The Great Recycler of Pain

How God uses—and reuses—hurtful experiences in our lives.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/great-recycler-pain

BY ERIC SPEIR

"Unexpected Turns" by Ed Kerr

Throughout human history, people have struggled to know what to do with their pain. It's always hard. It rarely makes sense. And it never fits neatly into a box we can put away like we want it to. I experience this lesson firsthand a few years ago. 

After following what felt like God’s call on my life, I resigned from my ministry position to pursue my master's degree. In the transition process, my job and living arrangements collapsed. I ended up moving back to my hometown and was forced to live in my mother-in-law's garage with my wife and baby for the next six years.

IN JOSEPH’S LIFE, GOD TOOK HIS PAIN AND RECYCLED IT TO PREPARE JOSEPH FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE.

For the longest time I couldn't understand why things didn't work out for us. At times the pain and embarrassment of having our whole plan fall apart was more than I could bear. At the same time, I grew more in my relationship with God during those difficult years than I had in the previous years of my life combined.

I did complete my degree and ended up working on staff at a great church. My life is not how I envisioned it, but is strangely better than I could have planned in many ways.

In the New Testament, Jesus was clear about pain when He said, "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). And countless biblical characters prove this—as well, of course, as Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself. But one particular character can teach us much about how to respond to pain.

Joseph went through a great deal of pain, and in the process, God salvaged his personal pain for the benefit of others.

A summary of Joseph's life can be found in Psalm 105:17-22:

And he sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.

Pain is not something that can be discounted, and an element of it is present in all of our lives. In Joseph’s life, God took his pain and recycled it to prepare Joseph for a brighter future. And He is able to do the same in our lives.

PEOPLE WHO ENDURE A GREAT DEAL OF PAIN ARE OFTEN ELEVATED TO A GREATER DEGREE OF INFLUENCE BECAUSE OF THE INSIGHT GLEANED THROUGH IT.

              Pain Has a Way of Purifying and Cleansing Our Hearts
              Pain is Usually Just for a Season in Our Lives
             Pain Will Prepare Us for Future Leadership
             Pain Provides a Good Education
             Pain Provides Us with a Platform to Speak From
             Pain Makes Us More Sensitive to the Needs of Others

The Hebrew word for "proved" and "true" is to refine and purge. Earlier in his life, because a lack of maturity, we know Joseph was arrogant toward his brothers. Anyone who is thrown into a well and then sold as a slave by family is bound to get pretty angry. Yet later in his life, Joseph grew more humble and compassionate toward his brothers. We know this because he wept when he saw them and chose forgiveness over revenge.

Joseph was 30 years old when he became governor of Egypt. Joseph went through many years of pain, but it didn't last forever. Many scholars believe he was about 16 years old when he was sold as a slave. This means he spent about 14 years in different situations—from slavery to jail—before landing in Pharaoh's house.

Joseph saw an upward progression of pain in his life, but he also saw an upward progression in leadership and responsibility. Joseph went from running Potiphar's house to Pharaoh's prison to Pharaoh's kingdom. Because of Joseph's experience in the school of hard knocks, he was made master over Pharaoh's household and kingdom. 

Because of Joseph's experience in administrating households and prisons, he was able to lead a nation during some of its most difficult years. God used Joseph to lead a nation during a national crisis and in the process he kept a countless number of people from starving to death. If we allow it, our pain can become someone else's deliverance or salvation. This is modeled in Jesus' life as we are the beneficiaries of his personal pain.

Earlier in his life—because of a lack of experience—Joseph’s visionary words were perceived as arrogance. But after he had life experience to speak from, Joseph’s words were received as wisdom. Joseph was consulted by the princes and elders of Egypt (Psalm 105:22). He spoke to the politicians, merchants and the influencers of Egypt. People who endure a great deal of pain are often elevated to a greater degree of influence because of the insight gleaned through it.

