November 4, 2002 Monday
Purpose Through Pain

Living in this sin-darkened world guarantees us that pain will come down our pathway; the only question is, what will our response be? To those who are lost without Christ there can be no ultimate purpose for the pain that comes their way, but to us who are in Christ, pain is ultimately a gateway to experiencing more intimacy with our Savior. We are strengthened by passages from the Word of God such as James 1:2, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." Temptations always bring pain in some fashion, whether they are sinful temptations of the flesh or trials sent to us strait from God Himself. As children of the King we are exhorted and able to literally count such pain as joy! This would seem to be a paradox to those of the world, but to those who are traveling down the narrow road, which leads to life, we can have assurance that God can truly use any trial that we face as a means of strengthening our bond with Him. This is completely conditional however; for if trials come our way and we do not give God the glory for them then He can do nothing for us; but if we will bow before Him and give Him praise for His almighty Sovereign will then we will be able to find His purpose through the pain and count it all joy. My challenge is one simple question, what will your response be?