There's A Gift In The Pain

I'm curious, would you agree or disagree with the statement "there's a gift in the pain"? I would love to hear your thoughts either way.

Every painful experience we endure (whether it's the death of a loved one, a struggle within a job, marriage, family or friendship or dealing with a health crisis) has the ability to give each of us a gift. But the key is we have to be open to receive it. It may be the gift of appreciation, awareness and understanding, compassion and empathy, or simply knowing the type of person you do or don't want to be after going through the experience.

Philippians 4:13

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Remember that our emotions are a gift from God and are valid to have, but where it gets complicated is when we hold on to those emotions too long. When we refuse to let go of the hurt, anger, frustration etc. than it becomes a problem. That is when we have allowed Satan to take over and replay our pain over and over in our minds. If you find yourself in this space, it's time to get off Satan's hamster wheel and take ownership of it, instead of trying to justify the emotions. Ask God to strengthen you and help you overcome your negative thoughts. Ask him to heal your heart so that you can love again.

Isaiah 41:13

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

After my mom died I found myself needing alone time with God to grieve and found myself frustrated because I was allowing everything else to be the priority in my life. So a couple of days ago I finally said no to everything else and said yes to my grief and went for a four hour drive. During my drive God revealed to me that I became a chapter leader 1 1/2yrs after Nathan died. So what I was reminded of is that during the hardest year of my grief (which was my 2nd year) is when I trusted the prompting God put on my heart and stepped out in faith and became a chapter leader to help other bereaved parents. By helping others in their pain, it actually helped me work through my own. So though I do need to take time for myself to grieve, I also know that God gave me the strength to endure my pain all those years ago while I was leading others and he was showing me He will do it again.

God should always be my first priority above all else, and when I remember this I realize that I am strong enough to face what I am going through today and I know He will strengthen me and guide me even while I'm grieving. And he will do the same for you!

Don't let your circumstances keep you from moving forward in life, don't allow them to withhold the gift God is wanting to give you. In the midst of our pain we don't always see the blessings we are given so we need to ask God specifically to reveal them to us.

When we tell God exactly what we need he will respond, but in His own time. So the trick is not to get discouraged when you don't hear from him immediately.

God will reveal your next step in his perfect timing. If you're not hearing anything, that is your answer be patient. Keep working at being the best person you can be right where you are until he reveals himself to you. You will know when God is prompting you to change directions, learn to listen for his voice and trust his tug on your heart.

The best way to know if God is speaking to you is to distinguish and clarify the voice you are hearing.

There are four voices that you will hear from: God's, your own, the voice of others (the world), and Satan's. So ask yourself the question: Does it align with Scripture and is it truthful? If so, it's God speaking to you! If it doesn't align with God's truth than you know to disregard it.

1 John 4:1-3

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Your challenge today is to ask God for help in changing your view of your circumstances so that you are able to see the gift in your pain.

My prayer is that he will reveal the gift to you!

Written by: Jill Theriault

Crossroads Coaching - @crossroadscoachingongodstime