When Joseph was approached by the people who hurt him, he wept instead of seeking retaliation. Years of suffering changed who he was. Because of his own experiences, he was enabled to see the pain in the lives of others and to respond with compassion.

Pain is unavoidable in this life. But if we will let it, pain can be used to prepare us for our futures—and it can be turned around to serve others and further God’s Kingdom.

Eric is a pastor, writer and college professor who lives with his wife and children near Atlanta, Ga. He likes to encourage others to live life by the Book. He blogs regularly at EricSpeir.comand you can follow him on Twitter @ericspeir.

In other ... WORDS

Was thinking today a lot about WORDS. Yup ... simple ... taken much for granted ... often over used ... WORDS. The amount of reading, researching, writing, office chit-chat, phone-answering inquiries has me at the top end on the 'words-in-a-day' metre. Though as my day carried on today, and God started to poke me with his rod of "don't miss this' stick ... I started to think about these and - "other WORDS".

WORDS: no matter what language we speak - we can't escape them. Understandably ... most of the words we use daily are required and have little consequence to anything life-changing - except perhaps in getting your coffee order correct - life changing with little sleep and first thing in the morning on a busy day! Frankly, I'm intimidated by the Starbucks 'half-cafe, full-shot, no-fat' ramble when my brain has barely been functioning well enough to catch the right bus and make it successfully into my office ... I'm more the Timmies "Double cream, double sweetener" kind of girl! But I ramble (lol) ... where was I? Right ... WORDS!

WORDS. According to Daily Mail in the UK, if you are a woman you daily use 3 times more words than a man. Huh ... who knew? (He did!) Regardless of how many we use, do we grasp that words are not only a communication tool, but when sharpened and preceded by the Holy Spirit ... WORDS HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE ... yes, I'll dare to say it, and you may think I'm overstating it ... but hold on ... the power to change - the world.

Ask President Obama or Mitt Romney last night how much their WORDS mean this morning ... was everything they said TRUE? It certainly was recorded, replayed, analyzed and regurgitated today. Every word they said was monitored and responded to electronically by the masses - "liked that", "didn't like that". Words determined the winner of this all important debate... and potentially, the leadership for the 'free' world.

WORDS are powerful ... they can build up, tear down, inspire, or demolish dreams.  They can say "I love you" or "it's not you, it's me"; to read "Good Night Moon" or bellow "because I said so, that's why!" Sometimes the most life-changing words are only two and three letters long. "Yes" and "No".  You've heard them many times ... and those two words have certainly changed your life, of that I'm sure! Pretty powerful stuff - WORDS.

WORDS simply a way to communicate - wake the kids up before school, say goodbye to your hubby before leaving for work, send emails at work and keep things moving, wish your colleagues a goodnight before you leave, check on your kids when you get home "pizza okay for dinner?" ... (usually I hear only a one word reply) "yup". Limited use, but gets the job done - yes? And teens do seem to understand the finer points of 'less is more' when it comes to words.

As mundane as our WORDS can be in our regular routine ... there are moments when our words are stronger than any strong man, sharper than any razor-cutting edge, and more penetrating than the heat of a the sun on a -40 Celsius cold day. Sometimes we walk into and out of these kinds of moments without even realizing we've done so. And the trail we've left behind may have encouraged and motivated someone ... and, though sometimes unaware to us, left devastation for another. 

WORDS ... sometimes have no voice, not a voice others can hear, anyway. We do this so often that it goes undetected really and repetition of the same words - hit play, rewind, repeat - over and over. Often without grace or compassion - in fact for the majority of us NEVER with Grace and Compassion. They're the words we speak to ourselves -   "Failure", "Loser", "Imperfect", "Insufficient". And we, the receiver, always so accommodating and accepting of the message. These kinds of words - so devastating to our spiritual and soul well-being, so crushing to our spirits. Doesn't have to be that way though ... when realigned with God's Word, when we let HIM tell us who we are ... and begin to say those WORDS instead - utterly different result. 

