Displaying Christian Sermons by tag: Pain
Joyce Meyer - Watch Message: Your Purpose is Worth Your Pain. Joyce Meyer Ministries joins Matt and Laurie Crouch on TBN's Praise to discuss her book, “The Power of Thank You,” as she describes how she thanks God for the trials in her life. Be encouraged as Joyce shares her personal testimony; teaching how God helps through difficult times and uses those moments for good.
Rick Warren (March-21-2023) Daily Devotional: Don’t Waste Your Pain
“These sufferings of ours are for your benefit. And the more of you who are won to Christ, the more there are to thank him for his great kindness, and the more the Lord is glorified.” - 2 Corinthians 4:15 (TLB)
When you use your pain to help others, God will bless you in ways you can’t possibly imagine.
The Apostle Paul went through enormous pain in his life, which is why God was able to use him in enormous ways. He was shipwrecked, beaten, and robbed. He went without food, water, and sleep. Yet God used him to spread the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire. In fact, if you were to ask Paul, “How’d you put up with so much pain?” He’d tell you it was because he wanted to bring people to Jesus Christ. He wanted to help others.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:15, “These sufferings of ours are for your benefit. And the more of you who are won to Christ, the more there are to thank him for his great kindness, and the more the Lord is glorified” (TLB).
You may never suffer the same ways Paul did, but you will go through pain in life. So you might as well use your pain for good and not waste it.
There are actually three kinds of suffering God uses to help others: self-imposed suffering, innocent suffering, and redemptive suffering.
Some suffering is the kind you bring upon yourself. You cause some of your own problems by making poor judgements. You don’t always eat the right foods, make the right decisions, or respond the right way to others.
Innocent suffering is when, through no fault of your own, you get hurt by someone else. Whether you were abandoned, rejected, or scammed, everyone has been hurt by the sins of other people.
But the highest form of suffering is redemptive suffering. This is when you go through pain or problems for the benefit of others.
This is what Jesus did. When Jesus died on the cross, he didn’t deserve to die. He went through that pain for your benefit so that you can be saved and go to heaven. In the same way, God will use your pain to bring hope and healing to others.
Who can better help somebody going through a bankruptcy than somebody who went through a bankruptcy? Who can better help somebody struggling with an addiction than somebody who’s struggled with an addiction? Who can better help parents of a special needs child than parents who raised a special needs child? Who can better help somebody who’s lost a child than somebody who lost a child?
God will never waste a hurt. God will work in your life so that he can work through you to encourage others.
Praise God and rejoice during a trial, because suffering will build your endurance and help others in their pain. God can use all three kinds of suffering for good. Start by giving each of your hurts to him and say, “God, I want you to use my pain to benefit others.”
Talk It Over
- How has God used pain from your past to help others? Was it self-imposed, innocent, or redemptive suffering?
- What area of pain have you not yet given to God? Are you ready to say, “God, I want you to use this pain to bring benefit to others”?
- Who in your life is a good example of someone using their pain to help others?
Rick Warren - Watch Sermon: Your Pain is Required to Know Your Purpose. Rick Warren sits down with Matt and Laurie Crouch on TBN's Praise. Be encouraged as Rick Warren illustrates how God will use the pain in your life, not only to impact the lives of others, but to prepare the vision and destiny He has for your life.
Rick Warren - Watch Sermon: God’s Purposes for My Pain. Join us as we stream First Conference! We’re continuing the conference tonight with an encouraging message from Rick Warren. We’re filled with hope for all that God wants to do in and through us in the new year!
T.D. Jakes - Watch Full Teaching: Overcoming Crushing Pain. Bishop T.D. Jakes joins Matt and Laurie Crouch on TBN's Praise. Be encouraged as T.D. Jakes shares how suffering and pain are a necessary part of the growing process, and how to find strength in hardships to come out stronger than before.
Don't Waste Your Pain. Part 4 - Joyce Meyer
For Long-term Gain, Choose Short-term Pain - Rick Warren Daily Devotional (november-25-2022). “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” Hebrews 11:25 (NIV)
He chose to be mistreated—to endure the short-term pain for the long-term gain of doing the right thing. Pain is part of life. And if you choose to do the hard thing right now and put in the effort to learn and grow, to become strong and mature, then later in life you will benefit from it. For example, some people are benefiting right now from decisions they made earlier in life not to spend more than they made—to save, tithe, and honor God. They’re benefiting many years later because they were disciplined and did the hard thing first. When you choose the short-term pain like Moses did, you’ll see God deliver you so that you can enjoy the long-term reward.
Talk It Over
- What short-term pain are you facing that calls for an eternal perspective?
- How have you seen the hard decisions you’ve made or long hours you’ve put in benefit you in the long run?
- Why do you think God wants you to choose the hard thing right now, even if it means you have to suffer or endure hardship?
Don’t Stuff Your Pain; Tell God About It - Rick Warren Daily Devotional (November-15-2022).
“Get up, cry out in the night, even as the night begins. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord." Lamentations 2:19 (NCV)
Think you’ve had a bad day? Job would understand; he practically had a PhD in pain and loss. In the very first chapter of Job, everything in his life fell apart. His response? “Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:20 GW). Notice that Job openly expressed his pain to God. When you experience pain, do you tell God exactly how you feel? It should be the first thing you do. This may surprise you, but God can handle your anger and frustration. He can handle your emotions. Why? Because he gave them to you. You were made in his image, and he is an emotional God. When your 2-year-old has a temper tantrum and pulls on your legs, you can handle that. In the same way, God is bigger than your emotions, and it’s okay to tell him exactly how you feel. When you pray for a promotion but don’t get it, when a loved one walks out of your life, or when you get the dreaded call saying, “It’s cancer,” you can tell God how you feel. You can say, “I’m mad. I’m upset. I’m frustrated.” God can handle your complaints, questions, fear, and grief. God’s love for you is bigger than all your emotions. My kids know I love them. They know I have more experience than they have because I’ve been on this planet longer. But my children sometimes question my judgment. Still, I’d rather have an honest, gut-level conversation with them than have them stuff their frustration and disappointment inside. God is the same way! He would rather you wrestle with him in anger than walk away in detached apathy. When tragedy strikes, you don’t have to grin and bear it. Instead, go to your heavenly Father with your pain. “Get up, cry out in the night, even as the night begins. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19 NCV).
Joel Osteen - Watch Motivation: How To Heal From The Pain. How you deal with offenses, how you handle the hurts will determine whether you move forward and see the new things God has in store or whether you get stuck, bitter over what didn’t work out
