Finding Purpose Behind Pain

I had a conversation recently that I’ve had too many times before as I was walking with someone through the valley of pain and suffering. There was a loss, a catastrophic loss beyond human ability to fully comprehend or understand. This person was a believer, but couldn’t compute why God would allow something like this to happen.

This person had every right to be mad, every right to hold a grudge, and they had done that for years. But now they were ready to move on. They were tired of holding onto the anger. They were tired of being bitter. They wanted to become better.

As I told this person, we will never fully know why God allows the things to happen that we’ve had to walk through in life this side of heaven. But what God loves to do is redeem our pain and suffering by weaving it into a beautiful tapestry that can bring healing and hope to countless others. That’s when we can begin to find purpose behind our pain.

This person shared how this had happened on occasion before. Encountering an acquaintance who had recently walked through a similarly devastating loss, this person wrote a heartfelt letter of encouragement and Scripture. This person was uniquely qualified to write such a letter because they had been where this acquaintance was walking. A year later they saw each other again, and the acquaintance took out the letter, crumpled, worn down and rubbed through in some spots, from being read and held and cried over every day.

One believer marked by pain was able to become beacon of hope to someone else in need. That’s when we begin to find purpose behind our pain. I told this person that as they embraced this role and asked God to continue to send them people to lift up and encourage, they would begin to find a redemption behind the pain they’ve had to walk through.

There is a purpose behind your pain. Find it. God can bring hope and healing out of the depths of the greatest suffering. Decide to stop being bitter and start getting better.