Romans 8: 28 ; James 1: 3-4
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
There is a sudden realization or awakening to the fact that pain is gain. In most cases pain is needful for success, improvement, greatness, or achievement. Pain bears a hidden potential for greatness and though not immediately evident at the onset (or initial stages) contains the possibility of a blessing, or the good things of life.
It almost seems as if the pathway trodden by most successful men and woman is littered with tales of pain and endurance. Talk about Joseph in the Bible – his varying degrees of pain (at different stages of life) continued on the rise until it exploded in the heat of the dungeon where he was supposedly abandoned to die.
Also, David was relentlessly tortured by the ordeals of his own pain as Saul continued in this pursuit and determination to eradicate David. Time will fail me to tell of Ruth and Naomi who bore much grief, and untold misery as the cold hands of death stifled the breath of life from their loved ones.
It is such an irony that the very situation that was meant to harm, or impair them, later became the stepping stone to self-discovery and victory – unleashing their tenacious abilities, innate potentials, and destiny! Joseph became the Prime Minister of Egypt. David ended up on the throne as the king of Israel. Ruth became part of the lineage of Jesus.
When handled with the right attitude, pain could bring about a fulfilling outcome. The Bible says that ‘all things work together for good’ (Romans 8:28). Secondly James 1:3-4 –seems to reflect the fact that the outcome of pain (if handled patiently) is abundant life (lacking nothing). This could be spiritual or material abundance, or even both. Wow, talk about the potentials of pain!
At the very least, pain could foster, endurance, perseverance, resilience, tenacity, etc. However, the most interesting and rewarding thing about pain is the ‘light bulb moments’, when a sudden realization is awakened, or a hidden passion is kindled. This is the ‘aha moment’ when the pain has translated to gain; and the ‘ashes’ become a thing of ‘beauty’.
This pain, all along leads to one’s purpose in life; to the great destiny designed by God – This, Folks, is the epiphany of the pain we bear!