공동체와 양육

Recycling My Pain (1 Cor 1:4)

2018.02.25P. Stephen Cha

God allows pain not to waste us but to call us back to himself, teach us to depend on him, and equip us to comfort others. When we bring our brokenness honestly to God and place our lives in his hands, he turns our pain into a blessing for others.

God gave us freedom, and pain is part of that gift

God created us with the freedom to choose so that our love for him could be genuine, not the obedience of a robot. That freedom is also a burden, because people's choices often bring pain on themselves and on innocent others. God does not send anyone to hell; people who choose to rebel against him bear the consequences of their sin. Pain is part of the package of freedom, and it calls us to grow wiser in our choices so that we may bless others.

Pain is a warning light that calls us back to God

Depression, anxiety, and fear are not the root problem but warning lights telling us that something is wrong. Pain often reveals that we think we are on our own and in control, when we are actually missing God and need him at the center of our lives. Many people have said that losing everything or facing cancer was the best thing that happened to them, because it brought them back to God. Pain is God's wake-up call, and we should pay attention and make changes.

Pain teaches us to depend on God and one another

Some people in a divorce recovery group had seriously considered ending their lives, yet in worship they heard God whisper, I love you the way you are. As they relied on him and on their new family in the group, their lives began to be rebuilt on God's love. Tim Keller observes that people who go through suffering become more resilient and build deeper relationships, because they learn to rely on God and people rather than on things. Suffering also reshapes our priorities so that we live for God rather than for mere happiness and achievement.

Our brokenness equips us to minister to others

A couple who had a child with autism shared their struggles with us, and later, when our own second child had special needs, we understood what they had been going through. At a new church, a member who had two special-needs children quietly approached Jamie, and their shared experience gave her the courage to open up and find help. God meets us in our brokenness and then uses us to comfort others with the comfort we have received from him. Those who have experienced his grace are often the best to reach others with hope.

Joseph shows that God can turn evil into good

Joseph suffered betrayal, slavery, and prison, yet he told his brothers that they had meant evil against him, but God meant it for good. He had learned to fear the Lord from a young age, and he brought his pain before God rather than seeking revenge. Whatever we have endured, God can transform it into something better. If Jesus is not yet the center of your life, come to him today, be honest, and ask him to be your Savior and Lord.

Apply to Life

  • Let us bring our pain and brokenness honestly to God and place our lives in his hands.
  • Let us pay attention to the warning lights of our pain and return to God as the center of our lives.
  • Let us make wise choices, remembering that our freedom affects others as well as ourselves.
  • Let us share the comfort we have received from God with those who are going through hard times.
  • Let us offer our gifts and our weaknesses to God so that he can use us to bless others.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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