Finding Purpose in Your Pain

God has an interesting way of working.  Have you ever noticed how He takes hard situations, painful circumstances, or what seems impossible and begins something new in us?  Often, the most difficult seasons are the very thing God uses to grow us and open doors for our future.  That is what happened for Joshua.  The book of Joshua opens with one of these difficult seasons. Moses, the great leader of the nation and a mentor to Joshua, was dead.

Moses was the man who led the people of Israel out of captivity.  He is the one who God would speak directly to, as a friend.  He is the one who shouldered the responsibility of leading the people and directing the nation.  And now he was gone.

Death is hard.  It is a great loss.  It creates a gap.  It brings pain, questions, and uncertainty.  As Joshua was processing to this painful loss, God spoke to him. “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.” (Joshua 1:2)

The death of Moses was an ending, but it was also a beginning.  It began a new season of leadership for Joshua. God was going to use him to led the people.  And not just in a continuation of what Moses was leading them in, but into a new place.  Into the land of promise.  In the pain of Joshua’s present circumstances, God was also preparing him for the future.

Our pain is not easy.  Whatever you are facing that is hurting or grieving you should not be minimized.  But pain is not the end of our story.  In pain, we can still look forward with purpose.

If you are like me, it can be really hard to see how something good can come out of certain things or why we cannot learn and grow without that deep pain. CS Lewis one of the greatest Christian writers speaks about pain in much of his writing.  In The Problem with Pain he says, “God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.” And, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Pain shapes us in a way that nothing else can.  It leaves a mark.  It changes our perspective.  It shakes us and makes us examine who we are and what we believe. And in those times, God speaks.

Our God is a Redeemer.  He can take broken things and make them beautiful. He is the Creator.  He can make something out of nothing.  When we cannot see the next step, He sees.  He knows where we are going.  And He is preparing us for the journey.  He is with us every step of the way.

How is God speaking to you today?  Listen to Him. Allow Him to breathe His purpose into what you are facing. Just like He had a plan for Joshua, He has one for you.  Lean into Him.

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Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses servant saying, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.”
Joshua 1:1-2 NASB

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder the things of the past. Behold I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NASB