PAIN: ESCORT INTO THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
What does God know about pain? Why does He choose suffering to be the invitation He sends to humanity in the final
hour of natural history?
I. GLOBAL UNPRECEDENTED PAIN AND SUFFERING REALLY IS GOD’S CHOSEN PLAN IN ORDER TO BRING
ABOUT THE DEEPEST LOVERS AND FULFILL ALL THAT IS IN HIS HEART IN THE LAST GENERATION
Revelation 9:13 …an Angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to
the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are
about to sound!”
Revelation 9:15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were
released to kill a third of mankind.
Daniel 7:21…the same horn (the anti-christ) was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them
until the Ancient of Days came…
Daniel 7:25 He (the anti-christ) shall persecute the saints of the Most High…then the saints shall be given
into his hand for a time and times and half a time.
Daniel 7:28 …as for me Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me and my countenance changed; but I kept
the matter in my heart
Daniel 12:1 At that time…Michael shall stand up…and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
since there was a nation, even to that time.
Daniel 12:10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of
the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the
world until this time, no nor ever shall be.
Matthew 24:12,13 ….the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
II. HOW ARE WE TO UNDERSTAND GOD IN THE MIDST OF THIS LEVEL OF PAIN AND SUFFERING?
A. Are pain and suffering inherently redemptive?
The essence of pain and suffering is that it is inherently destructive and has no transformative power in and of itself.
In and of itself it cannot transform us. No sickness (in and of itself) has ever transformed anyone. We see widespread
suffering in many nations of the earth yet we do not see those nations shining with redemptive glory. Left to their
own work pain and suffering de-humanize, degrade and destroy human beings. We have all seen the ravages of disease
or intense suffering devour someone completely taking away their dignity and strength as a human being. Pain and
suffering are NO guarantee of spirituality: most of the earth is burdened with afflictions that have only caused hatred
and accusation against God.
1. Pain and suffering have no primary transformative power.
2. God hates pain and suffering. (Deut 26:5-8, Isaiah 63:9)
3. There is no pain and suffering in heaven: suffering does not exist in the age to come for the redeemed, if Jesus
liked it He would give it a place in our eternal reward. Suffering has no value before God in and of itself. (Rev 21:4)
4. Jesus shows us what God is like, everything He did in the incarnation was exactly directed by the Father to reveal
to us what God is like. Not once did Jesus hand out a disease but He healed every manner of diseases. (Matt 9:35)
B. So then what is the role of pain and suffering in God’s plan?
Pain and suffering is useful not because it has redemptive or transforming power but because of what it tears down
and Who it can lead us to.
Spiritual transformation is the goal of our lives as believers. God understands the ability of pain to reach to us in our
spiritual blindness, in our false comforts, crutches and delusions.
Pain leads us to the place where Beauty is waiting, ready to change us.
Pain is a currency that every person alive has and I believe it is the most efficient escort into the knowledge of God.
The greatest pain of all is the one that every human being carries deep within them-the pain of need for God. Every
other pain that we experience can be brought down to its most basic cry….a need for God in one specific aspect of His
Beauty, His Person. (For example: need for the father, need to feel enjoyed etc).
III. THE POWER OF BEAUTY TO TRANSFORM.
1John 3:3 ...when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is
Eph 3:16 ...comprehend....the love of Christ...that you may be filled with all the fullness of God
1John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
IV. THE UNLIKELY PARTNERSHIP OF PAIN AND BEAUTY IN THE MYSTERY OF TRANSFORMATION.
“Pain leads us to the place where Beauty is waiting, ready to change us”
Hos 2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns...
Hos 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease...
Hos 2:12 And I will destroy her vines...
Hos 2:14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her
(speak to her heart).
A. Our fallen nature has blinded us from being able to see His Beauty and left us prone to remain satisfied by delusion.
In order to be impacted by beauty, we must be able to see and discern what true beauty is. However, due to sin, we have
been spiritually blinded and are unable to recognize the beauty that God possesses. In our fallen state our hearts are
blinded and we inevitably grope around in the darkness, drawn by lesser beauties and seduced into worshipping ALL
that is not God. Scripture makes it clear that the fall has blinded us from being able to see or discern His beauty.
2 Corinthians 4:4... whose minds the god of this age has blinded...
Ephesians 1:18...the eyes of your understanding being enlightened...
Ephesians 4:17-18...no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having
their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God,
Romans 1:21...became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened
Isaiah 53:2 He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire
Him. (this is not because He has no beauty but because we are blind)
The effects of the fall have blinded us and taken away our ability to rightly discern beauty. If left to simply chase after beauty
according to our own attraction, we will inevitably worship all that is around us and even ourselves and never realize the
superior Beauty that only God possesses. This is where pain begins to be our friend. Without it, we would remain
fascinated by vanity after
vanity.
B. Pain persuades us of the lack of beauty in what we have known awakening us from our delusions and unlocking
our longings.
Pain indicates to us the lack of beauty in what we are beholding and points to our ache for a greater Beauty to fulfill our
need. Somehow pain has an ability to allure the blind, and call the deaf. The places of our hearts that are blind to beauty
are within the reach of pain. When pain hits us we reach beyond our surroundings, beyond ourselves, and this new
openness and vulnerability makes us susceptible to receive and be changed by Beauty. Pain speaks loudly even to the
blind and draws us into intimacy with Him.
