Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

No one wants to experience pain or heartbreak.

And yet, God uses pain to mold us and help us become more like Him.

Although times of happiness are wonderful, the time of sorrow and questioning often produce the most growth!

Brokenness highlights those dark places in our spirit that don't want to yield to Jesus. Brokenness can draw out those places that want to act independently of God.

If we have areas of our life we have not surrendered to God, they may hinder His purposes.

But God is perfect in every way and knows what is best for us, even when we don't like how it feels. His loving and skillful ways transcend all our understanding and discomfort to reveal how much we are truly in need of Him.

Moses experienced this. God used Moses, despite the difficulty He had speaking, to lead His people out of Egypt.

God also used the apostle Paul, who spoke of the affliction he called a "thorn" in his side. Three times Paul pleaded with God to remove the thorn. But He did not.

Instead, God used both Moses and Paul despite their weaknesses. Paul would later write, "Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

How could Paul say that? Because while we all hate suffering, we can be confident that God is growing us through it. His purpose is that we walk with Him and trust Him to use us despite our shortcomings.

With Love,
Sherry Shepherd