My Pain Will Often Reveal God’s Purpose For Me

In review of 2 Corinthians 1:4, 6 it says, “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.”

Bottom Line:

God will use us and what happens in our lives to help others. We share the comfort he gave us to help others patiently endure what they may be experiencing.

What this means to me:

Nothing is ever wasted. God will use me and what takes place in my life to help minister to others. I can share the experiences and comfort God gave me while I went through it, to help others patiently endure what they may be experiencing.

At the core, my pain will often reveal God’s purpose for my life. What I’m learning is that God will never waste a hurt! Any hurt I've gone through, he wants me to use to help others who might be going through the same hurt. He wants me to share it and my experience. God can use the problems in my life to give me a ministry to others. In fact, the very thing I’m most ashamed of and resent the most could become my greatest ministry in helping others.

In retrospect, who can better help somebody going through a financial problems than somebody who went through a financial problems? 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 I hate the most in my life is what God wants to use for good in my life and helps to fulfill my purpose.

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).

Rick Warren calls this “redemptive suffering.” Redemptive suffering is when you go through a problem or a pain for the benefit of others.

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

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

But for some problems I’m completely innocent. It could have been a hurt by the pain, stupidity, and sins of others. 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.

So today, I should consider problems I've faced in life, ones in which I've questioned God about or wondered why they ever happened. I should consider how could I use these painful experiences to minister to others.