Growth Through Suffering

C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, but shouts to us in our pains.” Those words capture a truth that the Scriptures put forth from Genesis to Revelation. It seems that whenever God would do his greatest work in the lives of those he loved, he would bring about great spiritual growth and increased faith through the gift of pain. In today’s world, we are taught to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. In addition, we’ve been led to believe that if we are experiencing the pain of difficulty and difficult times, God must be absent. But the Bible teaches us the exact opposite. God is present in our sufferings. How is it that we miss this truth so easily? As parents, there will be times of great hearthache, pain, and difficulty. Never forget that these are the times where God is parenting us, where he is doing great work, and where he is nurturing us into people who are totally dependent on him and on nothing else. Consider it all joy when you experience God’s love in pain.