Editor’s note: Yesterday, we shared a devotion about keeping a Kingdom mindset during times of crisis, trial, and suffering from Shawn Johnson’s Kiss the Fire. You can read it here and then read part 2 today below.
*
There’s More Purpose in Your Pain Than You Could Ever Imagine: Fix Your Focus Part 2
3. Purpose Gives You Confidence
Paul faced a lot of fires. He lived a life so full of pain and hardships that it would be hard for us to even fathom. But he came out on the other side of all those fires with a crazy confidence. In Philippians he wrote,
To live is Christ and to die is gain. — Philippians 1:21
Think about that statement for a second.
Paul was basically saying he’s not afraid of anything: If they let me live, I’ll just keep telling more and more people about Jesus — which is the purpose of my life. And if they kill me, it would be better for me anyway, because I get to go to Heaven.
Do you know how confident you have to be to write something like that?
What if you started seeing your fires as the things that give you confidence to face what’s in front of you?
Think about how different you would feel if you realized your pain could help somebody else in theirs. You aren’t facing this fire in front of you for just yourself; you are facing it for others.
Let that truth fill you with confidence today.
*
I know this first reason to kiss the fire doesn’t make the pain go away. The fire is still raging in front of you, and you’re probably getting burned a bit. I get that. I’m not here to tell you there is a magic trick that makes all the pain go away; I’m here to tell you something much more important.
Your pain has a purpose.
And that purpose leads to joy, peace, and confidence.
If you had asked me that night in Seattle — when I wanted to take my life — if I was grateful for the pain, I probably would have punched you in the face.
But if you put me on a polygraph test today and asked if I would’ve escaped all that pain if given the chance, I’d tell you no. I wouldn’t change my past.
Yes, Seattle and the time leading up to those seven weeks were some of the hardest seasons of my life.
Yes, it was incredibly painful for me and my family.
Yes, the fire we faced was incredibly hot.
But what I’ve realized is that the really tough times — and the fact that God got me through them — have given me opportunities to help more people. So no, I wouldn’t change any of them.
It’s really hard to feel gratitude for the pain in the moment. But the truth is, several years removed from all the suicidal thoughts, the crippling anxiety, and the overwhelming panic attacks, I can now say I’m grateful for the pain, because it’s what’s given me purpose, which has brought me the joy, peace, and confidence I need in the middle of this new brain diagnosis.
I’m not saying this fire isn’t hot.
And I’m not saying this fire doesn’t hurt.
Both statements are true.
- But I promise you, the pain isn’t pointless.
You can get through this.
And you will.
And when you do you will discover there’s more purpose in the pain than you could ever imagine. God is with you. He put that dream in your heart for a reason.
He’s going to finish what he started.
He’s going to get you where he promised.
He’s going to help you get back up.
So don’t you dare give up now.
Excerpted with permission from Kiss the Fire by Shawn Johnson, copyright Shawn Johnson.
* * *
Your Turn
What you’re going through right now has purpose built into it. It’s horrible. It’s painful. It feels like it’s going to last forever. Hang on to the fact that the Lord is with you and He’s going to not only help you, but He’ll help others through you. Keep going! ~ Devotionals Daily
