When Pain Brings Strength

We've all heard the phrase "No Pain, No Gain" usually associated with working out - typically meaning, if it doesn't hurt then you're not exercising hard enough to make a difference. Makes sense right? If you're not giving your muscles a good enough work out to have some pain afterwards, then you probably won't see results from your efforts. When we actually use our muscles enough to have pain and soreness after we finish our workout, the result will be stronger muscles. But how can pain bring strength?

Basically when we work out we cause "tiny microscopic tears" in our muscles. "After the workout, the muscle begins to rebuild itself...the rebuilding process creates new muscle that is bigger and stronger than before. In other words, your muscles are growing." (exerted from dailymuscle). The pain we experience is simply our muscle growing!

So, even though we are, in essence, inflicting pain upon ourselves when we work out (or most often felt a day or two after the work out), we know the eventual outcome - we know that we will become stronger as a result of that pain. Our muscles will be bigger - we will be able to lift more. We will feel healthier, better. We will have more energy, more stamina. We will be able to work out longer and harder as our muscles grow. We take on the mindset that we can survive the pain that comes now because of the growth/benefits it produces later and in some cases, we welcome the pain because we look forward to the growth.

Just like pain in our muscles brings strength, even though sometimes it never really feels like it, emotional pain and struggle brings emotional strength. And just like our muscles use pain to produce benefits, so must our Heavenly Father sometimes use pain to produce spiritual benefits. He lovingly allows us to go through things that cause us temporary pain because He knows that later we will have grown from it. We will be strengthened. Just as we survive the pain from using our muscles so that we will be stronger, God let us survive emotional pain because He knows it will help us to be spiritually stronger.

So, the next time you are in emotional pain, stop and ask yourself - could this pain be making me stronger? Is the Lord allowing this in my life so He can grow me? Is He trying to teach me something through this pain? How can I learn something and grow despite the pain I am feeling right now?

My hope is that each time we are handed something in life that does not seem to be what we asked for and does not bring joy, but seems to only bring sorrow, is that we will look past that pain to the future and to what God is trying to do with it. I can guarantee you that nothing is a coincidence when it comes the God...and if you let Him teach you how to find purpose in your pain, He will do it!