Skip to main content

No Pain No Gain

    When you are experiencing any amount of pain, our first thought is never about how great it is. We avoid pain at all cost and dread experiencing it. So naturally when we are experiencing pain it feels as though God has completely abandoned us. We yell at Him for not answering our prayers and for letting us go through those valleys, but we need to change our outlook.

    There are many reasons God allows us to go through painful circumstances. One of the biggest reasons is to test our faith. Do we really believe that He will do what He said He will do even when destruction seems imminent? He always comes through for us when we trust Him, but we have to recognize that His perfect timing is not the timing we would have in mind for ourselves-- He is beyond our tiny vantage point. Like the pain of strengthening your muscles in a work out, He allows us to experience discomfort to strengthen our faith.

    Another reason that I want to mention is that He is saving your from further pain. Have you ever considered that? Jesus makes our paths straight. That doesn't mean we won't mess up, it means He will fix it when we do. Breaking up with someone who isn't right for you hurts, but what would hurt more is to get divorced later down the line. Jesus often allows things to fall apart so better things can fall together.

    If you are experiencing pain-- good. Without it you cannot strengthen your faith. Or maybe the place you're in now is actually Jesus sparing you from worse heartache in the future. Trust Him to make good on the pain of this world like only He can.


2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. (ESV)

Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dancing Through the Fire

     For a couple weeks now the Lord has been pressing this message on my heart. He revealed a flaw in my thinking I hadn't noticed. You see, when hard times come it's in my nature to duck and cover. I go into "survival mode" and I get tunnel vision. I only focus on getting through what's in front of me alive. But in doing so, not only do I miss a lot of opportunities, but I give in to the voice of fear in my life.     I know I don't speak only for myself when I say that God wants to us in our "every day lives." Not only at church or on a special mission trip, but in the trenches of the grocery store, the gym, work, etc. It is His will that every soul is saved and He wants us to go out into the world and win those hearts for Him. But when I put myself in survival mode, I block out all the opportunities God lays before me. When I numb myself with the routine of each passing day, week, and month, I miss out on sharing the one thing of eternal importa...
1 comment
Read more

The Path to Life

     Through this most recent season in life, God has been teaching me what it truly means to follow His plans for my life. Over the last year or so,  I have had to make some of the most ''adult" decisions in my life so far. Through that process, I have had to rely heavily on faith and the leading of the Holy Spirit to discern which is the right way to go. It has been a challenge for me, a planner to the core, to put my trust fully in God's plans and leading even when I am unable to see what's ahead and I am glad to say I have come out having learned a few things.      The main takeaway I would like to share is this: the right way is not the easiest way . That probably sounds very obvious if you have spent any time in church, but I never thought about that principle carrying over into walking out God's plans for my life. You see, there have been decisions that I have made over the last year that I was certain were what God was leading me to do. An...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Firm a Foundation

Matthew 7:24-27 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Luke 6:46-49 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against th...
Post a Comment
Read more