Finding Purpose in Your Pain
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 (NLT)
When our plans don’t match God’s plans our hearts can be filled with disappointment. We can become disillusioned and discouraged. This has been such a time for most of us, hasn’t it? No one considered the difficulty of living in a pandemic. Yet, ever since the fall of man in the garden, our world has been filled with pain, sorrow and death. It’s one of the greatest challenges of our faith, to trust that God has a purpose in every problem we face; trusting that He is in control when everything around us seems to be in chaos. If you’ve ever struggled with understanding God’s purpose in the midst of your pain or problems, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in good company. Even the giants of faith in the Bible wrestled with why the innocent suffer. Job experienced it when Satan came against him, and God allowed the enemy to take all his possessions and his health. It was a huge test of faith, but, in the end, Job never lost his integrity or trust in the One who created Him, despite never understanding why it was all happening. To Job, knowing God was greater than knowing why.
The time to make a faith affirmation is before the issues and trials of life threaten to derail you from God’s purpose for your life. As your soul longs for purpose, it struggles with understanding problems and pain that don’t make sense. I’m thankful that the apostle Paul, who encountered unimaginable pain and suffering himself, while fulfilling God’s will in his own life, wrote these words to fellow strugglers: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)
While this verse doesn’t answer all our questions it offers assurance and encouragement to us when we become disillusioned by difficulties. But notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say that all things are good. They’re not! Some things are bad, evil, and painful. As people of faith, we don’t live in denial when bad things happen. The amazing truth in this passage is that, in all things, God can work something for good, but that promise is made to those who love Him, (and) who have been called according to His purpose. As Christ followers, you and I have been called according to God’s purpose. It’s what our souls long for! If we love God and are called according to His purpose, then we can trust God that every problem has a purpose! But what is that purpose?
Romans 8:28 may be one of the most misunderstood promises in the Bible. It’s often taken out of context and can be shared with too little compassion with those who are experiencing senseless suffering and pain. When we choose to trust God that every problem has a purpose, we can’t help but wonder what that purpose is. That’s why it’s so important to view a promise or passage in the Bible in its context. Too often we read a promise like Romans 8:28 but fail to read the verses before and after it. Let’s look at this verse within its immediate context:
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son. …” Romans 8:26-29a (NLT)
I love how practical the Bible is in helping us understand God’s purpose for our lives and how He uses pain and problems to shape us for that purpose. Romans 8:29 answers the question of what God’s purpose is. The Living Bible paraphrases it like this: “For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to Him – and all along He knew who would – should become like His Son. …”
God’s ultimate goal for our lives as Christ followers is to become like Jesus. He is preparing you and me for eternity! His purpose for you and me is to reproduce Christ-like character in us so that we may reflect His image and likeness in every situation no matter what the circumstances. Only when the Creator is restored within His creature can He make of us a new creation. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Bible says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Because God is more concerned about our character than our comfort sometimes, He uses pain to shape us into the image of His very own Son. Jesus, Himself, suffered for us, the Just for the unjust. The truth is God is more concerned with the person you are going to be than with what you’re going to do in life. Doing flows out of being.
So, reflect for a moment on the struggles in your life and ask yourself how God may want to use them to shape you into the image of His Son. In what ways is God making you Christlike? Don’t waste your sorrows. There is purpose in your pain and God promises to work it for your good.