Transforming Pain into Purpose: Embracing God's Plan

Summary

In our journey through life, God has five distinct purposes for each of us: to know and love Him, to love others, to grow spiritually, to serve, and to fulfill a unique mission. These purposes are not just theoretical; they are practical and deeply intertwined with our everyday experiences, including our pain and suffering. Pain is not something to be wasted or ignored; rather, it is a tool God uses to fulfill His purposes in our lives. Many people, unfortunately, waste their suffering, failing to learn and grow from it. However, when we cooperate with God, pain can become a powerful catalyst for spiritual growth and transformation.

Firstly, pain can draw us closer to God. In moments of deep suffering, we have a choice: to run towards God or away from Him. Instinctively, many turn to God in times of crisis, seeking comfort and understanding. This was my experience when faced with personal tragedy. By spending extended time with God, I found that my pain brought me into a deeper relationship with Him. This process involves being honest with God about our feelings, trusting Him, and surrendering to His will.

Secondly, pain can deepen our relationships with others. It can mature our love and bring us closer to those around us. In times of shared suffering, such as the loss of a loved one, relationships can either fracture or strengthen. By intentionally working on our relationships and showing grace to one another, we can allow pain to bring us closer together.

Thirdly, pain is an opportunity to become more like Jesus. It is through difficult times that we develop the character traits that reflect Christ, such as patience, love, and humility. Pain can either make us bitter or better, and the choice is ours. By embracing pain as a tool for growth, we can become more Christ-like in our actions and attitudes.

Ultimately, resilience is the key to navigating life's challenges. Everyone faces difficulties, but the difference between those who succeed and those who don't is resilience—the ability to bounce back and keep moving forward. By learning from our pain and allowing it to transform us, we can fulfill God's purposes for our lives and live with meaning and significance.

Key Takeaways:

1. Pain as a Pathway to God: Pain can either drive us away from God or draw us closer to Him. In times of suffering, we have the opportunity to deepen our relationship with God by being honest about our feelings and trusting Him. This choice can transform our pain into a powerful tool for spiritual growth. [03:33]

2. Strengthening Relationships through Suffering: Pain can deepen our love for others and strengthen our relationships. By intentionally working on our relationships and showing grace, we can allow pain to bring us closer together, rather than driving us apart. [08:03]

3. Becoming More Like Jesus through Pain: Pain is an opportunity to develop Christ-like character traits. By embracing pain as a tool for growth, we can become more like Jesus in our actions and attitudes, allowing suffering to transform us for the better. [14:26]

4. The Power of Resilience: Resilience is the key to overcoming life's challenges. By learning from our pain and allowing it to transform us, we can bounce back from difficulties and live a life of meaning and significance. [20:26]

5. Choosing Growth over Bitterness: Pain can either make us bitter or better, and the choice is ours. By choosing to let pain be a stepping stone to progress, we can fulfill God's purposes for our lives and experience true transformation. [15:09]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:12] - God's Five Purposes for Your Life
- [01:30] - The Role of Pain in God's Purposes
- [03:33] - Drawing Closer to God through Pain
- [06:00] - Paul's Example of Suffering
- [07:46] - Pain Turning Us to God
- [08:03] - Deepening Relationships through Pain
- [10:13] - Grace in Relationships
- [11:24] - Levels of Fellowship
- [14:26] - Becoming More Like Jesus
- [17:14] - Learning Obedience through Suffering
- [19:42] - Pain as a Transformative Force
- [20:26] - The Importance of Resilience
- [23:06] - Paul's Resilience
- [25:39] - Journey Toward Hope

Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Galatians 3:4 - "Have you gone through all of this for nothing? Is it really all for nothing?"
2. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 - "We were crushed and overwhelmed, and we saw how powerless we were to help ourselves, but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God."
3. Hebrews 5:8 - "Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered."

