Pain is never pleasant, but nothing can compare to the pain of eternity without God. And so my pain today is a small glimpse of what I have been saved from. How much more can we grasp the beautiful and glorious promise of eternity with our Savior, free from pain, when we have a daily reminder of what we have been saved from? This truth of the gospel gives us a reason, purpose and hope to endure.

When we are humbled and completely dependent on the Lord in the wilderness, it teaches us to remember, even in times of comfort and abundance, that it is God’s faithfulness and power, and not our own strength or wisdom, that we most need.

The reality is that physical or emotional pain, especially when it is chronic, has a way of stripping away the masks we tend to wear, leaving our hearts exposed and our self-sufficient ways of life threatened.

It’s not a dead-end; it’s a redirection.

Attempting to always make sense of God's mysterious purposes isn't actually faith. It's accepting only parts of God that we are comfortable with or can explain to ourselves.

It's not a dead-end; it's a redirection.