow Me to stretch you."

Being Stretched Against the Odds

A woman kept standing for the healing of her husband who suffered a stroke, leaving a third of his brain dead. The doctor said to her, "He will never fully recover and will be a vegetable the rest of his life." The woman said, "No, by the stripes of Jesus he is healed." The doctor got upset with her and said, "I don't think you are taking me seriously. I have been doctoring these cases for thirty years." The woman responded, "Jesus has been healing longer than that!" Nine days later he walked out of the hospital whole.

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden (the enemy's burden)shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing." Isaiah 10:27

After several months of pain, prayers of many, stretching exercises and some laser treatment, my frozen shoulder is finally loosed. The pain is gone. God has intervened again in my life.

But I have noticed something. If I don't keep stretching, the muscle will freeze again. It's the same spiritually. Lord, help us to keep stretching and allowing You to stretch us beyond our pain.

Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministries

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  • The pain never feels good but necessary for the strength an the ability to standard against the enemy so sometimes you have to be stretch to reach the fullness of your potential in Christ
  • I cry out! This poor man cried,and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalm34 :6 Back in the day in the house of the Lord we use to sing a song called stretch out. The Lord is telling us through this parable we must stretch both naturally and spiritually to receive our deliverance and blessing from the Lord, no matter what you are going through. God has a purpose, mission, place, time and season.

  • My God  My God. As I read this article, I am convinced that God has purpose for every thing He does.

    I believe that all things work together for our good.  When the author stated "God didn't cause the pain but He is using the pain to stretch" I received the answer that I needed. My God! I thought about something that my personal trainer said last week, She told me that lift weights builds. a muscles burn fat, even when our bodies are in resting state. I recall Isaiah 54

    O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children,’ (Isaiah 54:11-13).

    “In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake” (Isaiah 54:14-15).

    I do realize that pain whether emotional or physical, God will use it for our God. When my dad was murdered I felt pain, but God taught me how to forgive, when co-workers hurt my feeling by saying negative things for no reason at all God showed my that He is faithful to prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. He proved that He will make my enemies my foot stools. TO the point when i can smile. I have confidence yes I am absolutely sure that God stretches us so that we are able to soar! So that we're able to mount up on wings as eagles! We will walk and not grow weary we will run and not faint!  The more we're stretched, the more we're able to endure this race that has been set before us! 



  • Pat Donaldson said:

    GOD allow us to go though pain in our life so he can get the Glory and for us to see no matter what pain we go though he is our healer.

    Amen
  • This made me reflect that in every area of our lives we achieve success only when we experience pain. This pain pushes to our purpose. It can be a physical, mental, financial or spiritual pain. I know I personally am like this man I am a no pain purpose so God has to force me to stretch and I am then forced to strecHoward for success.
  • Thank God for the stretching during the pain. God is determined to get the best out of all of us.
  • GOD allow us to go though pain in our life so he can get the Glory and for us to see no matter what pain we go though he is our healer.

  • Amen. We will continually be stretched and pruned throughout this course and our lives so that we will be more resistant to the devil and his games, as well as strengthen our spirit man.
  • This is very encouraging and the example used was a good one. We need to keep exsersing our gifts as well and stay prayed up and motivated in God.Staying on his path following his foots steps keep reading the word of God keep connected with him so we wont become frozen ourselves..Yes i felt the strech it and even invoison myself being the one with the frozen body. And taking this class i know im going to be doing alot of strectching. Already gotten warm up. And now i feel a strech about to release startibg with my arms amen.
  • Yes I felt my spiritual muscle of faith and endorance stretch. Wow going through my own personal issues and situations I found that having faith that God is who he say he is your ability to endure increases. It was doing those times of pain and uncertainty that God revealed His true nature and our relationship strength. 

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