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Mar 20, 2025 18:00pm

What Now?: Pain

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The following comes from the devotional book “What Now?” by Ashley Akers. To learn more, go to www.whatnowdevo.com.

Pain

I believe emotional or physical pain is one of the hardest things in life. Pain causes a person to seek help and comfort, sometimes from a good source like a doctor, a friend or Jesus; but sometimes from a bad source like drinking, using drugs to numb the pain or contemplating suicide.

Around 2011, I was diagnosed with a painful condition that had no cure. The doctor even told me, “Good luck on getting life insurance because they won’t give it to you with this.” I experienced emotional and physical pain and my quality of life seemed dim. I found myself doing the only thing I knew left to do—pray. I begged God for years to heal me.

One day I heard of a revival in town and I felt led to go. Nothing happened that night but as I got in my car, God told me to go back in and tell the preacher what I needed. I was hesitant at first, but I eventually went back in to talk with him. He prayed with me and was very firm with me to come back the next night. I told him that I didn’t think I could because I was taking college classes that night. He was adamant.

The next night I went to class. My first class finished extremely early and my late class was canceled. Huh. I went home and decided to shower, but God spoke to me, firmly telling me to get out of the shower and go. I went even though I was late, and that night God healed me! No more pain and no more medication. My pain didn’t turn me away from God; it brought me closer to Him.

In this life we will all have pain and suffering, but we must realize our pain has a purpose. The apostle Paul said in Romans 5:3-5,

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

We don’t rejoice because of suffering, we rejoice in it. We are not alone in our pain and suffering because He is with us and the result is hope. When we overcome our pain with God, it draws us closer to Him and produces endurance. He uses these trials to produce character in us to make us more like Jesus. When we have that confidence, we will have hope that we can endure the suffering with the strength of God.

Paul endured a lot of pain and suffering in his life — more than we can imagine! He said in 2 Corinthians 12:9-11,

But he [Jesus] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God may not remove your pain, but remember that His grace is sufficient. If you want to truly experience God’s power in your suffering, give it all to Him. Pour out your heart in prayer and trust Him. Don’t try to fix yourself in your own strength. True strength comes from God. Whatever pain you are enduring right now, remember this: He who brings you to it, will see you through it and carry you through it. He is trustworthy.

Reflection Questions

Look up Revelation 21:3-4. How does this scripture give you hope?
What emotional or physical pain are you going through in this season of your life? Are you trusting God?