God Never Wastes Your Pain

I LOVE this post from the TrueWoman blog. The post is referring to someone's marriage; however, I can easily see where it would help anyone enduring a painful season. Here it is:



I thought I was dying. I’d lost hope, and saw only the dark shroud of my pain. I knew God was there, but I couldn’t see Him at work.
Some of you may have heard our story when it aired on Revive Our Hearts, or you may have watched the True Woman Video explaining how God worked in our marriage. At the time, I couldn’t see anything God was doing and would never have imagined how He would use that season of pain. But He has!
While in the pain He taught me:

• To trust His faithfulness—especially when I couldn’t see Him working
• To remain and not run—escaping the pain was not the answer
• Disobedience brings painful consequences—realizing that brings a healthy fear of God and hatred for sin
• To never assume I’m right—He wants to use this place to reveal blind spots I’m not aware of
• To keep pressing into Him to see what I’m missing in the big picture
• The best is yet to come—always!
• “We’ve not yet seen the rest of the story” (my theme song while experiencing suffering).

He’s not wasted my pain.

• From the brokenness, He’s brought healing and fruit.
• My husband and I guard our marriage relationship and treasure each moment—knowing we wasted so many years.
• Lessons learned from that season are a source of hope and counsel for numerous couples.
• The story of His power to redeem will be shared in a book I’m writing for Moody Publishers—which will allow more couples to benefit from the lessons in the pain.

Here’s what He can do with your pain:

• Show you more of Himself than you’ve yet seen
• Train you in righteousness
• Increase your faith and dependence on Him
• Allow others to see His sustaining grace as you trust and obey
• Conform you to Christ’s image
• Use you to bring comfort and inspiration to others.

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Cor. 4:17 KJV)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor. 1:3–4)