I think back to the last time I was stabbed in the back… not literally of course, but figuratively. That pain sent me sideways and to the left, doing somersaults over pins and needles and left me in so much anguish that I gave myself pain. Betrayal like this is painful. It shatters your worldview and makes you re-evaluate every relationship you have with everybody you know. It forces you to take account of who you can trust and who you can expect to stab you next. It painfully changes your perceptions of people and cut ties with people who you never believed would pain you. Despite all of that, pain can be a good thing.

This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. – Psalm 119:50

Pain is a bad thing when you don’t have hope to carry you through the pain to a place when pain will no longer hurt. The good thing about pain is God’s promise of life through the pain. It is hope to carry you through the painfully trying times. This doesn’t come from thin air. Absolutely not! Let’s look at verse 71 where the Psalmist writes, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” Painfully trying experiences can be leveraged as an opportunity to experience God through the Bible in a way like never before. Not many of us do that though. Instead we drink our pain into a stupor or lull the pain through food into a coma. Some of us even circumvent dealing with our pain by pretending it doesn’t hurt. What we should be doing in these times is digging deeper into God’s “statutes” — that is searching for the very reasons why Jesus Christ would come into the affliction of humanity to redeem us. If you’re in pain right now, you need to say to God, “I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!” (v107). It’s in the Bible! The promise of new life amidst the pain and suffering. The favor of God which exists only for us who are in pain is the hope we need to receive justice through God in our lives. In our pain, let us worship God even more so that we can receive a good thing– a hope for us who are hopelessly in pain. Let us be the comfort and companion for those who are in pain. Let God light the paths of our feet. Let passion for God’s word fill every emotion and anchor our hearts with a renewed life. Pain can be a good thing, but only if we allow God’s Word fill our hearts and open our eyes. Let’s pray that the pain in your life can be used to find God’s good thing for our lives.