Pain Builds Perseverance
First, our pain is not a waste of feelings because God uses it to develop in us a heart of perseverance (the ability to withstand pressure during tough times). Good times do not give the human heart mental strength and tenacity like painful times. In the pains of life, we stretch our mental muscles, training them to be resilient and forge forward, especially in times of adversity. James 1:2-4 reminds us to count it all joy when we meet trials of every kind. Why? Because it produces a critical growth path for us – we become complete and lack in nothing. Also, James says that at the end of perseverance is an eternal inheritance – the crown of life (James 1:12). Paul reiterates this thought in Romans 5:3-5 in his appeal to the Romans. Most objectively, pain builds our character and hope. Athletes who beat their bodies through pain exhibit more discipline and perform much better in the races than those who found themselves in basic training without enduring physical challenge. That is what the mind of one who runs away from pain will become – unfit for the pressures of life awaiting.
Pain is Seasonal and Purposeful
Secondly, we need not avoid pain because the truth is that pain is not eternal but seasonal. That means it comes and goes. In this world, scripture reminds us there is time for everything under the sun (Eccl. 3:1-8). Knowing that pain will not always be there lets us learn from it when it comes, allowing us to depend on God for strength for that season. The Psalmist says that even in the valley of the shadow of death, the good Shepherd is there with us. And just as every season has its purpose, Paul points out that the purpose of afflictions and pain is to renew our inner man (2 Cor. 4:16) while it prepares for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17-18). The other purpose pain has is helping us to focus on the things eternal and not just the things that are temporal. In Jeremiah 29:11, one of the most misquoted and misapplied scriptures, God reached out to his people, Israel, while they were in captivity under cruel masters and reminded them of his plan. Though the time for their freedom was 70 years to come, God told them that their captivity and slavery were within his plan to accomplish his purpose. He knew his plans were for their ultimate good, not evil. Seek comfort in God's perfect will when faced with the challenges of pain and suffering.
Pain is a Sanctifying Tool in God’s Hands
Sanctification is the process God uses to make the believer more and more into the person of Christ. It means to purify and make whole. In 2 Cor. 12:1-10, Paul shares his incredible experience with the Lord and how he used infirmity to teach him humility – a character quality we must all have to represent Christ effectively (Philippians 2:1-11).
In addition to this example, scripture is replete with the stories of people who endured suffering and pain as God molded them into the people he wanted them to be. Think about Job, who learned to trust God through the darkest patches of life, refrained from cursing God (Job 2:9), avoided talking ill of him, and praised him in the storm.
God also sends sufferings and trials to help us build positive Christian character, weaning us from sin. According to James, various trials produce perseverance, making us mature, complete, and lacking nothing (James 1:2-4). The one who learns to focus on God in times of pain will find these moments as a catapult in the hands of God, ready to plunge them into deeper levels of relationship and growth in the Lord.
Pain Works for the Glory of God
Why would God glorify himself through pain? Firstly, we need to recognize that pain and suffering are all due to the fall of man, courtesy of sin, in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Before this, man never knew pain while walking in God’s garden. Nevertheless, though man fell into sin and faced the consequences, God remained in charge of all the affairs of man. Paul says that everything is through him, and he sustains it all. (Colossians 1:17, Romans 11:36). So, when sin came, and man was removed from the garden of God, God, in his sovereignty, used the prevailing circumstance (fallenness of man) to glorify his name. Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 that God causes all things to work together for the good of those called according to his purpose. How exactly does he achieve that? He does this by using painful and trying times to show that he is the one who gives strength to the weary and the weak (Isaiah 43:2). When a believer goes through trying times – like Job did – and makes it to the other side without cursing God, it brings glory to God. Jerry Bridges in his book Trusting God, says, “God never wastes pain. He always uses it to accomplish His purpose. And His purpose is for His glory and our good.”
Pain Prepares us for the Work of Ministry
For the believer, pain works as a tool in the hands to prepare us for his ministry in the body of Christ.
In pain, our character is formed. Romans 5:3-6 tells us that suffering produces endurance, which grows in us many other qualities, ending up with hope for the saint. James echoes the same sentiments in James 1:2-4. Trials work towards making us complete in character and faith. These virtues must characterize us if our ministry will build the people of God.
In pain, God comforts us. He does not just look at us and wish all that would pass. No. He comes to our comfort and aid. Paul says that in those times, the God of comfort comforts us (2 Cor. 1:3-5). You do not have to run away from this because it is an opportunity to know the God of comfort. He gives comfort unlike any other person does.
In our comfort, we comfort others. In this, we find our chance to share in the mercies of God to the body of Christ. Paul says in 2 Cor. 1:3-5 that we are comforted to comfort others with the same comfort. God allows us to go through pain and suffering so that he can minister to us. His ministry in us then prepares us to minister to his body.
There is a purpose in painful situations. It is not a waste of emotions and feelings. God is working in our painful experiences. If we subscribe to the notions of false preachers who purport that saints cannot and should not go through tough times, we shall rob ourselves of the opportunity to know God in ways only painful moments can afford.
