How God Uses Pain to Point Me to His Power

“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT)

I believe it was C.S. Lewis who said, “Pain is our greatest teacher.” It’s the pain and the problems in your life that will point you to God. As you seek Him, a good question to ask is “What is the pain teaching me?” Wait on God before you jump to any conclusions and let Him give you the spiritual insight you need to understand what you would not otherwise know. Whether the pain is self-inflicted from your own poor choices or the consequences of someone else’s bad decisions, we can easily be misled to believe that our pain disqualifies us from God’s purpose. One of the most common lies we can be convinced of when we are in pain is that our weaknesses keep God from using us. But nothing could be further from the truth!

Moses felt this way when God called him to a great purpose. He was to lead Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Yet, he was self-conscious and insecure about a weakness in his life that he thought would prevent God from using him. So, he responds to God’s call like this, “O LORD, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though You have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Exodus 4:10 (NLT) It was painful for Moses to speak publicly. How could God use him?

Maybe, you feel that way as well. How could God use me to accomplish His purpose when my weaknesses would so obviously disqualify me? He picked the wrong person. I can’t do it. Why would God call me? Because you are the perfect candidate! God wants to use those very weaknesses you think are barriers to build bridges for His blessing in your life. Those weaknesses will prevent you from trusting in your own ability and relying on your own strength. It’s your pain that points you to God’s power! It will keep you humble and dependent on Him.

The great Apostle Paul realized this when he contended with God in prayer about his weakness. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT) he writes, “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Let’s debunk this lie, once and for all, with the truth: My weaknesses are what God uses most!

I hope that encourages you as much as it does me! Let God turn those weaknesses in your life into bridges that bring you into His divine destiny so that His power may rest on you!