Mon Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

“So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

Are you in a season of suffering? Is your life consumed with physical, mental, or spiritual pain? At some point in our life, we all experience great pain and suffering; none of us escape it. So if you are in a season of pain and suffering, I want to speak a word of encouragement over you today.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, the Apostle Paul talks about a situation that was so difficult and so painful that even with his great faith he found himself asking the same question many of us do in our pain: “Where is God when I hurt so badly?” Or perhaps we ask, "Why would a loving God allow such pain in my life?"

The answer to those questions is this: our Heavenly Father has a much greater plan in mind for our lives than we have! And during seasons of great pain and suffering, God is doing a great ministry in our lives. He may allow suffering to keep you humble, like He did with Paul. He may allow the pain to draw you into a more intimate friendship with Christ. The most important thing we need to realize about suffering is that God has designed it to remind us of our need for a Savior and that earth is not our final home.

Believe it or not, our pain and suffering can actually be a blessing to us. Just think about it. We learn a lot more from God down in the valley than we do on the mountain top. There is something about sorrow and suffering that sharpens our ears and tunes our heart to hear God speak more clearly. So take heart friend; our Lord is not a stranger to suffering. He is with you in your season of difficulty and will guide you through it every step of the way.