#### Observation Questions
1. According to the sermon, what are the five purposes God has for our lives? [00:12]
2. How does the sermon describe the role of pain in fulfilling God's purposes for us? [01:30]
3. What personal experience did the pastor share about how pain drew him closer to God? [04:26]
4. How does the sermon illustrate the impact of pain on relationships, particularly in the pastor's marriage? [09:46]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. In Galatians 3:4, Paul questions if the suffering was for nothing. How does this relate to the idea of not wasting our pain as discussed in the sermon? [02:37]
2. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 talks about being crushed and overwhelmed. How does the sermon suggest this experience can be beneficial? [06:00]
3. Hebrews 5:8 mentions Jesus learning obedience through suffering. How does the sermon connect this to our personal growth and character development? [17:14]
4. The sermon mentions resilience as a key to overcoming life's challenges. How does this concept relate to the biblical examples provided? [20:26]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when pain either drew you closer to God or pushed you away. What steps can you take to ensure future pain draws you closer to Him? [03:33]
2. Consider a relationship in your life that has been affected by pain. What intentional actions can you take to strengthen that relationship? [09:46]
3. Identify a character trait of Jesus that you would like to develop. How can you use current challenges in your life to cultivate this trait? [14:26]
4. Think about a recent setback or failure. How can you apply the concept of resilience to bounce back and move forward? [20:26]
5. Pain can make us either bitter or better. Reflect on a recent painful experience and decide how you can choose growth over bitterness. [15:09]
6. How can you support someone else in their pain, helping them to see it as a pathway to growth and deeper relationships? [13:39]
7. What practical steps can you take this week to ensure you are learning and growing from your pain rather than wasting it? [02:24]

Devotional

Day 1: Pain as a Pathway to Deeper Faith
Pain can be a profound tool for spiritual growth, drawing individuals closer to God. In times of suffering, people often face a choice: to turn towards God or away from Him. Many find that in their darkest moments, they instinctively seek God for comfort and understanding. This process involves being honest with God about one's feelings, trusting Him, and surrendering to His will. By choosing to lean into God during times of pain, individuals can transform their suffering into a powerful catalyst for deepening their faith and relationship with Him. [03:33]

Psalm 34:18-19 (ESV): "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

Reflection: Think of a recent painful experience. How can you invite God into that pain today to deepen your relationship with Him?

Day 2: Strengthening Bonds through Shared Suffering
Pain has the potential to deepen love and strengthen relationships. In times of shared suffering, such as the loss of a loved one, relationships can either fracture or grow stronger. By intentionally working on relationships and showing grace to one another, individuals can allow pain to bring them closer together. This requires a conscious effort to communicate, support, and extend grace, turning shared suffering into an opportunity for relational growth and maturity. [08:03]

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV): "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 may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Reflection: Identify someone who is also experiencing pain. How can you intentionally support and strengthen your relationship with them today?

Day 3: Embracing Pain to Reflect Christ
Pain is an opportunity to develop Christ-like character traits. Through difficult times, individuals can cultivate qualities such as patience, love, and humility, reflecting the character of Jesus. Pain can either make a person bitter or better, and the choice lies in how one responds to it. By embracing pain as a tool for growth, individuals can become more Christ-like in their actions and attitudes, allowing suffering to transform them for the better. [14:26]

James 1:2-4 (ESV): "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Reflection: What is one Christ-like trait you can focus on developing through your current challenges?

Day 4: Resilience as a Key to Overcoming Challenges
Resilience is essential for overcoming life's challenges. Everyone faces difficulties, but the difference between those who succeed and those who don't is resilience—the ability to bounce back and keep moving forward. By learning from pain and allowing it to transform them, individuals can fulfill God's purposes for their lives and live with meaning and significance. Resilience involves a commitment to growth and a refusal to be defeated by life's trials. [20:26]

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (ESV): "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."

Reflection: Reflect on a past challenge where you demonstrated resilience. How can you apply that same resilience to a current situation?