So How Does God Want Me To React To Seasons of Pain and Suffering?
In Psalm 30:5, the psalmist says joy is found on the other side of suffering — weeping lasts the night, ‘but joy comes with the morning.’ But then in the New Testament we see what seems to be the opposite teaching where Paul’s testimony is the claim that he found joy together with his suffering. He tells us this in 2 Corinthians 6:10, talking about being ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.’ So does joy follow suffering? Or is there joy inside suffering? Or is this a doctrine change that was ushered in with the new covenant?”
I believe that the Bible teaches that both joy and thanksgiving can run parallel in a Christian’s life. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that I believe that without the hope that Christ followers possess, it is impossible for the dual reality mentioned above. But perhaps not in the way that you and I have been taught in the past.
But first, a little detour; I have lost track of how many times I have either heard, sat under a teaching that advocated, or have been given the biblical advice, that God wants us to be joyful, even in the midst of our worst suffering. Though partially true, this is not the entire truth in the Bible on this subject and when taught without this context, can even be dangerous and debilitating to those who are overwhelmed in their season of suffering.
Let's examine a quote by John Piper on this subject:
“In our night of weeping there will, in due time, arrive a destination of tearless joy. That’s what I think the psalmist means when he says that joy follows sorrow. There are waves of sorrow and pain and loss that break, big waves that break, over the unshakable rock of Christian joy, and these waves submerge the laughter in the surging. But they don’t dislodge the rock, and the waves recede in due time, and the rock glistens again in tearless sunlight.” (John Piper)
So let’s read Psalm 30:5 again,
“[God’s] anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.”
And then in Psalm 126:5–6 we read these words,
“Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.”
The Sequence of Pain and Joy
So clearly there is an sequential experience with tears followed by shouts of joy. But is this a conflict between the psalmist and 2 Corinthians 6:10, which says we are “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”? In Psalm 30:5, we have tears followed by shouts of joy, which is clearly sequential, and then the teaching of joy always in sorrow in 2 Corinthians 6:10, which is simultaneous. Is this simply a case of doctrinal difference between Old Testament and New Testament?
In the New Testament, in John 16:20, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament. . . . You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” That’s sequential, and to drive the point home he gives them this analogy:
“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” (John 16:21)
There is sorrow in the anguish of labor pains, followed by joy. Now, the anguish the woman is experiencing is not owing to her unbelief. The anguish is owing to her pain: and then the season of pain gives way to the baby in the arms which brings unspeakable joy.
We can see that in this analogy, in the midst of the pain of labor, there is still what Paul calls the joy of hope. He says in Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope.” And in Romans 5:2–3 he says, “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings.” So, he put the two right together in Romans 5:2–3. We rejoice in our sufferings — our labor pains, you might say — because all Christian suffering is like giving birth: God makes it bring “an eternal weight of glory,” (2 Corinthians 4:17). So, there exists the possibility of both sequential and simultaneous sorrow and joy.
Let's look at another New Testament example, when Christians had died in Thessalonica, Paul wrote to them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep [that is, those who have died], that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” Clearly, they are grieving; they’re grieving over the loss of the loved one. But the day will come when those tears will no longer flow — there is the sequence. There’s the overwhelming grief, pain, loss and weeping, and then there arrives a season comes where that’s over.
This is where this truth needs to be handled gently. For proclaiming even both parts of this truth when someone is being devastated by pain and suffering, can be an act of unwise proportions. Yes, scripture tells us that healing will come, but that truth is not always helpful in the valley, when someone is struggling just to breathe. Timing is vitally important, even when conveying the truth.
The hope of glory does not contradict the tears that are flowing at the very same time. This is our truth, that God doesn’t expect us to submerge, ignore, or pretend we are not hurting, because that is not an authentic response. But our foundational joy should remain unshaken, even if it is temporarily submerged by the pain we are experiencing, because of our faith in the One who loves us the most.
Some final thoughts on this subject by John Piper:
“In Revelation 21:4 John describes the age to come like this: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
So, in this verse we see the sorrow-to-joy sequence between this fallen age and that perfect age to come. Here, there is suffering and pain, and there we have joy. This is the age of tears and mourning and crying. In that age, all tears will be wiped away — no more crying, no more pain.
But notice that tears are correlated with death: “[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.” And crying is correlated with pain: “nor crying, nor pain anymore.” I take this to mean that Christian tears and Christian crying are not owing to the loss of hope, nor owing to the dislodging of unshakable joy. Rather, tears are owing to death, and crying is owing to pain; we cry because it hurts. There’s real pain in the world — physical pain, emotional pain — and there’s no stopping the tears, right? When they come, they come. God doesn’t expect you to say, “Oh, I’m not supposed to have these.” No, it hurts. It hurts. And hurting and joy are not opposites; they’re not contrary. They can exist at the same time. That’s what creates the sequential experience of sorrow and joy.
Christian joy doesn’t mean we don’t feel pain. And when we feel it, tears come. We, are a unique people, in that we can both be sorrowful, and also rejoicing.” (John Piper)
