Why Do I Hurt?

Someone once said, “Life is pain. The sharper, the more evidence of life.”
We all have pain in our lives. Not necessarily illness, but deep, emotional pain caused by those who have hurt us. Loss causes pain, relationships cause pain, failure causes pain, and giving up on unrealistic goals causes pain. Don’t we retreat at the first sign of trouble or misery? We’ve given up all hope of overcoming and learning from the experience. So we turn to food and substances to soothe the pain.

What can God do about it? What can’t God do? is a better question. Our problems are so close to us and seem so much bigger than God. When life’s problems loom over us, we tend to lose our sense of perspective and God fades into the background. But in some mysterious way known only to God, we grow when our hearts are broken.
Suffering isn’t pleasant, but it’s necessary. God doesn’t cause our suffering, but uses it. The enemy seems so busy in our matters that it’s hard to trace the hand of God in it. But His hand is in it.

Did you know that pain broadens our base of experience and can make us stronger (or weaker)? The apostle Paul taught that suffering is an essential course in God's curriculum for all believers. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). We become less judgmental, self-righteous, and less convinced that our way is right if we allow ourselves to express and feel pain. We become more compassionate in the end.

God wants believers to glory celebrate in their difficulties, to continue to put their hope and trust in Him, and grow stronger in spite of their experiences.

Read this exerpt from “I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It?” by Kimberly Davidson.