I think we can all agree that 2020 was painful in one way or another. Can I get a witness?
So many losses. So many. And loss, no matter what it is – a loved one, a job, our routines, our freedoms – is painful.
And when we’re experiencing pain, we tend to ask questions and shift blame. Why is this happening? Who’s fault is it? How do I make it stop? Where is God in all of this?
It’s 100% normal to ask questions. But I’d like to propose a thought. Who, why and where are the wrong questions to be asking. These are surface level questions.
When we ask these questions, we are usually operating under the premise that all pain is wicked and horrible and needs to be stopped at all costs.
Granted, no pain is comfortable. Can I get an amen? And while no pain is comfortable and some pain is wicked at its root, not all pain is bad.
Take childbirth for example. Painful. Super painful. Incredibly painful. The most painful thing I’ve ever experienced physically in my life. But childbirth is not bad or wicked. It’s beautiful.
The pain of childbirth leads to the wonder and joy and excitement of the newborn baby.
And although 2020 was wickedly painful, stopping at the why and how and where questions shows we are forgetting a fundamental truth about God. We’re forgetting that although He didn’t initiate the massive discomfort we experienced last year, He can use it. Turn it around into something good even. He is, after all, still God, isn’t He?
There is a question that digs a little deeper that should be on our lips right now.
W H A T ?
I’d like to propose this thought.
Deep places of pain often lead to new birth.
Instead of asking, “Why is this happening,” maybe we should be asking, “What are You trying to birth?”
“Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:19 AMPC
New things can be painful. Uncomfortable. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad. Instead of trying to make it stop, what if we stop and pray:
Lord, this is so uncomfortable. Painful. What’s going on? Are you trying to do something new? If You are, help me perceive it. I want to know it. Give me strength to cooperate with You and give heed to it. I know You. I trust You. I believe whatever it is, You are working this to my good and it will end well. Amen!
Ashes into beauty. Dead bones into living armies.
Painful situations into new birth.
Don’t lay down in anxiety and depression and surrender. Don’t run away from it.
Breathe. Pray. P R A Y. Pray again. (Did I say pray? Prayer is often what leads us to new places and seasons in God.) Press into it and push through it. Maybe God is trying to birth something wonderful and new in your life.
