Purpose to the Pain
Tonight my time with God is filled with worship and praise, but it's not for the usual blessings. My heart is overjoyed with gratitude for every painful situation I've ever experienced. It was in those seasons that I learned to cling tightly to Jesus, search His Word for answers and spend intimate time with Him. It was do or die...I had no other choice for my survival and victory.
There were many moments when the pressure was so great I thought I would lose my mind, but instead I made the choice to run forward and allow the trial to catapult me into the deepest depths of His presence... deep under the comfort and protection of the shadow of His wings... where no enemy could find me or dare enter, completely hidden in Christ.
If it had not been for those seasons, I would have never grown in my relationship with Jesus and there would certainly be nothing that could flow out of me to help anyone else. The blessings in life are great and God is so merciful to give us wonderful things and relationships to enjoy... I'm thankful for all of that, but it's rejection that made me desperate for His love and loss that made me find His strength. I know it sounds crazy, but who would we be without the hardships of life? We would be weak, soft and spoiled. Unable to deal with stress and completely distraught when things don't go our way.
If we truly trust God, we must show it in EVERY season… the good, bad and the ugly. With every trial, every difficult situation, He's allowing it to mold us into a vessel that can be used for His glory and ultimately He’s working everything out for our good. We have a wonderful father who is filled with love and compassion for His children. His desire is to bless us and use us and though His definition of blessing may not always look the same as ours, the outcome is so much greater than anything we could ever imagine!
His son…broken on a cross…the Father’s pain, too great to observe such atrocity, yet it fulfilled such a magnificent plan. Without this sacrifice of blood we would all be destined for an eternity in hell. Out of the greatest pain came the greatest gift. The cleansing of our sins…healing for our bodies, a torn veil that gave us access to the throne room of God and the promise of eternity with our Bride Groom!
Find Him in your pain and experience new depths to your relationship with Jesus. There’s comfort in His arms. Enter His presence and He will uncover lessons and purpose in the midst of the trial as He reveals His love for you in a new way and heals every wound.
God’s ways are not our own, but they are completely magnificent!
James 1:2-4 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
1 Peter 5:10 (NLT) In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.
Isaiah 53:10-12 (MSG) Still, it’s what God had in mind all along, to crush Him with pain.The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin so that He’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God’s plan will deeply prosper through Him. Out of that terrible travail of soul, He'll see that it’s worth it and be glad He did it. Through what He experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many “righteous ones,” as He himself carries the burden of their sins.Therefore I’ll reward Him extravagantly— the best of everything, the highest honors—Because He looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because He embraced the company of the lowest.He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many, He took up the cause of all the black sheep.
