Paul said that God ‘comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble.’ And Billy Graham added (a few years later…): ‘Those who have suffered the most are best able to comfort others…to empathise with afflictions because of what they’ve experienced…The sufferer becomes the comforter in the service of the Lord.’ If you’re broken, if you’ve come through real suffering and out the other side with Jesus, you’ve actually got a unique gift to offer others. Your ear, and your understanding, and the companionship with God you’ve developed through pain-filled times. You’re the opposite of a useless, used-up shell. Nothing is wasted with Him – He’ll bring life into the lives of deeply hurting people through you, if you let Him. If you offer up your past to Him, He’ll recreate your future by making it a fountain of life to others.
That’s not to say that He’s planned your suffering so He can ‘use’ it. Nope. God doesn’t plan evil. God doesn’t welcome evil. But He does overcome the plans of the enemy and turn them to good. Even the worst that the enemy throws at you can get flipped on its head and end up bringing life to others. That addiction you faced? That death in the family, which brought you nothing but pain at the time? That illness that dragged on and on? God didn’t want it, but He’ll help you overcome it – more than that, He’ll make it a weapon in your hand against the kingdom of darkness. That’s kind of what being ‘more than a conqueror’ means.
What now?
This week, try to find someone struggling with pain you’ve faced in the past. (Not as a project, mind.)