Powerful stuff  ... WORDS. Theirs has the potential to "call on the better angels of our nature", and the equal ability to crush, devalue, kill, steal and destroy.

A less often heard WORD, but oh so needed and longed for by many --- is the Proverbs 25:11 WORD.

     "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." 

Apples of gold ... in settings of silver ... beautiful. Treasured. Valued. Timeless. Eternal. Changes everything.  You know what I'm talking about here ... that moment when you are desperate to know the hand of God, of affirmation, of direction, of wisdom, of assurance, spoken by someone who understood that WORDS could be so much more than their opinion - or flippant advice. When partnered together with the Holy Spirit ... these words are LIFE CHANGING. We so need more people who are willing to give them.

Finally, today I came across one other kind of WORD ... also LIFE CHANGING. In court it's used to 'give witness' to something known or seen. In Christian circles it's boldly declares the tangible presence of Faith in a believer's life - called a 'testimony'. Don't hear it as much in church anymore ... at least not done the way we used to. It used to be spoken by someone so passionate about God's hand in their life that they couldn't contain and and sit in their seat any longer. 

I think the most powerful WORD of TESTIMONY I know, is the declaration of faith in Jesus Christ ... under the very threat of death and loss of life itself. Difficult for us in the West to imagine ... what risk is there to speak these kinds of WORDS here? Perhaps being shunned by friends and family as some kind of religious-fanatic? Pretty benign in comparison ... pretty humbling to witness in the context of the following video.

Watching it I was reminded of just how powerful these kinds of WORDS can be. So powerful, in fact, I am confident God's voice could have been heard in unison as they were spoken. Can you hear the immovable passion these WORDS are spoken with, the confident knowing of the WHO - the WHAT - and WHY of the reason they speak them? Hearing them changes something in me. Though the man who spoke these words would never see what his WORDS produced ... they had such an eternal and lasting impact that I am sure the Father will be eager to show him just how much when he stands before that Great Throne. 

His TESTIMONY crushed the power of hatred that killed his children, his wife, and finally himself. It obliterated his enemy's scorn and ridicule. They had the ultimate POWER to turn DEATH into LIFE.

I wondered today ... do we remember the power these kinds of TESTIMONY words have? Have we forgotten what scripture has promised will occur when we courageously give a word of TESTIMONY? It's a bold and affirmative promise in Rev. 12:11


"And they overcame him (the enemy)
by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus)
and by the WORD of their TESTIMONY;
and they did not love their lives
so much as to shrink from death."

Listen to the impact of one man's WORDS  ...

Ultimately, this man's WORDS began with a DECISION ... a decision to love his God above all else, and to declare true WORDS - even in the face of ultimate fear, and loss. I wonder ... what changes might happen in the deep places of our hearts, in our our marriages, our relationships, our communities, our countries, our world and yes, even in eternity ... if we were to DECIDE to use our WORDS in a way that echos GOD'S WORDS and their powerful consequences. Their far, far reaching and powerful consequences. What impact for eternity might our WORDS have?

Powerful stuff ... THOSE words.

The "footprint" of HopeSideRoad Blog

From Doorpost to Footstool

From Doorpost to Footstool

PSALM 84:10
One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
beats thousands spent on Greek island (or Spanish) beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.

Each moment I have spent within the gates of his home, within the sound of his melody of Grace ... my heart has been affected, moved and transformed. I have at times stood just outside the doorway, shy and feeling unworthy (and by Law's standard, I was unworthy), I only needed to be close enough to hear his melody.

Closing my eyes I start to sing along softly ... and as I do my voice is joined by a harmony from a heavenly source ... rich and layered in tone, it's the beauty of his voice singing along with the heart of mine. Then as I open my eyes I find that he has moved me from outside the doorpost of this place, to the footstool of Love and Mercy. Is it any wonder ... I would rather be here than anywhere? Each moment in his presence brings 10,000 reasons to bless His name!