Purpose In The Pain | 5.25.25

Sunday, 5.25.25

Finding A Purpose In Your Pain, Participant Notes, 2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 12:7-10, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

ONE- PAIN HAPPENS!

Paul didn’t get a pass from the pain. His “resume of suffering” appears IN this very passage.

2 Corinthians 11:23-27 includes multiple imprisonments, beatings, life-threatening experiences, a stoning, shipwrecks, and a “night and a day” floating in the open sea. He DIDN’T always have enough food, clothing, sleep, or friends. He’d been chased by bandits, and infuriated religious leaders.

Acts 19:11-12 recounts how God performed extraordinary miracles through the apostle Paul in Ephesus, where even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s body were used to heal the sick and cast out evil spirits. This passage highlights the power and authority of God, working through His chosen instrument, Paul, to manifest His healing and deliverance.

Here’s the really important question: Will you find the positives in your pain?

►Paul did, and you can. MAYBE you already have.

TWO- PAIN HAS PURPOSE!

1 Corinthians 10:13 is clearly about avoiding temptation, not overcoming pain.

1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

The same is true for our personal pain.

In the midst of the suffering, it is extremely difficult to find the purpose of our pain, and to celebrate that purpose.

THREE- PAIN HAS POWER!

When Paul kept asking for his “thorn” to be removed, he got a direct lesson in pain’s power from the Lord himself.

2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Conclusion

So, the next time you’re going through pain—maybe stop and ask as Paul did: “Is it for me to LEARN from, or are you going to HEAL me from it? It’s in your hands LORD, and I totally TRUST YOU either way!”