FINDING THE PURPOSE OF PAIN . . .
Knowing that there's a purpose makes the pain bearable.
Knowing that the purpose is good redeems the pain. Without this knowledge, we're left confused, frustrated, and inevitably resentful. A right view of pain is intimately tied into a right view of God.
Life is full of pain ...
Losing a job...Betrayal by a friend...False accusations...Physical problems. Sooner or later, we all feel pain. We can try to hide from it, to pretend it isn't there. We can attempt to escape into food, shopping, television, alchol, or other means. We can complain about the unfairness of life to anyone who will listen. Or we can do the only useful thing. We can recognize pain as a sharp but necessary tool in the hands of
a loving and attentive Father.
God uses pain ...
The Bible affirms over and over that nothing--no pain, no suffering--touches us unless God permits it. Denying this reality leaves us with only one alternative: to believe that God isn't in control of the universe. And since He is, He's not just in control of the blessings. He's also in control of the pain. God acts like a good father; He will allow some pain (trials and testing) and cause other pain (consequences and correction) He "disciplines...and he punishes everyone he accepts as his son"
(Hebrews 12:6, emphasis added)
What an incredible idea! God sends us painful lessons--lessons that never seem "pleasant at the time"--because He loves us (Hebrews 12:11).
Our Father uses pain as a sculpting tool to chip away the crippling immaturities and destructive sins of our imperfect Christian lives. Every stroke has a purpose. There's no chance, luck, or accident in the life of a child of the living God!
God took Joseph through envy, betrayal, slavery, false accusations, and imprisonment to prepare him to save his whole family and all of Egypt. The pain Joseph experienced and received made him into a mature, street-smart, we-can-handle-famine ruler.
The fiery arrows launched at Joseph by his brothers were snatched from the air by his Father God and redirected to redemption.
Transforming pain into promise is one of God's enduring interventions into our lives.
An understanding of pain ...
Pain relates to what God is doing in our lives. It could be a pain of disciple (a trial) to refine us and make us stronger, a pain of punishment to purify us and make us better, or a pain of testing (like stubbing our toe) to find out what's in our heart. We can understand the fire in our own lives for at least three reasons:
.....*..We have God's Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, and we can cry out for understanding (1 John 2:27).
.....*..We have the mind of Christ, and can think God's thoughts after Him (1 Corinthians 2:16)
.....*..God is our Daddy (Abba) and will answer us, like all good daddies do, when we ask, "Why, Papa?" (Romans 8:15)
Seeing that our pain has a purpose, that it isn't just a wild, randomly inflicted misery, is in part of what allows us to persevere--even consider it "pure joy"--when we face trials of many kinds (James 1:2-4). It's what allows us to say, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15) rather than "curse God and die!"
(2:9, Job's wife) when we feel heart-melting heat.
Knowing that there's a purpose makes the pain bearable. Knowing that the purpose is good redeems the pain. Without this knowledge, we're left confused, frustrated, and inevitably resentful. A right view of pain is intimately tied into a right view of God.
We can know....
You can know the purpose, the goodness, and the redeeming value of pain.
When your life is crumbling under a thousand stresses,
when the fire is blazing around you,
even then you can know the purpose.
And you can know that the purpose is--
always good, always from the heart of your Father,
and always always able to redeem your pain.
God is connected with you at the heart.
Even when your heart feels like it's being gutted,
it can never be disconnected from our Father God.
by James R. Lucas
Published 6/97, "Life & Work Pursuits", BSSB
To return to home page, Click here
Knowing that there's a purpose makes the pain bearable.
Knowing that the purpose is good redeems the pain. Without this knowledge, we're left confused, frustrated, and inevitably resentful. A right view of pain is intimately tied into a right view of God.
Life is full of pain ...
Losing a job...Betrayal by a friend...False accusations...Physical problems. Sooner or later, we all feel pain. We can try to hide from it, to pretend it isn't there. We can attempt to escape into food, shopping, television, alchol, or other means. We can complain about the unfairness of life to anyone who will listen. Or we can do the only useful thing. We can recognize pain as a sharp but necessary tool in the hands of
a loving and attentive Father.
God uses pain ...
The Bible affirms over and over that nothing--no pain, no suffering--touches us unless God permits it. Denying this reality leaves us with only one alternative: to believe that God isn't in control of the universe. And since He is, He's not just in control of the blessings. He's also in control of the pain. God acts like a good father; He will allow some pain (trials and testing) and cause other pain (consequences and correction) He "disciplines...and he punishes everyone he accepts as his son"
(Hebrews 12:6, emphasis added)
What an incredible idea! God sends us painful lessons--lessons that never seem "pleasant at the time"--because He loves us (Hebrews 12:11).
Our Father uses pain as a sculpting tool to chip away the crippling immaturities and destructive sins of our imperfect Christian lives. Every stroke has a purpose. There's no chance, luck, or accident in the life of a child of the living God!
God took Joseph through envy, betrayal, slavery, false accusations, and imprisonment to prepare him to save his whole family and all of Egypt. The pain Joseph experienced and received made him into a mature, street-smart, we-can-handle-famine ruler.
The fiery arrows launched at Joseph by his brothers were snatched from the air by his Father God and redirected to redemption.
Transforming pain into promise is one of God's enduring interventions into our lives.
An understanding of pain ...
Pain relates to what God is doing in our lives. It could be a pain of disciple (a trial) to refine us and make us stronger, a pain of punishment to purify us and make us better, or a pain of testing (like stubbing our toe) to find out what's in our heart. We can understand the fire in our own lives for at least three reasons:
.....*..We have God's Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, and we can cry out for understanding (1 John 2:27).
.....*..We have the mind of Christ, and can think God's thoughts after Him (1 Corinthians 2:16)
.....*..God is our Daddy (Abba) and will answer us, like all good daddies do, when we ask, "Why, Papa?" (Romans 8:15)
Seeing that our pain has a purpose, that it isn't just a wild, randomly inflicted misery, is in part of what allows us to persevere--even consider it "pure joy"--when we face trials of many kinds (James 1:2-4). It's what allows us to say, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15) rather than "curse God and die!"
(2:9, Job's wife) when we feel heart-melting heat.
Knowing that there's a purpose makes the pain bearable. Knowing that the purpose is good redeems the pain. Without this knowledge, we're left confused, frustrated, and inevitably resentful. A right view of pain is intimately tied into a right view of God.
We can know....
You can know the purpose, the goodness, and the redeeming value of pain.
When your life is crumbling under a thousand stresses,
when the fire is blazing around you,
even then you can know the purpose.
And you can know that the purpose is--
always good, always from the heart of your Father,
and always always able to redeem your pain.
God is connected with you at the heart.
Even when your heart feels like it's being gutted,
it can never be disconnected from our Father God.
by James R. Lucas
Published 6/97, "Life & Work Pursuits", BSSB
To return to home page, Click here