May 30, 2025
- credford5
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
I love you and I want more for you, so I wish you pain… ( ::: record scratch ::: ) … wait, what?
Stay with me. Keep reading.
Over the last few months, we’ve been challenged to learn what it means to abide in Jesus so that our lives might look more and more like His. This formation journey is a learning one, but it’s hardly a mere intellectual one. You see, apprenticeship to Jesus is more than being a “student” in the school of Jesus. Knowing Jesus is about experiencing Him, walking so closely with Him that it changes everything about us.
In one of the communication courses I teach at the University of Cincinnati, my students make a list of 100 things that have had a significant impact in shaping who they are today. These can be people, events, places, community groups, activities, technology, good or bad relationships, important media inputs (music, movies, books, etc), whatever. To some students, this is a daunting assignment. They groan, “I can’t even come up with 40 things that have influenced me, let alone 100!” To which I say, “I believe you can. You just have to give it time and REALLY think about it.”
The point of this assignment is to get students thinking about why they do the things that they do, and why they communicate the way they communicate. With deeper reflection, this can be a very revealing and powerful exercise. Just like a hiker along the trail, consciously pausing to take a good look back and a good look around can give us insight for navigating more effectively as we move forward.
NOTE: If you’ve got some time this week, grab a pen and some paper and make your list.
After finishing their lists, students are invited to elaborate on a few of their list items and a theme that always seems to bubble up is: Pain. And as they dive deeper, students soon discover that while the experience of pain is awful in the midst of it, there’s more to the story...
“For a long time, the heartbreak made me not want to love or trust again, but it also made me wiser about my worth and who I want to give my heart to in the future.”
“The grief still comes up and at times it feels never-ending and unbearable, but it makes me realize how precious life is and how much I want to love the people in my life, even through tears.”
“Failure made me think I was nothing, so I worked harder and tried new things. It was challenging and tiring but I eventually found what works for me. Totally worth it.”
“My bad choices left me in some dark and lonely places, but eventually I had to make a change… I found support, community, and hope that I didn’t even know was possible. And my family is healthier too.”
As followers of Jesus, no doubt we’ve experienced pain and it’s way of shaping us. But again, there’s more here. You see, pain (like Jesus) is more than just a life-lesson teacher because pain (like Jesus) is a pathway to God.
Psalm 34:18 says: “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
James 1:2-4 says: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Romans 8:28 says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
In sum, God is in the pain. He never wastes the wasteland. When we are brokenhearted, he is near. When we go through anguish, we can take heart and, dare we say, find joy knowing that our God is not only with us in the pain, but able to grow us through it and bring meaning from it for the sake of others. This is what it means to identify with Christ in His suffering (in His pain), as Philippians 3:10 says:
“I want to know Christ - Yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.”
For believers, to experience pain is an opportunity to experience and be formed by Jesus.
And so to you, beloved reader: Because I want for you to truly experience the fullness of God’s goodness, His presence, His power, and His provision, I wish you pain - that it might shape and grow you (and me) to be more like Jesus for the sake of others.
Link to “Wish You Pain” music video by pop/rock singer-songwriter, Andy Grammar.
Zac Owens
Colerain Worship Pastor