Day 5: Choosing Growth over Bitterness
Pain can either make individuals bitter or better, and the choice is theirs. By choosing to let pain be a stepping stone to progress, individuals can fulfill God's purposes for their lives and experience true transformation. This involves a conscious decision to view pain as an opportunity for growth rather than a source of bitterness. By embracing this mindset, individuals can navigate life's challenges with a sense of purpose and hope. [15:09]

Hebrews 12:11 (ESV): "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Reflection: Consider a situation where you feel bitterness creeping in. How can you choose to see it as an opportunity for growth instead?

Quotes

God has five purposes for your life number one we know that God wants you to know and love him you were planned for his pleasure and that's called worship when you know and love God we know that God wants you to learn to love other people that's the second purpose of life you are put on this planet to learn to love to learn to love God to learn to love others one is called worship one's called Fellowship then the Bible says that we are put on this planet to to grow up spiritually to be like Christ God's goal is that you become like Jesus not God but become Godly in character you were created to become like Christ and then the fourth purpose we know that you were put on this planet to practice serving this is preparation for eternity you're going to serve God in heaven God wants you to practice now and the way you practice now is by you serve God by serving other people you can't serve God directly here because you can't even see him the only way you can serve God on earth is by serving other people the Bible calls that your ministry that's the fourth purpose of Life Worship Fellowship discipleship Ministry the fifth purpose of your life is you were made for a mission and God has a life message that he wants to communicate through you and nobody else can share your life message and God wants to use you to say something to this world now we all know those those five purposes that God has for our lives but what most people don't know is that God uses pain to fulfill those purposes in your life he uses pain but you have to you have to cooperate with God for that to happen in your life and sadly most people don't do this most people waste their suffering most people waste their pain most people don't profit from their problems they don't Harvest their hurts they don't advance from their adversity most people they don't they don't learn from their losses they don't improve from their injuries most people never gain from their pain so tonight what I want us to do in this weekend is to look at how to gain from your pain how God wants to use whatever pain you're going through emotional physical Financial relational spiritual in any area of Life how God wants to use the pain in your life to move you toward his purposes for your life and he doesn't want you to waste it this is what Paul's talking about in The Book of Galatians in chapter 3:4 he says this have you gone through all of this for nothing is it really all for nothing you know as I look at that verse I just want to ask you to answer this in your mind I'm not asking you to publicly answer answer it have you grown from your pain or have you wasted your pain are you further down the road to where God wants you to be or have you just had pain in your life and it never made any difference well maybe say I don't know how to learn I don't know how to grow I don't know how to develop from my pain well it's not too late to learn so let's look at what God wants to do in your life as we wrap up this series pain can be used for all five of God's purposes in your life you might write these down number one the first thing I know is this I can use my pain to draw closer to God I can use my pain to draw closer to God now when anything bad happens in your life you have a choice you got a choice you can either run to God or you can run away from God now we by Nature instinctively turn to God in pain whenever there is a massive tragedy a bomb explodes there's a uh you know a fire a flood uh a terrorist attack people go oh God the first people they person they cry out to is the God because by Instinct we know that we should turn to God but some people turn away from God in this you know when Matthew died now several months back uh it forced me to go deep deeper with God than I've ever had to go in my entire life I've always spent time with God every day I've had a quiet time for most of my life where I sit down and I spend time talking to God reading his word listening to him and talking to him in prayer but I want you to know in the last several months I'm a changed person because I wasn't spending a quiet time with God every day I was spending hours hours and hours with God every day just listening thinking meditating praying reading the word reading uh good scriptures reading good books and things like that because I wanted my pain to draw me closer to God not further away from him now how do you do that how do you draw close to God and your pain well you tell them how you feel you cry out to God you argue with God you trust God you do all of the steps we've talked about in the last seven weeks in shock you express your shock to God in sorrow you cry out in your sorrow to God in struggle you argue with God and in surrender you let go and you trust God you take all of these steps you can worship at every stage of the development this is what our family