Pastor Rick Warren: Through God's Grace, Pain Can Have a Purpose
Although Christians may find their pain to be insufferable, they must remember that all pain has a purpose through God's grace, Pastor Rick Warren explains in his Daily Hope messge this week.
Warren, who heads Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, writes that all pain can have a purpose, pointing to 2 Corinthians 12:9a TEV that states: "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak."
"What relieves our hurt and helps us keep going when we're in pain and we want to give up? God's grace," Warren states in his March 16 post.
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The megachurch pastor goes on to say that when Christians give their struggles to God, He will respond in one of two ways: He will either remove the pain or give them the strength to cope with it.
"We don't tend to like the second option," Warren notes, adding that Christians "want God to instantly remove whatever pain we're dealing with."
Warren adds that sometimes, God leaves the pain there for a purpose so we may learn something important.
"[God] can teach us much more through pain than through comfort," the megachurch pastor emphasizes.
While many Christians try to deal with difficult situations on their own, all they need to do is humble themselves and ask God for his grace. Ultimately, going through tough times will be much easier with God's help, Warren writes.
"When God's grace meets you in the deepest, darkest places of your life, you realize that nothing — no problem, no crisis, no hurt — can devastate your life. You know that you can handle anything with God's help," the megachurch pastor says.
Not only does God's grace help Christians deal with pain, it also helps them deal with guilt, Warren writes in a March 14 post, saying that the feeling of guilt is a basic, natural human emotion that is brought on by sin.
Christians, however, have no reason to feel guilty, as Jesus already absolved them from such feelings when He died on the cross.
"This is the most basic truth of Christianity: Jesus Christ has already paid for your sins. You only need to accept it. Because Jesus died for us, we're free from condemnation, worry, and death," Warren continues. "Even if there were no eternity, it would be worth it to become a follower of Jesus in order to escape the guilt."
One of the most important things to remember about God's grace is it's for everyone, Warren noted in a message last week, saying that God's love "doesn't play favorites."
"Regardless of your status, your background, and the sins you have committed, God loves you," the megachurch pastor says.
"When the Bible says that God's grace is available to all, it gives no preconditions. It means God's grace is available to you whether you're a frequent church attender, a spiritual novice, rich, poor, tall, short, or somewhere in between. God's grace is available to you by faith."
