Pain. There is pain all around us. If we aren’t experiencing physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual pain now, either we recently have, we likely soon will, or we are walking alongside someone in the trenches who wonders if they will survive. For many, this world is a treacherous place, and pain and sorrow seem daily on the horizon. There is no escaping the pain of this life until God calls us home, but there is hope in the waiting.
There are lessons to be gleaned from the wilderness. There are promises we’ve been given as a lifeline when no one else can offer assurances.
You will get through this
Friend, I don’t know what variety of pain you’re walking through or have recently survived, but I want you to know you’re not alone and God doesn’t waste our pain. Time and distance may make sharing over coffee together an impossibility, but you’re in my thoughts, in my heart, and in my prayers as I type these words.
I want you to know you will get through this, of that I’m certain.
How can I be so certain, you ask? Have you not so far survived every single difficult circumstance in your life one hundred percent of the time?
You have.
You’re here now.
Those trials may not have turned out exactly as you’d hoped, and you may have made a few mistakes along the way. We’re all flawed, and that’s okay. You may have the bumps, bruises, and scars in the form of loss, grief, shame, guilt, or regret to show for the battles you fought, but that means you SURVIVED!
God shapes your scars and you in the process
If we were sitting on my patio together, watching the cows graze next door, me with my coffee in hand and you with your beverage of choice, I’d hope that you would share about your battle wounds and scars. Each one tells an important story and helps create the narrative of who you are. And each one is sacred. God doesn’t treat your scars lightly. Nor does he ignore their impact on your life. He doesn’t just use your scars as a tool. God shapes your scars and shapes you in the process. You are braver, stronger, more tenacious, more resilient, and more beautiful for them.
God shapes your scars and shapes you in the process. You are braver, stronger, more tenacious, more resilient, and more beautiful for them.
Your scars tell a story
Your scars are valuable, as are the stories they tell. Your scars may not be physical scars that can be seen by the eye but may be emotional scars, relationship scars, grief-born scars, or even spiritual scars—scars that can be perceived and understood only through the wisdom and experience of a fellow sufferer. And some scars may be known only by God.
Friend, I don’t know the pain you’ve endured or the scars you now carry, but I have found that, much like soldiers on the front lines of war, we can endure much more when we know we aren’t in the muck alone.
Is there purpose in my pain?
When we’re in a painful battle, we wonder, Will I make it through this? How will this change my life? and Is there purpose in my pain? Loneliness often accompanies the crucible of pain, and we long to know we aren’t alone in our suffering and that someone else understands. It’s then that reading the stories of others who have walked similar paths has the potential to most encourage our hearts.
Our stories guide, inspire and shape futures
And once we’ve come through the furnace of suffering, we can share our stories with others who feel the way we once did.
- Sometimes our stories encourage others to stay the course.
- Many times, stories inform and give hard-earned wisdom to someone just a few rungs down on the ladder of their own journey.
- Often, they inspire us to reach beyond what we thought we were capable of.
- Occasionally, they redirect the course of our future.
But they always serve a purpose and impact us if we’ll let them, because God never wastes our pain.
*The above is an excerpt from Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past Is Not Wasted by Dr. Michelle Bengtson ©2024 Revell Publishers, used with permission.
Ever wonder if your pain has a purpose? Your scars are more than just reminders of hurt—they’re symbols of your strength and resilience. #SacredScars Share on X Pain can leave us questioning everything, but your scars tell a story of survival. There’s purpose in your pain, and strength in your scars. #SacredScars Share on X
