No Pain, No Gain

  Do you have a struggle in your life that you wish desperately would just go away?  Maybe it's an illness, a difficult person, an internal struggle, or a physical deformity.  Perhaps you have prayed relentlessly and God has not removed the difficulty.  This struggle may have even caused you to question God's goodness at times, so great is the pain it brings you.  I want to share with you something that God has been sharing with me over the last few days through some things I've been reading and a speaker I got the privilege of hearing from last week.  This message might be a tough one to hear if you are still in the midst of a bitter struggle, but hold tight and try to stick with me, because I believe this knowledge can really set you free to live despite what you might be going through.
  There is a book of the Bible called 2nd Corinthians which was written by a man named Paul.  Now, Paul had traveled all over the world preaching the gospel, and he had many accomplishments to tell of.  However, at one particular moment in his letter to the Corinthian people, he mentions to them what he calls a "thorn in the flesh."  He describes to them how this thorn in the flesh torments him, and that even though he had asked God multiple times to take it away God refused, and the reason God gave him for leaving this troubling thing in his life is what I really want to take a closer look at with you.  The apostle Paul says that God told him, "My power is made perfect in weakness."  (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10)  Ok, great, he was a preacher... of course something like that would make sense for him.  He was sent to do God's work on earth, so ya, God is going to use his weakness to do powerful things.   But how does this apply to us?
  Well, I believe that if we are willing to let God work through our weakness and struggle, He just might use us to help others in ways we never dreamed possible.  You don't have to be a well traveled preacher to make a major difference in the life of someone else.  You just have to be willing to let God use you for His purpose.  Maybe you have a chronic illness that you feel is holding you back right now.  What if you have that illness because there's a doctor or a nurse or another patient who just needs to have you encourage them or share something with them that they need to hear. Maybe you are going through an agonizing divorce and there's another person out there who needs to know that you have the same struggle.  No matter what struggle you are facing right now, I believe you are uniquely placed to help someone else in a way that only you can.  You have a strength beyond your natural ability in this area because God is working His strength in your weakness.  Whatever it is you are going through, know that there is someone else out there praying for help with that exact same thing, and maybe they need your story to encourage them.
  I want to encourage you to take the focus off yourself today and the pain you're feeling and start looking for ways to use your struggle to bring about great victories in the lives of those around you.  Believe me, I know this is not always easy, and there may be a lot of days when you still question what God is doing, and there may be days when you just want to sit and have a pity party, but I promise you that if you're willing to let God work through you, you might just find there is a much greater purpose behind your struggles, and I believe that will help you to find joy and strength to carry you through.  I love you, and I can't wait to see your victory!

~K.W.