The Purpose of Pain

My pain always has a purpose.

That’s something I’ve had to remind myself a lot of over the past few years. Because when life is hard and circumstances aren’t ideal and trials are ongoing—it’s so easy to lose perspective. To look at the hard things I’m going through and wonder how God could ever bring any good out of them. To question God’s sovereignty and His love for me.

How can a good God allow pain?

How can a good God allow suffering?

I was reminded of the life of Jesus and how Jesus went through unimaginably hard things towards the end of his life—betrayal, pain, abandonment, and ultimately, death on the cross. And sometimes I forget that Jesus already knew what was ahead of Him—all the hard things He would go through and the pain He would experience being nailed to a cross.

He knew—and in spite of what was ahead of Him, Jesus still chose to trust God. To say “thy will” instead of “my will.”

Can you imagine saying that? Even if I knew the outcome of my suffering and the good that would come from it, I don’t think I would have said yes to God’s plan. Because suffering is never easy; it’s always hard and painful.

But if Jesus still chose to trust God through His suffering, I can choose to trust Him with my suffering. To trust that He knows what He’s doing and that He has a plan. To trust that He loves me and will never allow me to go through something without a reason and a purpose. To trust that He will be with me every single day and be my strength when I don’t have any left.

Even if I never understand the reason behind the seasons of suffering I go through, God knows. And one day, when I see Him in eternity, I can ask Him why He allowed the things He did—and my questions will be answered and put to rest. But in the meantime, I chose to trust God with my suffering—to believe there is a purpose for it and through it.

Pain has a purpose—and suffering is never for nothing.