God Does Not Waste Pain

Well, today is "Write It Wednesday" and I don't feel much like writing, which complicates the whole "write it" part. So, instead of writing something new, I'm going to post something I wrote during my undergrad program called "God Does Not Waste Pain". I hadn't read it, probably since I originally wrote it five years ago, but in the last two weeks, two different relatives brought it up in conversation and it made me curious to read it again. So I did and it's not the most well-written, but it was a reminder that I needed to hear: God Does Not Waste Pain.

In 1 Peter 1:6-9, Peter is talking to a group of Christians who are undergoing a season of suffering. Peter says “ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer all grief in all kinds of trials. They have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

I never truly understood this scripture until five months ago when I received a phone call that changed my life. I was at the beach with a friend when I realized I had missed a call from my mom and she had left a voicemail. Thinking nothing of it, I listened to the voicemail. It wasn’t my mom, but rather a friend of the family. In the voicemail, she was clearly upset so I called my mom’s cell phone back immediately. This time, my mom answered crying and asked me to come home right away. At this point, I still had no idea what was going on so I asked my mom what had happened. She said to just come home, but because I am stubborn and didn’t think she should be allowed to cry on the phone to me and tell me to come home without telling me why, I persistently kept asking what had happened. Eventually she told me that there had been an accident. When I asked her what the accident was she finally told me that my brother had committed suicide. The moments following that are unclear. I just remember instantly breaking down and in a state of unbelief. I could not tell you how I made the drive home from the beach that day or what happened once I got home, but I can tell you that from the instance my mom hung up the phone, I was thrown into the biggest test of faith in my life.

I would be lying if I said that my initial reaction was to trust God or that I immediately understood that there was a reason for all of this to happen. And I would be lying still if I said I understood any of it today. But I do have the reassurance that God does not waste pain. Peter tells us that. He reminds us that suffering exists only for a little while in comparison to an eternal life of glory. He reminds us that suffering is necessary to refine our faith.

In verses 6 and 7 of the highlighted text, Peter says that it is necessary for us to have all kinds of trials for a little while so that our faith can be of greater worth than gold. So when we are struggling, because we all do, whether it is stress, death, depression, arguments, relationships, etc., we can be encouraged because Jesus is redefining our faith so that it will result in praise, glory, and honor when He is revealed! He is not wasting our pain, but rather using it to make our faith genuine. He is allowing our suffering to turn into praise.

The week after my brother’s death with the calling hour and funeral preparations seemed to last forever. However, in the midst of all this, it was impossible not to see God’s greatnesses. God was in every food plate my family received. He was in every person who took the time to visit, to call, to write. He was in every donation, every prayer. He was everywhere. It is easy to believe in God when everything is going right for you. But in a situation where nothing seems to be right, you find out if your faith is genuine or not and you grow in that faith. My heart was absolutely broken, but in the midst of my suffering I had to praise God for this incredible out pour of love my family was receiving. An outpour that could only be explained as demonstrations of God’s love. At my brother’s funeral, they sang Chris Tomlin’s song, “How Great is Our God.” And at first, I was mad at my mom for choosing that song. It was one of my favorites and I thought I would be sad every time I heard it from now on. But instead I find myself praising the God who gives and takes away every time the words come on the radio or the band starts playing it at church. Only a Great God could allow for us to smile in that kind of sadness. Only a Great God could allow us to grow in faith when all we think we can do is break. Only a Great God could refine our faith in our suffering.        

We all have struggled whether it is personally, financially, emotionally, or physically. We have all been there and I am sure we can all agree that in the struggle is not a place we truly enjoy being. But Peter tells us to not lose faith, but rather realize that God is refining our faith in the struggle. He is making us into the person He wants us to be. He is not wasting our pain.

In the book, Why?, by Anne Graham Lotz, she talks about the difference between a turkey and an eagle and how they react to storms. She says “I understand that a turkey and an eagle react differently to the threat of a storm. A turkey reacts by running under the barn, hoping the storm won’t come near. On the other hand, an eagle leaves the security of its nest and spreads its wings to ride the air currents of the approaching storm, knowing they will carry it higher in the sky than it could soar on its own. Based on your reaction to the storms of life, which are you? A turkey or an eagle?” 

And I pose a similar question: Do we want to be turkeys who only see the pain in our suffering or do we want to be the eagles trusting that God is molding us more into the person we are supposed to be in our suffering?”