Series – Life Can Be Tough, But God Is Good
Today we are beginning a new series of messages called, “Life Can Be Tough, But God Is Good”. In this series we will be looking at and hearing testimonies of some tough times that people have been through, but how God has been good through those tough times.
Jim Cudd experienced the death of his mom at the age of 14. I think we would all agree that is a tough thing for a 14-year-old boy to go through, yet today we see Jim and he is always laughing with joy in his heart. He’s probably one of the most jolly men that I know, outside of Santa Claus. His testimony is one that God brings us through painful times in our lives and gives us a joyful outlook in the end.
Today I want us to look at 2 Cor. 1:3-11 NKJV and see what God’s word has to tell us about the “Purpose In Our Pain.”
- God Knows The Pain We All Go Through.
In Paul’s writing in 2 Cor. 1, he addresses the pain that he has gone through as a way of relating to others and the pain that they are going through. God reveals to us in Ps. 56:8 that He puts our tears in His bottle and our pain is recorded in His book. It’s a reminder that God is aware of every pain that we experience. God even sent His son Jesus to walk through pain on this earth, so He can know the pains that we experience in life. God knows and understands all the pain we feel. You are not alone. - God Doesn’t Always Take Away The Pain, But He Is Our Comforter In The Pain.
We usually think of the word comfort to suggest soft, easy, and relaxing, like a soft pillow or a cozy blanket. The word comfort in these verses actually means to call along beside me. God is the one that comes along beside us during our times of pain. He’s there not to take away every pain, but to encourage us and show compassion that will help us through our pain. If God took away every pain in our lives we would be spoiled Christian babies. He wants more for us than that. - God Wants Us To Become Stronger Through Our Pain.
We usually think of pain as bringing out weakness, but God looks at pain as bringing about strength. Pain is a means of putting our spiritual muscles to work and bring out the strength that rests within us. Just like increasing our physical muscles where we have to put them under the weight of exercise equipment, to increase our spiritual strength, we have to put it under the weight of pain. - God Strengthens Us For The Purpose To Help Others.
In these scriptures, Paul tells us about how he was under such pain and pressure that he didn’t know if he would even live. Paul doesn’t say that to get sympathy, he says that to say he knew his pain had a purpose to help others in their pain. A person doesn’t think you understand their pain unless you have been through the pain yourself. There are some people that do not know the Lord and they need our painful experiences and faith to help them through their pain. They need our faith to lead them to put their faith in the Lord. God doesn’t just give us comfort to keep us from passing out, but to pass it on. - God Desires For Us To Learn To Always Trust In Him.
All through these scriptures is the central message that God has comforted us in the past, He is comforting us now in the present and He will comfort us in the future. We can always trust in Him. I heard a story of a construction worker who was working at night and fell off the edge of the work area several stories high. He was able to grab the edge as he was falling and began to scream for help. Because of the work noise, no one was able to hear him and he eventually lost his grip and fell. He fell just a few inches because what he didn’t know was that there was a scaffold just below him. God is like a scaffold that is always below us, if we just trust in Him.
Remember, your pain is not in vain, there is a purpose in your pain.
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