GAIN in PAIN

Hello Friends, welcome to the tenth month of the year. We are glad to have you here again with us.

Last month, we spoke a lot on how to deal with self esteem and from the  testimonies we have had, we noticed that most people get into self esteem issues because of the problems/pain encountered in life’s journey. Others have managed to glide through the problems and finally discovered that it was all worth it. As most people would say, what does not break you only makes you stronger. In pursuing your purpose, you will encounter self esteem issues and so much pain. When you are able to go through that pain trusting in God, everything works out for your good at the end of the day.  This month, we will be talking a lot on finding purpose even in pain, tagged “Gain in Pain”.

We notice from studying scriptures that every  time God wants to lift people up or accomplish something great in their lives, He allows them to go through a wilderness season or a painful experience but at the end, His glory is revealed. Let us look at some examples below.

1.) Exodus 5:1-3
“Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert. Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go. Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

How could the Israelites be liberated from bondage and instead of going directly to the promised land, they were led to the wilderness,  which seemed to be a more difficult area than Egypt? They even complained that they were better off being slaves in Egypt than to suffer in the wilderness. God still led them to the wilderness to hold a festival and honor Him and later on, He led them into the promised land.

2.) Before Jesus started His public ministry, He was baptized and led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil. He was there for 40 days and 40 nights and there was nothing for Him to eat or drink. The devil tempted Jesus in all aspects but because Jesus trusted God all through, this wilderness experience added to equipping Him for His ministry. (Luke 4). Hence, Paul could say boldly in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that we are not unaware of the schemes of the devil.

3.)Jesus went through so much pain to the extent that He cried at Gethsemane asking God to take away the cup of suffering from Him. Nevertheless, Jesus trusted God and let the will of God prevail in His life no matter the pain He went through . If Jesus did not go through the pain, suffering and death on the cross, we would not have salvation today. (Luke chapter 22-23)

There are many other examples of how people went through pain on the path to accomplishing God’s purpose for their lives. The only way pain can have purpose in our lives is if we prayerfully trust God to teach us the lessons in the pain so we can go through it, standing on His promises. Many people pray solely for pain to go away quickly but we miss what God wants to accomplish in and through us in the pain. When you pay attention to every step of the pain, you’ll notice how your character is transformed, your purpose is refined, your call is discovered and the means to achieve it is feasible.

In this month of October,  we will be sharing our  testimonies on different painful experiences and how we went through them. We hope that these will encourage you to make use of every circumstance you find yourself in.

Remember  Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. “

We wish you the best of God this Season.

Stay blessed and stay tuned.