One of the biggest hindrances to trusting God is the confusion brought about by the presence of pain. If God is good and loving and if He wants us to experience a plan that brings hope and future, why does he let pain happen to us?
The first thing we must establish is that God never hurts us. It's so funny that when shame (which is just a variant of pain to the ego) first came to Adam and Eve, they started pointing fingers. They blamed each other, blamed the serpent, and even blamed God. Remember when Adam said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate it." (Genesis 3:12).
God never causes pain. Sin does, and that sin is something we have full responsibility for. So in essence we hurt ourselves. But the fact still remains that God doesn't do anything about it. That's because while He is loving, He is still just, and He must allow justice to have its way. It's just His nature.
But in God's goodness and wisdom, He lovingly and strategically repositions our hurt in such a way that it actually even benefits us. Here are three ways that God allows us to benefit even from the self-inflicted pain of our sin.
Pain Protects Us
When we are caught in sin, God allows punishment to come as a means to discipline us from further harm if the sin gets out of hand. Sadly, a lot of people don't take the hint and continue in sin even in the pain.
But the fact remains that God allows pain to come only because He loves us and wants to protect us. Psalm 16:6 says it this way: "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."
Pain Makes Us Grow
t's been proven time and time again just how effective pain is in making us grow. As the old saying goes, "what doesn't kill you just makes you stronger." Not only is that statement true, it's also Biblical.
Hebrews 12:10 says, "For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness."
The goal is to grow more and more into the holiness of God. Although we'll never fully get there, we strive to become more and more like God. The best way that happens is through the pain of discipline.
Pain Makes Us Appreciate Paradise More
One thing is for sure: Our pain now will no longer be in heaven. We can then look forward to the day when we will be free of all pain. The present pain we face makes us appreciate more the freedom from it, which we will have when we are with God in heaven.
In Romans 8:18, Paul says this: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
The pain of today magnifies the glorious life we will share with the Father in heaven.