has been doing now for several months we're doing what Paul did in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 look at that verse Paul says this we were were crushed and overwhelmed and we saw how powerless we were to help ourselves but that was good for then we put everything into the hands of God who could alone save us and he did help us Circle the phrase but that was good Paul says wait a minute we were crushed we were overwhelmed we were in over our heads we were ready to give up we were discouraged we were defeated we were dying but he says that was good why because it drew us closer to God rather than away from God one of the things that my family did in the last several months is we did a we did a surrender Retreat together we went over to Rancho Capistrano and had uh Jamon goggen who's on staff as the spiritual director at our retreat center and had him lead us in a retreat of surrender why because we wanted to be drawn closer to God last night I was speaking to The Women of Faith up at U the conference at at the Honda Center and while I was up there I heard a story about a guy who who came to Christ on 911 the actual day 911 and I and I just got think how many people do you know have come to Christ out of pain maybe you did maybe you did maybe there was a divorce a death a disaster a distraction a difficulty a disappointment God says I one of the things I can use this for in your life is I will draw you closer to me if you let it many of you could say pain turned me to Christ in 2 Corinthians chapter 7:9 Paul says this I'm glad about the pain that these people went through not because it hurt you but because the pain turned you to God that's the first purpose I can let pain draw me closer to God second purpose I can use my pain to draw closer to others not just to God but to other people and this is the purpose of fellowship and if you allow it pain will deepen your love your love for other people it will mature Your Love suffering sensitizes you suffering deepens you suffering turns you it transforms I've seen the most stubborn self-centered selfish hard-bitten men turn into real lovers after a major tragedy in their life God says I can use pain to draw draw you not only closer to me but to draw you closer to other people now you know the odds aren't good for couples who lose a child in fact about nearly onethird of all marriages where a child dies like in the case in my family in our family nearly one-third of all those marriages ends in divorce once a child is lost but I'd have to say Kay and I are closer today than we were four five months ago closer today uh I I I'll just be honest with you I am more in love with my wife than I have ever been in my life and uh I just well I won't go any further because I don't want embarrass her but um I asked Kay today as I Was preparing this message I said why do you think we're closer today than ever before she says because you're so nice to me [Laughter] now well that might be part of it but I think there were a couple reasons and we actually would agree on this is that after Matthew died we knew the statistics that a crisis a death particularly death of a child often splits up a family and we said we're not going to let that happen and we intentionally work at strengthening our marriage over the last months intentionally worked at cultivating at deepening in it we've been married now 38 years but we said we're going to make this the best year of our marriage and I think another thing we did is we gave each other a lot of Grace and one of the things was we did not judge each other's feelings because when you're going through pain your feelings go like this they go up and down and they go all over sideway ways and you think strange thoughts and weird thoughts and have all kinds of emotions and we just decided no emotion is a bad emotion and and Kay would say I'm going to tell this to you and she would tell and I would sit there and non-judgmentally goes well that makes sense that there is no wrong feeling feelings are not right or wrong feelings are just feelings how many arguments if you had in your marriage because you tried to convince your spouse their feeling was unreasonable don't do the elbows right now so many of our arguments in marriage end up because we're trying to talk each other out of feelings don't don't do it feelings are just feelings they're neither right nor wrong they're just feelings and so by showing Grace to each other that that brought us closer together you remember a few weeks ago I talked about that there are four levels of of fellowship and they go deeper and deeper and we talked about how in your small group the the shallowest level of Fellowship is the fellowship of sharing that's where how's your day how are you doing what's going on in your life how's everything going that's the fellowship of sharing and that's okay it's just not very deep to go a little bit deeper in Fellowship you go to The Fellowship of studying where you study the word of God together to go a little bit deeper than that you go to the fellowship of uh of serving and if you've ever had your small group go on a peace trip together you know how much that binds you together it's when you're serving together you go go deeper than studying or sharing but the deepest level of all is the fellowship of suffering Fellowship of suffering and the only way you get to the fellowship of suffering is by being willing to be vulnerable take the risk of being vulnerable and share what you're you're feeling life can sometimes be