Sister to Sister: No Pain, No Gain
Dear Sister,
Perhaps one area that I apply it to the most is as I'm working on
school and deadlines are fast approaching and I'm far behind. I whisper
"No pain, no gain" to myself and forge ahead, determined to finish
all the projects before the midnight hour.
But what about chronic illness? Does that fall under that
"No pain, no gain" category? When I first considered that, I
immediately wanted to shake my head and refuse to consider it further.
Somehow it keeps coming up, though. So I turned to Scriptures to see what
I could find on this topic. Quite a bit, it turns out:
Those are only a few. Turns out, God's Word talks about
trials, pain and suffering quite a bit - even more than I first imagined!
But can I really accept that God can use my chronic illness for
His glory? For conforming me more like His Son? I want to shake my
head and run away from such thoughts.
Then I'm reminded - God is more concerned about my holiness than
my happiness. Don't get me wrong - God isn't a God who is sternly
watching over us and fiercely punishing us and never giving grace. Just
the opposite! So when I take a step back to pause and reflect on all
this, I realize - isn't intense suffering and pain what my Savior suffered
while on the cross?
And not just on the cross but on the cross for me! For you!
No pain, no gain.
Jesus suffered on that cross so that you could have gain –
fellowship with Him and life everlasting.
It’s not all just pain though. There’s grace. His abundant, overflowing grace for you. When I find myself acting selfishly or
sinning once again, it’s His grace that reminds me that I don’t deserve the
cross. I don’t deserve it, that’s for
sure but oh, am I grateful that He chose to bleed on it!
I don’t know what season of life He has you in right
now but one thing I am sure of – He’s there for you no matter the pain or
difficulties. His grace is for you.
Cheering you on in the Good Fight, dear sister!
Your sister,
Joanna
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