My last thought for this week on the subject of pain…
#3 - Pain Can Be God Testing Us
Everyone LOVES to talk about the blessings of God…but there aren’t a lot of people that want to talk about the times of testing that He sends our way.
I caused quite a stir one time at a gathering when I said, “The size of the vision God will give me is directly related to the amount of pain and discomfort that I am willing to endure.”
It’s quite ironic to me that people who claim to follow JESUS believe that He will always lead us away from (and protect us from) pain when the very path that God had for Him led Him to be crucified.
Leaders…its quite simple…if you and I are going to accomplish anything significant for His Kingdom then we’ve GOT to learn to deal with pain…
Moses did…he dealt with being lonely, with feeling overwhelmed, with a “church split,” with his own brother and sister rebelling against him…and yet God used him to lead one of the greatest movements in the history of the world.
Paul did…he was beaten, stoned (the old fashioned kind!), shipwrecked, betrayed and eventually murdered…and yet God used him to lead the greatest church planting movement known to man…and we still read his writings today.
Jesus did…we ALL know what happened to Him, how jealous, self-righteous people had Him beaten and murdered, how everyone in His inner circle abandoned Him in His greatest time of need, how He was betrayed by one of His closest friends…and yet He stayed faithful to the Father and finished the work God had assigned for Him.
Enduring great pain will often lead to tremendous progress.
Unfortunately in today’s Christian world there are too many people who run from pain rather than enduring through it…
- Three or four critics arise in a church and the pastor entertains leaving because it is the easy thing to do rather than picking up his staff and fighting the wolves.
- God calls a dude to start a church…but he refuses to do so unless he has $250,000 in the bank, five full time staff members, an excellent location and the best sound system that money can buy.
- A confrontation needs to take place…which will require a VERY uncomfortable conversation that may place a friendship on the ropes. Rather than dealing with it a person chooses to avoid the potential of pain and merely pray that God will “get their attention.”
I could go on but I think we all get the point…the calling and anointing of God are very real…but they are given to us NOT so we can necessarily have the easiest life imaginable but rather than so we can KNOW that as WE DO WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW of DEATH that HE IS THE AUTHOR OF LIFE…that He is with us, will never leave us or forsake us…and HE who called us will finish what He started in us (Philippians 1:6).
Sure, we all think we can be considered trustworthy by God to handle any blessings He wants to throw our way…but are we trustworthy enough to handle the pain that may be associated with those blessings?
I’ll say it again…enduring pain will often lead to tremendous progress. SO…for those who MAY be about to give up because the pain is SO intense…don’t give up on the God who has never given up on you…allow the pain to make you better, not bitter…and hold on because if He can trust you with pain then He can trust you with the provision He is about to bring your way!