Floodings

From Confronting Chronic Pain by S.H. Richeier, MD
Why not change your thinking to transform that negative experience into a ritual with positive effect? As you swallow your medication, imagine it flooding your body with comfort and relief. Close your eyes and visualize the pills, capusles and liquid rushing through your bloodstream and overwhelming your source of pain with a brilliant healing force that allows you to be more functional throughout the day.

While the above is not a believer's outlook on life with pain, it is helpful to consider it this way when waiting for pain medication to work. 
But further...the process is helpful if you replace the words of medication with prayer-type thoughts...Imagining that God is giving you the strength to face whatever difficulty there is in your life---financial, depression, or chronic pain. 
"Why not change your thinking to transform your negative thinking into a positive experience with God. As you pray, imagine that God is funneling the smallest portion of His great strength into you, creating comfort and peace...His Spirit is overwhelming the source of Darkness surrounding you, creating a being who is able to face the day for His glory".
In my experience, God has given me strength freely, even if He has chosen not to heal me yet this second. I think He is always willing to give that when asked--if is the way "out" of hard things, the escape. Because they are not so hard then.

A place of Healing by J.E. Tada
He will [sometimes]heal immediately. But at other times, His healing will go on at a deeper level in the innermost parts of our being and not be fully realized in our bodies until we step into our new bodies upon arrival at our Father's House.

I have had some major changes of the heart in this time of pain...as I have mentioned. I have forgiven people more deeply than I realized people could be forgiven, and people I thought I had fully forgiven. I also have apologized to people I seem to have hurt, although in some cases I am not sure what I may have done. But I did my part. I feel like my heart is massively different than it was...but it is still even now being "crushed and changed". There is still a battle raging. Today's pain is making me sick...every time I eat is a huge mistake. My ankles are killing me...and my knees feel like they are getting bigger by the moment. There are more things I can learn, whether from this disease or something else. 

God has different purposed for His own, and He shows Himself strong and gains glory in different ways throughout each of our lifetimes. And if He allows suffering in our lifetimes, He does for very specific, very important reasons, and He does not do so lightly.
As with the apostle Paul, who had his request for healing denied [numerous times], the Lord Jesus will give an extra measure of His presence and grace.

Strangely enough it is a comfort to know that He allowed this suffering for a reason, and did not take the choice lightly. I do not know what else the reason for, other than the forgiveness that I have made to the point...I have gotten to see how important I am to many friends and family members by the time they carve out just to see me.
I have gotten the sense of great closeness to God--although I have not read as much from the Word lately due to studying these other books and some books on RA...and I can feel a hole in my life now from not having spent more time with the Word and having that fill my being. I will be spending more time reading the Word and having it shine into my life to give me more ability to handle this illness.

Short message...will write more later, I feel terrible at the moment.