Some of the ways that Pain works in leading us to the place where Beauty can transform us:
a. A heart in pain is a heart alive.
b. Pain gives us the real indication of how much Beauty we have seen.
c. The depth of the wound is the depth of the capacity.
d. Our pain shatters all of our fake attachments and faulty dependencies
and leads us to the true conclusion of Jesus Christ alone.
e. Pain has the ability to change our priorities in ONE moment!
f. Pain is persistent, and will not be deceived.
V. HOSEA 2: THE JOURNEY FROM HARLOT TO TRUE BRIDE
VI. THE FASTED LIFESTYLE IS ALL ABOUT UNCOVERING PAIN
The goal of fasting/solitude/prayer (see Henri Nouwen’s “The way of the heart”) is to expose our deep ache for God causing
us to be susceptible to Him and allowing Him to write His name in the depths of our being. Pain brings us immediately to
the place where the deepest part of our being is exposed and ready for the revelation of God to take root. The problem is
that most of us run to pain killers instead of taking advantage of the invitation that has been given to us and following it
into the lovesickness that unlocks revelation. The fasted lifestyle (solitude, fasting, etc.) helps us kick down the props that
keep us from taking pain’s escort into love.
VII. THE BEAUTY FOR ASHES DOCTRINE
God responds to our pain in a way that is more gracious than we could imagine. When we, in the midst of our pain, reach
out to Him in love, He answers us with a transformation and beautifying of our pain that is beyond human understanding.
In that place, God transforms our pain into something that is so valuable for ourselves, for others, and even for God
Himself. It is only because of God’s lovesick Heart and His work in redemption that pain and suffering take on value.
God does not nullify/supercede our pain but rather He has chosen to make us beautiful in the places of our deepest pain.
He doesn’t pretend that we don’t have the pain or simply tell us to ‘get over’ the pain...instead His way is to actually turn
that place of pain into a beautiful place of encounter with Him.
Isaiah 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
Hosea 2:14 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.
Good news to the poor: pain counts to God! He not only pulls us out of our circumstances but turns our pain
into our glory and the depth of our invitation
Isaiah 54:1 "Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have
not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,"
says the LORD.
4. Pain is no longer a disqualifier from intimacy but actually our escort.
5. Pain doesn’t keep us from the knowledge of God, pain is the place where we encounter the knowledge of God most
deeply.
Hosea 2:16 "And it shall be, in that day,(the context is that ‘that day’ is the day of the culmination of the
massive stripping and suffering described in Hosea 2)"Says the LORD, "That you will call Me 'My Husband,
'And no longer call Me 'My Master,'
VIII. POSITIONING YOUR HEART WHILE HE BEAUTIFIES YOUR PAIN
1. See Him as Your Bridegroom:
(a) longing for you, weeping with you,
(b) counting your love as so precious and so costly that its worth the pain He is going through
(c) see Him as the very center of your identity, reach out to eternity and see your identity in the wedding to come
2. See Him as Your Judge:
(a) Who will fight for me? Let your heart cry out with liberty committing your cause to Him and demanding that
every bit of pain be made to count in internal and external demonstration
3. See Him as Your Father:
(a) upholding you every movement
(b) recording every movement of your heart towards Him.
(c) Training you with the least amount possible to equip you for what He has for you
(d) Surrender to His wisdom and sovereignty when you don’t understand
4. Going for the full expression of Divine retribution:
We must rise up with violence to exact the highest judgment against the enemy by daily going for both the interior and
exterior deliverance asking God to make our pain count to the highest! We don’t have to choose between intimacy and
deliverance. We can hold both in their glorious paradox: say yes to God in the midst of our pain going for the fullness of
intimacy with our loving Bridegroom AND believe God for the deliverance that He will bring as the righteous Judge who
fights for us.
IX. I SET MY HEART TO LOVE IN THE MIDST OF TRIAL…THIS WILL BY MY GIFT TO JESUS, TO THIS
GENERATION THAT IS LOST, AND TO THE BODY OF CHRIST:
a. My Gift to Jesus:
For all of eternity we will be face to face with the beauty and splendor of our God, but only during my lifetime on the earth
do I have the opportunity to romance His heart in the midst of darkness, accusation, and blindness. I have a chance only
today, to love Him in the midst of my current prison (whatever that may be) for this is when my heart feels nothing, and
sees nothing, but I move in love towards the One I cannot see...His heart is most undone. (I feel nothing, but He feels
everything!)
b. My Gift to a lost and hurting generation:
I cultivate a heart that moves in intimacy in the midst of pain first as a gift to Jesus, but second as a gift to this generation
who need not only deliverance but to whom the greatest gift would be to have their pain truly count for intimacy.
c. My Gift to the Body of Christ:
I recognize the wisdom of God in this hour of cultivating a “SOS 5” heart: a heart that knows how to hear the knock, arise,
and open the door for Him. Oh, if there ever were a time to know how to move in intimacy in the midst of pain it would be
now! The body of Christ is being ushered into a place of more pain/suffering/trial/persecution than ever before in church
history and the gold of the hour is to be able to stay in agreement and love in the midst of His terrifying judgments.
When I look into the future and what awaits the body of Christ God’s current ways with me seem extremely appropriate.
The trials of my life seem like extremely mild little tremors that a wise God sends my way in order to give me a voice to
prepare the body of Christ who is being ushered into corporate suffering like never before. Anything that prepares me to
not be offended on that day seems wise! Oh, just to have a heart that is easily escorted into love in the midst of pain...
could there be any gift more appropriate for the body of Christ in this generation?