The Purifying Power of Pain
Pain can be a great purifier. It tests us, it tries us, it reveals us to us. Pain is often the place we find out what we are made of, what we really believe and exactly where our hope is placed.
Pain is a mighty instrument of God’s grace.
It is in the moments of greatest pain that we see what we are trusting in, where the foundation of our hope is bedded and exactly how deep our trust in God is.
In the last year I have experienced more pain than I ever thought possible. But in the moments of greatest pain I found out one thing: Jesus is all I need.
I found out that “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ my righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but only trust in Jesus name.”
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
For me the words of Psalm 23 became like bread and water. I prayed them back to God in confession, in desperation, in faith. I prayed them over and over, usually many, many times a day, meditating on the truth of those words. Until the last year, Psalm 23 never had significant meaning to me. It was a psalm that everyone knew and one of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible but this year it became my confession of faith.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.” Psalm 23:1
Psalm 23 begins with this, most stunning of confessions. The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. Listen friend, if the Lord is your shepherd, then you already have everything you need. Everything we need is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Our hope, our life, our treasure. If you have Jesus, you have everything you need already.
This verse in one fell stroke, demolished the idols of my life and in breathtaking liberation caused my heart to find its life in Christ and Christ alone once more. No person, no thing, no achievement, can ever satisfy like Jesus. He is everything I need.
Why does it often take us getting to the place where we lose it all to know this?
I have everything I need because I have Jesus, and He is enough.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3
So gently He leads me when in my desperation I finally let go of everything else I am holding on to. When all my pride came crashing down and in humility held only on to Jesus, then He began to lead me and restore all the broken places.
In the middle of this difficult season we found ourselves without a home for a while after selling our house, and our family of nine moved in with a family of seven. We were desperately looking for a house to rent and God miraculously provided this rental house, surrounded by green pastures, and near a little creek. One morning I was sitting on the deck praying the Twenty-third Psalm and as my eyes scanned the tree lined creek and pastoral setting I realized God had literally brought me to green pastures and made me to rest beside quiet waters. And I wept at the ways He is restoring my soul.
“He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3
There is probably no greater time that we are tempted to sin than when we are in pain. It is easy to fall into self-pity. It is easy to become bitter, or bound by unforgiveness. But it is in those moments that we must choose His paths of rightouseness. We must choose to follow the Guide. And he shepherds us down paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. For His glory. For His fame.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and staff,
they comfort me." Psalm 23:4
Even when we walk through the darkest places, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, goes with us. We can rest assured that He carries his rod to protect us and the staff to rescue us from every pit we may fall into. We may be surrounded by evil but we do not have to fear it.
"You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Psalm 23:5
Jesus does not always immediately deliver us from our enemies. He gently leads us to his table and lets us feast on his presence and covers us with the oil of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of pain, evil, and enemies. We can experience the overflow of His life in us even in the midst of the darkest places when we turn to Him in surrender, trust and faith.
"Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6
Our guarrentee is that His goodness and love go with us all of our days until the day we see Him face to face. Our hope is found in the fact that if we are in Christ, we will dwell in His house forever. Our greatest hope is not found in looking to the things of this world to bring us comfort but in knowing that in Christ we will rest in the comfort of His arms forever.
Let the Lord be your Shepherd today; and you will find in Him everything you need.
Pain is a mighty instrument of God’s grace.
It is in the moments of greatest pain that we see what we are trusting in, where the foundation of our hope is bedded and exactly how deep our trust in God is.
In the last year I have experienced more pain than I ever thought possible. But in the moments of greatest pain I found out one thing: Jesus is all I need.
I found out that “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ my righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but only trust in Jesus name.”
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
For me the words of Psalm 23 became like bread and water. I prayed them back to God in confession, in desperation, in faith. I prayed them over and over, usually many, many times a day, meditating on the truth of those words. Until the last year, Psalm 23 never had significant meaning to me. It was a psalm that everyone knew and one of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible but this year it became my confession of faith.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.” Psalm 23:1
Psalm 23 begins with this, most stunning of confessions. The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. Listen friend, if the Lord is your shepherd, then you already have everything you need. Everything we need is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Our hope, our life, our treasure. If you have Jesus, you have everything you need already.
This verse in one fell stroke, demolished the idols of my life and in breathtaking liberation caused my heart to find its life in Christ and Christ alone once more. No person, no thing, no achievement, can ever satisfy like Jesus. He is everything I need.
Why does it often take us getting to the place where we lose it all to know this?
I have everything I need because I have Jesus, and He is enough.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3
So gently He leads me when in my desperation I finally let go of everything else I am holding on to. When all my pride came crashing down and in humility held only on to Jesus, then He began to lead me and restore all the broken places.
In the middle of this difficult season we found ourselves without a home for a while after selling our house, and our family of nine moved in with a family of seven. We were desperately looking for a house to rent and God miraculously provided this rental house, surrounded by green pastures, and near a little creek. One morning I was sitting on the deck praying the Twenty-third Psalm and as my eyes scanned the tree lined creek and pastoral setting I realized God had literally brought me to green pastures and made me to rest beside quiet waters. And I wept at the ways He is restoring my soul.
“He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3
There is probably no greater time that we are tempted to sin than when we are in pain. It is easy to fall into self-pity. It is easy to become bitter, or bound by unforgiveness. But it is in those moments that we must choose His paths of rightouseness. We must choose to follow the Guide. And he shepherds us down paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. For His glory. For His fame.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and staff,
they comfort me." Psalm 23:4
Even when we walk through the darkest places, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, goes with us. We can rest assured that He carries his rod to protect us and the staff to rescue us from every pit we may fall into. We may be surrounded by evil but we do not have to fear it.
"You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Psalm 23:5
Jesus does not always immediately deliver us from our enemies. He gently leads us to his table and lets us feast on his presence and covers us with the oil of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of pain, evil, and enemies. We can experience the overflow of His life in us even in the midst of the darkest places when we turn to Him in surrender, trust and faith.
"Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6
Our guarrentee is that His goodness and love go with us all of our days until the day we see Him face to face. Our hope is found in the fact that if we are in Christ, we will dwell in His house forever. Our greatest hope is not found in looking to the things of this world to bring us comfort but in knowing that in Christ we will rest in the comfort of His arms forever.
Let the Lord be your Shepherd today; and you will find in Him everything you need.
Lovely and inspiring post...and beautiful photos.
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