Purpose in Pain

It has been said that there are only two certainties in life—death and taxes. While none of us

could deny the reality of this sentiment, there seems to be one other inevitability that should be on that list—pain. We are either coming out of a painful experience, in the middle of a painful experience, or getting ready to go through one. Of course, most of us think of pain in comparative levels. The pain a child experiences upon falling and scraping her knee is miniscule in comparison to major surgery. Or the pain of losing our first pet is much less than that of losing a close friend. However, in the moment, pain is no respecter of our perspective…it is always agonizing to the recipient.

Believing the testimony of Scripture in that God is sovereign over every aspect of our lives (Psalm 47:8; Acts 17:24-26), many of us may be wondering just what is the purpose of pain? The story is told about the baptism of King Aengus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the Saint wanted to know. The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual."

If pain is not just “part of the ritual”, but actually the purpose of God, how should we respond? There seem to be four ways in which the Scriptures reveal we can respond to pain:

1) We can ignore it.

Like the man in Jesus’ parable who foolishly believed that all of his wealth would secure him from pain (Luke 12:16-20), many believe they can simply “ignore” pain away. While this method of coping is born in idiocy, it has become the most popular method for dealing with pain in our culture. Medical remedies abound for any physical ailment. Material pleasures and constant distractions are always available for our consumption. Yet, all of our sedations and entertainment cannot prevent or remove the shout of pain.

2) We can succumb to it.

Even the godliest of characters in Scripture attempted this approach for coping with pain. Suffering the pain of rejection and the real possibility of death, the prophet Elijah asked God to let him die (1 Kings 19:1-4). Some have been overcome by cynicism because of a painful experience. Though still living, they carry with them the smell of death in every relationship and circumstance.

3) We can rejoice in it.

Seemingly the most illogical method for dealing with pain, the Scripture’s references to this response do not give approval to the denial of agony. Rather, this response is informed by a purpose in pain. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).

4) We can sympathize with others.

Without question, one healthy benefit of pain is the helpful reminder that the agony of another should invoke the very mercy for which we are so desperately in need. Whatever has been your painful experience, you can be certain that you are not alone. There are others all around you this morning who are walking through moments of great pain. Like the four friends of the crippled man who removed every obstacle to get him to Jesus (Mark 2:2-4), so should we be enabled to look past our own pain to empathize with another.

Make no mistake, your pain is on purpose. How will you respond to it?

Jason