Your Pain Often Reveals God’s Purpose

Your pain often reveals God’s purpose for you. God never wastes a hurt! If you’ve gone through a hurt, he wants you to help other people going through that same hurt. He wants you to share it. God can use the problems in your life to give you a ministry to others. In fact, the very thing you’re most ashamed of in your life and resent the most could become your greatest ministry in helping other people.

Who can better help somebody going through a bankruptcy than somebody who went through a bankruptcy? Who can better help somebody struggling with an addiction than somebody who’s struggled with an addiction? Who can better help parents of a special needs child than parents who raised a special needs child? Who can better help somebody who’s lost a child than somebody who lost a child?

The very thing you hate the most in your life is what God wants to use for good in your life.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1, verses 4 and 6, “God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things” (NLT).

This is called redemptive suffering. Redemptive suffering is when you go through a problem or a pain for the benefit of others.

This is what Jesus did. When Jesus died on the cross, he didn’t deserve to die. He went through that pain for your benefit so that you can be saved and go to Heaven.

There are many different causes for the problems, pains, and suffering in your life. Sometimes the stuff that happens you bring on yourself. When you make stupid decisions, then it causes pain in your life. If you go out and overspend and buy things you can’t afford and presume on the future, and then you go deeply in debt and lose your house, you can’t say, “God, why did you let me lose my house?” You can’t blame God for your bad choices.

But in some of your problems, you’re innocent. You’ve been hurt by the pain, stupidity, and sins of other people. And some of the pain in your life is for redemptive suffering. God often allows us to go through a problem so that we can then help others.

Habits

Everyone has habits—some good and some bad. A habit is something we do without even thinking; it’s a behavior that is developed through frequent repetition. First we form habits, and then they form us. We are what we repeatedly do!

Studying God’s Word is the key to establishing healthy habits that bring joy, peace and power to our lives because godly wisdom is the foundation of every good attitude and behavior. It’s true that changing our habits isn’t always easy, and it will require some effort. But the good news is we don’t have to do it alone or in our own strength. God will give us the ability to do it as we “walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit].”

The Holy Spirit is with us to help us. He is our Partner—our Strength and Support—and as we do what we can to consistently follow His leadership, we’ll have the strength we need to make good habits. Studying the Word is the most important part of this process because it’s the way we learn how to follow His lead.

Some habits in our lives can seem overwhelming and impossible to change—especially if we’ve lived with them for a long time. But God will meet us where we are. He will always honor our faith and give us the grace to make the changes we want to make. Make the decision to trust God and not give up!

Walk It Out

Take a closer look at Galatians 5:16. Are you habitually following the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life? Are there any bad habits you really want to break? We all have an area of our lives we can improve. Think about a personal goal you want to achieve in your daily routine, like being on time at work, not overeating, spending quality time with your kids, keeping up with the laundry, etc. Then pray and ask God to show you how “human nature without God” is hindering you from establishing the good habit you desire. Study other scriptures about the Holy Spirit and how He is your helper to overcome attitudes and behaviors you want to change.

Peace

If you want to really enjoy your life, peace is important. In the Amplified Version, John 14:27 reads: “[Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.” Jesus basically said here, “I’m leaving you My peace. Now you need to do all you can to hold on to your peace and stop letting yourself get upset.”

There are many great scriptures in the Bible that reveal how we can have the peace Jesus gives and actually live with it every day. Here are a few ways you can apply John 14:27 to your life:

See the value of peace. Maybe you need to take peace a little more seriously. If you don’t think it’s a big deal to lose your temper, worry all day or get stressed-out, you may not appreciate the gift of peace as much as you should. First Peter 3:11 says we should search for peace “and seek it eagerly” (AMP).
Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He wants you to live a peaceful life!

Walk It Out

Look up each of the scripture references listed. Read them slowly and consider what God is speaking to you about His peace. Make some notes about the specific attributes of a peaceful life versus a life without peace based on what these verses reveal to you. It can be helpful to read a couple of different translations to get more insight. Spend some time asking God to help you evaluate your level of peace in your daily life. If you need more of it, just ask and receive!

Trust God. This is the key to receiving and holding on to peace. When we come to God and give Him all of our cares, we experience the blissful relief from fear and worry (Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Peter 5:7).
Let peace be the umpire of your life. If you are thinking about doing something but don’t have peace about it, don’t do it. God leads us with His peace, so if you’re not peaceful, it’s not His way for you to go. (Colossians 3:15 AMP)