challenging isolating and painful do you or someone you know need some powerful encouragement right now then let me tell you about the journey toward hope this guided Bible study book takes you on a journey to discover the five truths about who you are you are loved you have a purpose you belong you have a choice and you are needed this full color vegan leather study tool is filled with scriptures prayers exercises spaces to journal and a personal stories to help you uncover the hidden reasons you may lose hope and teach you how to maintain and bolster that hope for a lifetime we'll send you your very own copy of journey toward hope when you give a gift today to daily hope to take the hope of Jesus to a hurting world Galatians 6:2 there on your outline says this by helping each other with your troubles you truly obey the law of Christ what is the law of Christ love your neighbor yourself he says when you help each other in your pain when you help each other in your suffering when you help each other in your in your troubles when you enter into the fellowship of suffering he says then you're obeying the greatest commandment love your neighbor as yourself and I just want to say to you that pain if you will allow it will teach you how to really love you see pain isn't I mean love is far more than chocolates and roses and Valentine's real Love Changes bed pants Real Love Changes real love works if you know the meaning of that God bless you number three the third purpose of pain I can use it to draw closer to God I can use it to draw closer to others God says I can use pain to become more like Jesus I can use pain to become more like Jesus in other words pain is always an opportunity to grow in character to grow in the fruit of the spirit love joy peace patience gentleness goodness faithfulness meekness self-control these nine qualities how do you learn them you learn them in tough times you learn love in unlovely situations you learn joy in grief situations you learn peace in chaos you learn patience having to wait you learn these things in the exact opposite situations I could choose to let pain make me more like Jesus but again it's a choice some people pain makes them bitter and some people let pain make them better some people let pain be a stepping stone to progress and other let others let pain be a stumbling block to failure it's Choice Proverbs 20:30 look up here on the screen says this sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways anybody want to give a testimony on that verse yeah sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways now the fact is and I said this a couple weeks ago God's number one purpose in your life is to make you like Jesus now if God's going to make you like Jesus loving like Jesus thinking like Jesus being kind like Jesus being truthful like Jesus having the character the Integrity the generosity the humility of Jesus if God's going to make you like Jesus he's going to take you through the things that Jesus went through H were there times when Jesus was lonely yes were there times that you will be lonely yes were there times when Jesus was misunderstood yes were there will there be times when you were misunderstood yes were there times when Jesus was criticized maligned and judged yes same for you were there times when Jesus was so tired and fatigued he felt like he couldn't go on another day yes were there times when Jesus was tempted yes what makes you think God's going to spare you he didn't spare his own son so why would he spare you he did not spare Jesus from Pain and if God is going to make me like Christ then he's going to take me through the same kind of things that Jesus went through now look at up here on the screen the Bible says this Hebrews 5'8 even though Jesus was God's son he learned obedience from the things he suffered the Bible says Jesus learned obedience from suffering Jesus learned to do the right thing in spite of the fact that it wasn't the easy thing to do how are you going to learn to do the right thing in spite of the fact it's not the easy thing to do same way through suffering here's another verse look at this verse Ephesians uh Hebrews 59 on your on the screen suffering made Jesus perfect and now he can save forever all who obey him you say suffering made Jesus perfect I thought he was perfect well the word perfect here literally means complete and he's saying it completed Jesus by going through suffering there are some things the only way you learn them is through pain you agree with that some things you only only learn through pain now Paul complements the the way the Corinthians the Believers in the city of Corinth and Greece had handled the pain in their lives look at this verse there on your outline Now isn't it wonderful Paul said says all the ways in which this distress they'd been going through a tough time all the ways in which this distress has goed you closer to God you're more alive you're more concerned you're more sensitive you're more reverent you're more human you're more passionate you're more responsible looked at from any angle you've come out of this with purity of heart now notice Paul's talking to a group of people who' just gone through the ringer their life had just been hell on Earth they had gone through amazing persecution amazing suffering amazing pain and he says there are seven things that have come out of this you're more alive you're more concerned you're more sensitive more relevant more human more passionate more responsible he lists these seven quality wouldn't you like to