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Recommended Reading
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Where Is God When It Hurts?
by Philip Yancey
"Pain...can drive me away from Him. I can hate God for allowing such misery. Or, on the other hand, it can drive me to Him. I can believe Him when He says this world is not all there is, and take the chance that He is making a perfect place for those who follow Him..."
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Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. - Romans 8:18
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"A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." - John 16:21-22
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"God can't use a person to the maximum, until he or she has been hurt deeply." - A.W. Tozer
There are times in our lives when we choose pain. Talk to an athlete in competition, a pregnant woman or even a client in a tattoo parlor, and you will hear of their willingness to go through a period of suffering to reap a certain reward. Give me a good enough cause, assure me that the pain is only temporary, and I can bear just about anything for a season. If only every hurt had a reason and reward attached...
Yeah, right.
Try to present a good reason to someone who has lost a spouse, a parent, a sibling, child or best friend. Conjure up a reward for someone suffering from a painful terminal illness. Do your best to make sense of it when it is someone else's pain, because it sure won't make sense if - and when - it's your own.
Or will it?
"God could have plans to do something through your pain that extends far beyond your own life and times...He may give you through the pain an increased capacity to help others who suffer. He may change the course of history through your pain, but you may never discover its wider meaning." - John White
I honestly don't know whether our every hurt has a purpose or not. What I do know is that we can use our times of trial to either push God away or draw closer to Him. And it's only by trusting in His mercy and goodness that I give Him a chance to bring me through the pain into joy.
Ask yourself...
- Do I acknowledge my dependence on God when things are going well in my life?
- How do I feel about God allowing me to suffer?
- In my pain, do I tend to draw closer to God or push Him away? Why?
Keep running for your prize,
Larry Hehn
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