How We Learn from Pain
By Rick Warren
"God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes." Job 36:15 (GNT)
There are some things we only learn through pain—and sometimes it’s through the pain of other people.
It's wise to learn from your own experiences, but it’s wiser to learn from the experiences of others—and to let others learn from your pain. You don't have time to make all the mistakes yourself! That’s why it’s important to learn from each other’s mistakes—but only if we are honest about how God uses pain to get our attention and teach us lessons.
Job 36:15 says, "God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes" (GNT).
What does God want you to understand about the distress you’re going through right now? What are you learning? Once you've learned it, he wants you to pass those lessons on to others.
We all go through different kinds of trouble. But no matter what your specific pain is, God wants you to learn these three things from it:
First, you learn to depend more on God through your pain. God wants to teach you about himself—about his power through your weakness, his love when you feel unlovely, his grace when you feel unforgiven, and his wisdom when you don't know which way to turn.
Second, you learn to trust and obey God's Word when you’re in pain. It's easy to trust God when things are going great. It's not so easy when things are going bad.
King David said in Psalm 119:67, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word" (NIV). Lessons learned through failure and painful mistakes will drive you to claim and trust in God’s promises. His Word provides hope that he is with you and has not stopped working for you and in you.
Third, you learn through pain that you need other people. If you never had any pain in your life, you wouldn't think you needed anybody. It's only in pain that some people admit that they need others to help them. Pain is one of the most powerful reminders that you’re not meant to go through life alone.
If you’re going through pain right now, trust that what God is teaching you will be helpful to others as you pass the lessons on to friends, family, and even future generations.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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