The Gift of Pain

THE GIFT OF PAIN

By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly

It sounds like an oxymoron to use the words “gift” and “pain” in the same sentence.  However, I have come to know that pain is a gift that prompts me to pull my hand away from a hot stove.  Memory of pain makes me careful in my choice of words in conflict, and it prompts me to say, "I love you" or "I'm sorry" before it’s too late.  Pain has been a faithful teacher—intensifying joy, teaching forgiveness and compassion and strengthening my endurance.

Countless times I have prayed to be spared pain.  I have been spared some, but not all.  God, in His wisdom, walked with me.  He held, loved and matured me through it. He used pain as a tool to make me a better person, with greater appreciation for my blessings and a greater capacity to give and receive love.

We want comfort, but painlessness isn’t always good.  Those with Leprosy lose their ability to sense pain.  Their body parts become injured or lost, because pain does not warn them that they are being injured.  Pain can be brutal, but being insulated from it is not always a blessing. Not all pain is good, obviously.  But we serve a God who can take every pain we experience, and use it to bring about good in our lives.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Father, we know that good and bad happen to us all.  Give us hearts that are soft, so life’s pressures will not break us, but rather make us more like Jesus.

We bow before You, trusting You for what we don’t understand. Lord, have mercy!  We ask for healing, but even more, we ask You to heal our eyes to see and faith to believe, that what the enemy intended for evil, You will ultimately turn for our good (Gen 50:20).  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

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