God Uses Our Pain
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is by Tony Evans, and it can be found in Joe Gibbs book Game Plan for Life, and the Scripture is found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Maybe a huge mistake taught you a lesson you might never have learned otherwise. Though God never authorizes sin, and sin carries consequences, He still uses our failures to help fulfill His purpose for us.
It was Moses the murderer whom God used to lead Israel out of Egypt. It was David the adulterer whom God used to write many of the psalms, and it was the same Peter who publicly denied Christ that God used to help found the early church. The key is that these men repented of their sins, turned back to the Lord, and began to follow Him obediently.
God also uses those negative experiences that were not our fault. Maybe a tragedy in your life has helped mold you into a compassionate counselor. Maybe you grew up fatherless, or were discriminated against racially, or were treated unfairly on the job. Those experiences, painful as they are, can shape you into a sensitive, caring person.
The story of Joseph is a classic illustration of how God can redeem the ugly events in our lives. Joseph was rejected by his jealous brothers and left for dead in a pit; he was sold as a slave, unjustly accused of rape, and forgotten in prison. But the Bible is clear that, each step of the way, the Lord was with Joseph. God used all the negatives realities in his life to direct him to his destiny. Joseph would become second in command in Egypt and be used by God not only to save the life of his family, but also to help fulfill God s purpose of founding a nation.
God knows how to take your good, your bad, and your ugly and use them for His purpose in your life.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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