have those in your life wouldn't you like to be more alive wouldn't you like to be more compassion more pass passionate more sensitive more responsible then you need to ask God to use the pain in your life for good and choose to cooperate with him see the fact is pain transforms us never leaves us where where we started it will either be better or bitter as I said it won't leave you where it picked you up it will take you to another place now I want you to listen very closely what I'm about to say I want you to win in life I want you to succeed in life I want your life to have meaning and significance I want your life to be all that God wants it to be the secret of every winner whether it's winning in business winning in sports winning at love winning in relationships winning financially spiritually or any other way the secret of every single winner is one word it is the word resilience resilience it is the ability to bounce back why because everybody goes through tough times everybody has failures everybody has flops nobody goes through life with unbroken success nobody goes through life with no problems nobody goes through life with it just a breeze and everything's handed to to them there are problems pains pressures difficulties in everybody's life and the difference between winners and losers is that Winners get back up it's the only difference the only difference between a winner and a loser is resiliency losers stay down I'll never let another man hurt me dumb idea because you shut yourself off to hurt you've just shut yourself off to a love and you will live a Loveless life the rest of your life I will never let another employer hurt me I will never let another whatever hurt me you build a wall and you fill the moat and you pull up the drawbridge and you build a a prison a self-imposed prison that your heart stays in and you become a little claw of a person that's what a loser does winners have resilience winners keep on keeping on winners keep going Winners Get Knocked Down but they get back up winners have the same problems losers do they just have resilience and I think more than any other quality I want you to develop resilience in your life because life is tough everybody agree with that it's tough and you can let it beat you down and you can get down and then stay down the rest of your life you may as well die God May well may as well take you on home right now because you're not going to live you're just going to exist but if you have resilience you learn from your losses you profit from your pain you gain from the pain you advance from your adversity all of these things happen when you have resilience now how do I get resilience well you need to do what Paul did I want to read you three passages there aren't on your outline they're going to be on the screen three passages of Paul that show that he was probably the most resilient person who ever lived now the first one uh is 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 23 to 28 let me read it to you it says this this is Paul's personal testimony I've been put in jail more often been whipped times without number and face death again and again five different times I was ipped with 39 lashes three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was Shipwrecked once I spent a whole night in the day of drift at Sea I faced dangers from flooded Rivers dangers from robbers dangers from Angry crowds mobs I faced dangers in the cities and in deserts and even on stormy seas I faced dangers from people who claim to be Christians but aren't I've lived with weary iness and pain and sleepless nights this is the guy who wrote most of the Bible you read the New Testament weariness and pain and sleepless nights I've often been hungry and thirsty I've often Gone without food I've often shivered with cold without enough clothing to keep me warm said often and besides all this I've had the daily burdens of all the churches I've started and you think you had a bad day all right now if anybody has a right to complain it's Paul that list of that laundry list of the terrible things that have happened in his life while he's trying to serve God by the way now here's another verse this is on not on your outline 2 Corinthians 4 8 to 10 says this we are pressed on every Side by troubles but we are not crushed and broken we are perplexed but we don't give up and quit we are hunted down but God never abandons us and we get knocked down but we get up again and keep going I'm knocked down but I'm not knocked out he's saying through suffering these bodies of ours are con constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies now that's what I call a resilient person life can sometimes be challenging isolating and painful do you or someone you know needs some powerful encouragement right now then let me tell you about the journey toward hope this guided Bible study book takes you on a journey to discover the five truths about who you are you are loved you have a purpose you belong you have a choice and you are needed this full color vegan leather study tool is filled with scriptures prayers exercises spaces to journal and personal stories to help you uncover the hidden reasons you may lose hope and teach you how to maintain and bolster that hope for a lifetime we'll send you your very own copy of journey toward hope when you give a gift today to daily hope to take the hope of Jesus to a hurting world [00:00:04]

Chatbot

Transcript

What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?

Were there any personal stories shared?