“When we go through difficulty and pain, we experience God’s presence in a new way.” – Kerry and Chris Shook
LEARNING: "What does God want me to learn through this experience?"
“What did I do so wrong to deserve this?” is a question we so commonly ask when we experience pain in our lives, making a mistake of assuming God is punishing us.
While it is true that God does punish sin, but oftentimes pain is the result of circumstances that simply happen in this fallen world – bad things happen.
But in every bad experience, God often shows his amazing display of grace and power. He makes something beautiful out of the destructive work of the enemy. While enduring the pain, we watch God work into our lives. We watch, learn, and participate in it.
One thing we can learn from painful experience is the strength God gives us in facing it. In the midst of a painful experience we realize a moment of truth, that we are actually able to face and overcome it with courage and strength.
Another lesson we can learn from painful experience is making us sensitive to other people’s pains. We become uniquely gifted to meet their needs.
Pain gives us an education into the suffering of others and a much deeper sense of empathy.
The most spiritually mature and Christlike people are often those who have experienced pain and loss. They recognize that the pain has scarred them, and instead of trying to quickly move on from the heartache, they move deeper into God’s arms.
“A person who’s life has been permanently marked by pain and yet is still standing is the loudest and clearest life message to a hurting and lost world.” – Kerry and Chris Shook
This post was taken from the book, "Be the Message" by Kerry and Chris Shook. You can purchase it at Amazon:
