Purpose in The Pain
From Yara Armenta
On my way back from visiting some friends, I began to read a book that helps adults understand children that have gone through trauma. Not only in a psychological way, but also how the Bible instructs us to love on them. There was a phrase the authors mentioned which they dedicated to foster parents that left me thinking.
In the specific section, it gave a word of encouragement to foster parents as they may experience seeing a good child fall back into bad steps. The pain of not knowing of them until they reach out is heartbreaking. How being in pain brings us closer to being Christlike…
Crazy thing to say and try to live out.
The disciples constantly chose ways to spread the gospel even if it meant being martyrs. Paul states in Philippians 3:10-11...
“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Personally, going through the loss of my father, it never crossed my mind that being in the midst of the pain made me Christlike. I knew that only God could be comfort, but it wasn’t like I was actively looking into being in pain. Yet Jesus suffered. He suffered not only the process of the crucifixion, but also experienced being separated from The Father for our transgressions.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,...” - II Corinthians 4:17 NKJV
God isn’t saying our sufferings are less, but if we take a step back from the suffering and see His hand, we’d be so in awe of His work.
God set up my life in such a way that once I was able to take a step back, I truly was so grateful for the changes He had started back in January. From ministry, work, and personal life; He orchestrated everything to be for His glory.
It’s hard to see the suffering as Christlike in the moment, but pray for the revelation, and God will show you in His time the purpose behind the pain.
