Benefitting from Your Pain
No one likes to suffer. My wife’s cousin was Captain Obvious when he gave me this piece of advice: “Pain hurts.”
Why would a loving God allow pain to be a part of our lives? Let’s look at this first from a physical, medical perspective. Pain indicates something is wrong. Pain causes us to react appropriately. If you’ve ever touched a hot stove, the pain immediately triggers a response, and you pull away. But what if you didn’t feel pain? Consider those who suffer from Hansen’s Disease (which was once called leprosy). The nerve endings in their skin have been destroyed by a bacterial infection. If someone suffering with this disease accidentally touches a hot stove, they don’t feel the scorching heat. He may unknowingly leave his hand on the stove, not realizing he is burning and destroying his hand.
Be thankful you can feel pain.
Pain does something else for us—if we let it. When we suffer, it has a way of drawing us closer to God. I can’t fix my problem, and I’m drawn to God. Whether I am hurting or feel weak, I’m drawn to seek God in prayer. I’ve had so many friends over the years mention a difficult season of life that pulled them down, yet they were drawn to God and sensed His loving presence.
Don’t take my word for it. Listen to King Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the king of Judah in the 8th century B.C., and during his reign, he became ill. So ill that the prophet Isaiah pronounced that Hezekiah’s bed would be his death bed. Not the best bedside manner, but hey, he’s a prophet.
This led Hezekiah to pray and seek the Lord, and the Lord responded. Hezekiah’s healthy was restored and he lived another fifteen years. In Isaiah 38, we read Hezekiah’s poem of praise for how God responded. In the middle of this poem, Hezekiah said,
“You have restored me to health and let me live. Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such intense bitterness; but your love has delivered me from the Pit of destruction, for you have thrown all my sins behind your back” (Isa. 38:16-17).
Take note of the part I placed in bold type: “it was for my own well-being.” On the other side of his experience, Hezekiah could see how this illness—as intense as it was—gave him a fresh encounter and experience with the presence and love of God. A friend told me about such a difficult experience: “I’m glad I went through it, but I don’t want to go through it again!”
There’s another benefit we should not overlook. Hezekiah continued:
“For Sheol cannot thank you; Death cannot praise you. Those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, only the living can thank you, as I do today; a father will make your faithfulness known to children” (vv. 18-19).
Because Hezekiah chose to acknowledge God’s role and praise Him, others heard—and benefited. “Only the living can thank you.” In offering thanksgiving out loud, others hear. Others learn that God is not absent or uncaring. They hear how a loving God has worked. They benefit from the testimony of a person brought closer to God.
As “a father will make your faithfulness known to children,” we can do the same. Give praise to God even in the difficult times. Thank God for His work on Your behalf—even in those moments when His work may not be clear yet. We never know what others around us are going through, and your words of praise can be words of encouragement. You can benefit others with your testimony of God’s goodness that invites them to trust God when they face their own challenges.
“A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples in silver settings” (Prov. 25:11).
Subscribe to this blog or like our Facebook page. And share this post with others.
If you would like a printable version of this, check out PrintFriendly.
