PURPOSE
There is Purpose in the Midst of Your Pain
There is divine purpose for the pain you may be experiencing during the course of this journey called Life. Yes, even if the pain produces a heartache you have never experienced before most likely due to the demise of a coveted relationship, end of a marriage, death of a loved one or loss a career you put so many years building. You can certainly recover from it all! We are reminded in Ecclesiastes 7:8a “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” Don’t you dare discount where God is taking you in the midst of the pain you find yourself dealing with at this current moment. In 2014, I found myself in the middle of a very painful divorce after several years of marriage to the one whom I had considered my best friend and the father of my two children. At the time it felt like all of hell was breaking loose (no kidding, real talk). I wondered how I was going to support my two young daughters as a single parent amidst a full time working schedule and a host of other responsibilities. Thankfully, I trusted in a God who has never failed me yet! But nothing could have prepared for the shocking news I would receive two days before our divorce mediation.
My mother called me while I was participating in a work-related corporate conference to inform me she was en route to the hospital because my younger brother had been rushed there due to difficulty breathing. About 20 mins later, I would receive a call from my youngest brother asking me to please get down to the hospital right away to deal with legal issues as our brother had passed away. I remember thinking to myself, hold on wait a minute did I really just hear him correctly. I got up from my home office and screamed out to the Lord to please help me as I felt like I was going through a semi-Job experience at that very moment. Our Heavenly father certainly gave me the strength to comfort my family and still proceed forward with the divorce mediation. It was hard to imagine I was dealing with Divorce and Death all at the same time but GOD is a mighty healer and in my weakness, I was made strong in him.
Some six months following my brother’s death, I received a call from one of my best friends telling me her only brother had suddenly passed away and I was the first person she called because she needed encouragement and help to begin planning for the funeral. You see this same friend was there when we laid my brother to rest and she knew I was very involved with my father’s funeral arrangements several years prior. So she was able to turn to me for support in her time of grief. Listen the pain you may find yourself in will propel you to encourage someone else one day. It never really is about you but what God wants to accomplish through you for the kingdom. You must draw close to God and he will draw close to you during seasons of despair. You cannot afford to unpack your bags in the valley moments of life, you must strap on your spiritual armor, worship God in the midst of the trials and declare your best days are ahead of you.
Most recently a good friend called me to let me know her father had passed away from an illness. She was very close to her father so I could identify with her grief. She called me a few times for encouragement during the process and I prayed with her for God’s peace to reign in her heart and the hearts of all her siblings and family members. I calmly assured her that God was going to use this season for her to bless someone else. I am often reminded of the words from Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” My friends there is no sorry or heartache that our Father in Heaven cannot heal. You are more than a conqueror in Jesus! .