C13 H20 N2 O2

Procaine (also known as Novocaine or Novacaine) is a local anesthetic drug of the amino ester group. It is used primarily to reduce the pain of intramuscular injection of penicillin, and is also used in dentistry.

(from Wikipedia)

Everyone has experienced it. That dull, throbbing sensation. One minute, you’re doing fine.. and the next.. your face is all twisted up in pain and you forget everything around you except for that stabbing ache in your mouth. Yup.. nothing hurts quite like a toothache.

Sometimes as we do our daily routine, we experience the “toothaches” of life. These are the pains that may not be very serious or life threatening.. but are very inconvenient. They distract you.. make everything else look blurry.. until you cannot think of anything else.

Each person has his own personal “life toothache.” For some, it could be a crisis of the heart. For others, it may take the form of a financial or family problem. Still, there are those whose pains stem from their addictions. Whatever the nature of the pain, though, one thing is sure: we all want it to stop.

If “Novocaine for the spirit” existed, we all probably would have taken it.. one time or another.. just so we would not have to deal with hurts and pains. But see, there’s no such thing as an anesthetic for life. And no matter how much we wish to be spared from trials, inconveniences and problems, we can’t just escape them.

So how do we deal? We do not take an anesthetic. We take the cure..

For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. (Job 5:18)

God wounds?! Yes, He does. But not without good reason. By His wounds, we are healed (Isa 53:5). In the same manner, by allowing us to experience woundedness, He teaches us how to heal others.

And sometimes, just knowing that our “toothaches” have a purpose is enough to make the pain bearable. Works better than Novocaine.. definitely ü