The fear of pain is the fear of living. One cannot go through life trying to prevent pain from happening to oneself. I believe that pain is an inevitable occurrence which everyone will experience at some time in their lifetime, but one’s faith should be stronger than any pain caused by this place we call Earth.

Whether the pain is physical, emotional or mental, it is still pain. Pain is not a good thing, but it is a learning opportunity; an opportunity to test yourself, but most of all to test your faith. Faith is not about finding opportunity and hope after your pain, but rather about finding opportunity and hope during your pain, within your dilemma. As college students, we face many challenges in this lifestyle and to add to our personal pain makes our life struggles much harder.

When our Savior and Redeemer created Earth, He made it clear that we would have to go through many trials and tribulations to test our faith, especially our faith in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. However, before I proceed, I want to make it clear that this is not about religion, but rather about having faith in a power higher than oneself and being able to go to that higher power for comfort, security and guidance.

It was my second semester at Fresno State, spring 2006, when I was tested in every possible way in life. I know that if I did not have faith in Jesus Christ, I would not have been able to get through life, especially that year. In March of 2006, my mother was severely attacked and left in a grape vineyard, as if she was an abandoned animal. Later that semester, one of my closest friends committed suicide. In May of that year (during finals week), I was physically assaulted.

Without faith in God, I would not be typing these words. I do not speak of these events to get compassion from people, but I say this to let individuals know that pain does not have to last. We decide to let pain last. We decide to let pain take over our lives. We decide to let pain dominate us. With a little faith, pain can be gone. It might be hard to believe, but the only reason it is hard to believe is because you have no faith, and if you think you do, you don’t.

If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, Jesus said, you would be able to move mountains. But few individuals have true faith in Him, and therefore have no way of healing their pain.

Faith lets us view our problems and dilemmas with different eyes. A person with faith sees their problems and dilemmas as trials and tribulations they will get through, especially when they know that He is by their side. Yet, a person with no faith views their problems and dilemmas as events hindering their life and goals, and some individuals unfortunately sink in their pain until they drown.

It is better to learn to have faith in whatever higher power you believe in, because pain, as I stated previously, is an inevitable occurrence in this life. Do not fear pain and do not try to avoid pain. This life is painful, but with a little bit of truly purified faith, your pain can be destroyed.