Don't Waste Your Pain by Godman AkinlabiSample

We All Have Pain. We all feel pain at some point in our lives; be it physical or emotional, little or intense. Whether from being smacked as a child, the devastation of having your heart broken, or the inevitable pain of saying goodbye as a loved one passes away, pain is an unwelcome companion in the journey of life. We would all probably prefer a pain-free life, but as Christians we must realise that we have not been promised a life without pain; rather, we have been promised the presence of an everlasting companion and comforter. Remember that even Jesus felt pain while He was on earth. He felt the emotional pain of Lazarus’ death when He wept at his tomb, His heart broke with compassion as He looked upon the Israelites as they wandered around like sheep without a shepherd and He felt both physical and emotional pain on the cross as His body was bruised and battered for our sins. Jesus promised to send us another comforter (The Holy Spirit) after His ascension because He was aware that there would be moments of hardship, moments of tears and moments when we would just want to give up. In spite of His delivering on this promise, many times we still struggle with why we must face tough times at all. We ask, ‘Why does God allow us to go through pain? Why do bad things happen to good people? Can pain possibly have a higher purpose? Is it part of God’s master plan?’ If you have ever asked, ‘where is God when I’m hurting?’ I hope that as you go through this devotional, you will see God’s answer ring through. He says, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am right there with you, even to the end of time’.