Pushing Through Pain into the Promise

He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Revelation 21:5 (NIV)

We continue to recount Joe’s story. After his release from prison, he develops kidney disease and is forced to move to a low-income neighbourhood with what seems like little prospect for the future. Here, he comes face to face with the many challenges children in low-income neighbourhoods face – absent fathers, unresolved trauma, threats of substance abuse, limited opportunity. Despite his health issues, Joe and his neighbour, Denise, set up after-school programs for the children, including Keisha and Macon. Joe becomes like a father to them, who fondly call him “Pappa Joe.”

When Samantha asks him why it’s so important for him to help the children, he explains that it’s God’s love. His love, which saved him in that dark pit of despair, drives him to help the children in his neighbourhood to have a better chance at life. He says, “With pain comes a new way of seeing things.”

Moving Past the Pain

Joe had suffered loss and sorrow in his life. He had lost eight valuable years of his life. He experienced rejection and abandonment, leading to low self-esteem. He felt misunderstood and alone. But his encounter with the love of Jesus Christ led him on a journey that brought healing in ways he never thought possible. He came to see that the pain and mistakes of his past don’t define him. He realised God could use his emotional and physical pain to bring healing and restoration in his own life and the lives of the children God had given into his care.

God can use our emotional and physical pain to open our eyes not only to see things in a new light but to see the new things He has for us. He can use them when we are willing to surrender them to Him. To let go of them and allow Him to move us past the pain to the place He is calling us to. To the new thing He has already prepared for us.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)

This promise that God gave to the people of Israel thousands of years ago still rings true for us today. God opened Joe’s eyes to the new thing He had already prepared for him - giving children in the impoverished community hope and the ability to believe their lives matter.

 

Every promise that God gives us in His Word is trustworthy and true. When He says it, we can believe it because He is faithful to watch over His Word and to perform it Jeremiah 1:12. Let us trust our faithful and loving God to lead us through our pain to His promise.

 

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV)

 

Reflection:

Will you trust God to lead you through your pain to the new thing He has for you?

Prayer:

Lord, You see my pain. Lead me through my pain so that I can see the new thing that You have for me. Thank You, Lord, that You are faithful to Your promises. In Jesus’ name, amen.