Growing Through Pain
God greatly honored Job for his trust. "And the Lord
restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and
the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before ... and blessed the
latter days of Job more than his beginning."4
Third, commitment.
To profit from pain, we need not only to trust God and believe in him,
but also to commit our lives to him, knowing that he will work
everything that happens to us for our good.5
When I was a young man, a very wise minister advised me
to commit my life to God every day and trust it to him. That was some
of the best advice I ever received. I still practice it daily and have
for many years, because I am as convinced now as I was then that God
can make a much better job of my life than I can.
A word of warning, however: If we want God to make
something worthwhile and beautiful out of our lives, we need to realize
that God will undoubtedly allow most of us to go through some kind of
testing and purifying fire. This is because it takes tribulation to
teach us patience; suffering to teach us sympathy; sorrow to teach us
understanding; despair to teach us hope; defeat to teach us courage;
adversity to teach us strength; and so on.
It is reported that one violin manufacturer searched
all his life for the most suitable wood for producing a beautiful,
resonant sound in his instruments. Interestingly enough, the best wood
he ever found was that taken from the highest level of trees in the
Rockies, 366 meters above sea level. Here the winds blow so fiercely
that all the branches grow in one direction, and the trunk, branches
and root system have to withstand relentless adversity and lifelong
stress. It is strain and adversity that build character and beauty into
people too.
 It takes tribulation to
teach
us patience; suffering
to teach us sympathy...
Fourth, thanksgiving.
Take Susan for instance. "For forty years," she said, "I never accepted
my lot in life and have been depressed and terrible to live with. I
rebelled inwardly against my background. I always went to church and
tried to do all the right things outwardly, but inwardly my life was
barren and empty. Furthermore, I was certain I had married the wrong
man. I complained about his manner and what he did. I never accepted my
children's behavior either. I lived a miserable existence. And then I
read a book about learning to give thanks and praise to God for
everything.
It hasn't been easy, but I tried it and it works. I
simply cannot believe the transformation that has taken place in my
life and home.
"Where there was anxiety, now there is peace. Where
there was discord, now there is harmony. Where there was a judgmental
spirit, now there is acceptance. Many of my problems haven't changed,
but I have—simply because I am learning to thank God for everything
that has happened and is happening in my life."
Any pain can be turned into gain when we are willing to
thank God for it. As God's Word says, "Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will
for you in Christ Jesus."6
Acceptance, trust, commitment, thanksgiving, plus
persistence, are all required to turn problems into profit. Every day
commit and trust your life to Jesus Christ and thank him for everything
that happens to you. Do this with persistence and he will turn every
pain into gain, and through it all make something beautiful out of your
life.
1. Job 1:3 (NKIV).
2. Job 1:21 (NKIV).
3. Job 13:15 (NKIV).
4. Job 42:10,12 (NKIV).
5. Romans 8:28 (NKIV).
6. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKIV).
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