Everyone experiences pain. What makes the huge difference is how you deal with pain. That’s why, in this post, let me share with you the powerful ways how not to waste your pain!

Living in a broken world

We live in a broken world. We have a broken government system. We have a broken educational system. We have a broken justice system. The earth is broken. We have erratic and unpredictable weather. We have natural calamities. We have earthquakes, typhoons, landslides, and so much more.

Not only that but on a personal level, we experience brokenness every day. Our bodies are broken. It doesn’t work properly. Our relationships are broken. Every once in a while we have arguments with our spouses, our kids, our parents, and our families.

We are not just broken physically, but also spiritually. Because of the brokenness, there’s a lot of pain in the world. The harsh reality is that pain is part of life. You can’t have life without pain. No one is exempted. Everyone will suffer pain. So, it’s not a question of whether the pain will come or not, but rather, when will it will happen.

Now, pain may not be a pleasant experience. All of us want to live a pain-free life, but did you know that there’s a purpose in pain? One of the worst things you can do in your life is to go through pain without actually benefiting from it. This afternoon, brethren, I want to talk about don’t waste your pain. Don’t let pain simply damage or destroy you but rather use pain as a stepping stone to become a better person.

However, how do you exactly use pain? How are we going not to waste pain? That’s what I want to discuss today. I want to share with you 3 effective ways for us not to waste pain.

Now, I want to tell you that these three methods I’m going to show you will create a paradigm shift in your perspective when it comes to pain. When you apply these three methods, you’re going to have a more blessed, joyful, and peaceful life.

So, are you ready? Here’s the first way for us not to waste our pain.

No. 1: Use pain to learn from your experiences

More often than not brethren, this one thing is true: The greatest lessons we learn come from our greatest pain. Looking back on my life, I can testify that those painful experiences had been the greatest teacher. The same is true with our children. When they are hurt, that’s the time they truly learn their lesson.

I remember Caleb, I told him, don’t put your finger inside the electric fan. He didn’t listen. He did it anyway and he got hurt. From that time on, he didn’t do it again.

We read in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

The reason the Bible included stories of failure in the Bible is to help us better understand the consequences of our actions.

Pain has a peculiar way of teaching us valuable lessons. What’s amazing is that sometimes, it is us who brought pain into our lives and God would allow pain to enter our lives to tell us that what we are doing is wrong.

Pain forces us to stop and think about what we are doing. Once the trial ended, we can look back and say, “Oh, so that’s why I got into trouble because of this.” Because we better understand the consequences of our actions, we learn the reason why we should not do it again.

Now, the problem is when we waste our pain. When we go through this painful experience and don’t learn our lesson, we are bound the commit the same mistake and sadly, go through the same pain. Don’t just learn from your own painful experiences, but also from the painful experiences of others.

I can tell you that I’m wiser now because of the trials and struggles I went through and I know you can testify to that too. So, don’t waste your pain. Use pain to learn about life.

No. 2: Use pain to grow your faith

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith. It didn’t say it is difficult, but it is impossible. So, faith is dramatically important in our lives. But how do you exactly increase your faith?

We read in 1 Peter 1:6-7:

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

This verse tells us that we can actually use trials, pain, and difficulties in our lives to our advantage. Our spiritual muscles become stronger as we go through trials in life. Look at any faithful men and women in the Bible. They were not called faithful simply because they were born with faith. No, they actually developed faith through difficulties in life.

Take the life of Joseph as an example. He was betrayed by his brothers. He was sold to slavery. He was brought to a foreign land. He was punished and thrown into jail. He was forgotten. His life was a series of pain after pain after pain. Yet, we know the rest of the story. He used the pain to increase his faith in God. He didn’t lose hope. All that suffering is actually a preparation for God’s great plan for Him.

What if God already made Joseph a great ruler in Egypt before he was betrayed by his brothers? What if Joseph was made a great ruler when he was in Potiphar’s house? Joseph would have not been ready yet. He needs to develop the right faith and character to be a ruler in the greatest empire in the world during his time.

In the same manner, don’t despise the trials you’re going through right now. Whether you are going through financial problems, health problems, or relationship problems, you can look at your pain and see it as a tool for you to increase your faith and trust in God.

We need to look at pain and say, “I’m not going to just go through pain, but rather I’m going to grow in pain.” All of us despise pain, but when we see that purpose in it, we will be more patient and stronger. Take for example any mother here. You ask them, do you want to go through a life-and-death type of pain? You would surely get a no answer. Yet, the same women would willingly go through the pain of childbirth. Why? Because there’s a purpose in their pain. There’s joy at the end of their pain.

The same is true in our suffering today, brethren. Remember that the pain you’re going through right now has a purpose and that purpose is to strengthen and grow your faith. So, brethren, don’t waste your pain. Use it to increase your faith.

3. Use your pain to serve others

Now, you might think, “I’m already in too much pain. How on earth am I going to serve others in my situation?” Well, let me tell you, brethren, that you can actually use your pain to serve others.

Let’s read  2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Did you see that brethren? When we go through life’s difficulties, that’s when we experience God’s comfort. That’s when we experience more His love, care, and grace. And because we have experienced God’s comfort, we also need to extend the same comfort to others. In other words, pain and suffering in this world allow us to also experience the pain and suffering of others.

We must not waste our pain, brethren. Think about the example set by our Master and Savior, Yahshua. He willingly went through pain and suffering to bring salvation to humanity.

In the same manner, when we go through pain, we can also use that to better serve other people. Experiencing pain can increase our capacity for empathy and feel more compassion towards others who are going through similar trials. When our painful experiences to others bring us closer to them. 

Think about this for a second: who can better help someone who is going through financial problems? It is those who also went through financial problems. Who can better help someone who has marital issues? It is the person who also went through marital issues. Who can better help someone who has just lost a loved one? It is someone who has also lost a loved one. Who can better help parents who have special needs children? It is also parents who have special needs children.

I really can’t forget what our late pastor told us. He said, maybe, the reason God gave you Caleb is so that in the Kingdom, you will minister to parents who also have kids with special needs. And that struck me. That opened my eyes to a new way to view pain and trials in life. God wants us to use our painful experiences to better serve others. As I once read in the past, it says that God wants you to turn the mess in your life into a message to the world and your test as a testimony to others. So, don’t waste your pain. Use it to better serve other people.

Final words

Brethren, pain and suffering are bound to happen in life. Instead of going through pain defeated, hopeless, and discouraged, go through pain with faith, courage, and strength. It is through the pain that God is preparing us for His coming Kingdom. Now, I want you to remember this, Yahweh will not allow you to suffer beyond what you are able.

So, stop telling yourself you can’t do it. Stop telling yourself you are weak. You are about to give up. Or, you want to quit. Instead, remind yourself that God is with you through suffering and pain and because you have God the Most High in your life and His Son Yahshua as your advocate, that’s more than enough. That’s all you need to overcome any trial that comes your way.

So, brethren, don’t waste your pain. Instead, learn from it, grow in it, and serve in it!

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