In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who endured the pain of suffering and death for us and is now in the Paradise of heaven, my dear friend:

Some people take great pride in having the “perfect body”--at least in their own minds. They devote their entire life to physical fitness. They run, they lift weights, they do aerobic exercise, they do Pilates and yoga, or they workout at the local health club. They work very hard to get and to keep their “perfect body.” And because they work so hard, they have a little motto that helps to motivate them. When the work starts to get a little too hard, they tell themselves, “No pain, no gain.” Without the pain of working out, lifting weights, running, and sweating, without the pain of sit-ups and pushups, they would not have their perfect physically fit body. Without the pain of dieting and fasting and living on liquids, they would never gain a body that is trim and fit.

No pain, no gain. If only you and I would remember that same thing, when it comes to our souls--to our spiritual health. It’s not just a clever little motto, but it’s a truth of God’s Word that without pain there is no spiritual gain.

Ever since the time that sin brought pain and trouble into the world, God has been using those things for the good of His people--for their spiritual gain. God allowed weeds to grow up in Adam’s fields and gave him hard, painful work so that he would never forget that he was living in a sinful world, and so that his heart would long to be in a better place in heaven. God told Eve that she would have pain in giving birth to children, so she was reminded that disobedience hurts and was pointed to God for help and forgiveness. Ever since Adam and Eve God has been using pain and trouble for the good of His people. God allowed His people, Israel, to wander in the desert for forty years to humble them before He brought them into the peace and happiness of the promised land in Canaan. God allowed Satan to take away Job’s family, his belongings, and his health, and in that way Job was reminded that those things provide no real gain and his faith and trust in God were made stronger.

God still uses pain today, and we thank Him for it. Without pain, we would never gain. Without sickness, hospital stays and painful operations, we might never open our Bible and find out what wonderful comfort it contains. Without poverty, financial hardship, drought and famine, and lots of bills to pay, we might never learn to pray. Without loneliness and lost friends, we would never long for heaven. Without the death of our loved ones, we might never think seriously about our own death and God’s promise of eternal life.

God allows pain in our lives, and we thank Him for it. For without pain, we would never gain. We could say that that’s the Apostle Paul’s message to us today. Paul was a Christian who was not only content to bear the pain the Lord allowed into his life, he wanted to use that pain to bring glory to God and to serve other people. It’s refreshing to hear Paul talk about pain and trouble in such positive terms. It helps us to endure the pain in our own lives and use it to serve God. May the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts today, as Paul reminds us that we go: THROUGH PAIN TO PARADISE. We go through pain to repentance, to prayer, and to trust in God’s promises.

The Apostle Paul was not only a strong Christian, he was also a faithful Christian missionary. He was called into the Lord’s service, when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. He was given the great task of preaching the gospel to the Gentile world. He was given a vision of heaven itself to strengthen him for that difficult job. And Paul was also given a pain in his body, that he calls “a thorn in my flesh.”

For a long time, there has been a lot of speculation about what Paul meant when he talked about his thorn in the flesh. Some have suggested that Paul had a recurring case of malaria. Others think it might have been painful headaches, or partial blindness, or an ear problem. Still others have speculated that he had a nerve disorder or even epilepsy. But all those ideas are just guesses, because we’re not told what it was.

Apparently, neither Paul nor the Holy Spirit thought it was something that we need to know. What is important is that we know why God allowed this pain in Paul’s life. Paul says: “A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.”

Paul received great gifts and privileges from the Lord. It would have been real easy for him to be proud. It would have been easy for him to think that he had done something to deserve those things. It would have been easy for Paul to look down on everyone else and think he was better. But even after his conversion, Paul was still a sinner. God allowed pain to enter Paul’s life, so he would never forget that and so he would keep repenting of his sin.

God still uses pain today for the same reason. Like Paul, each of us has a sinful nature that is proud and self-centered. When everything goes smoothly in our life, we like to think that all the credit and glory belongs to us. When times are good, it’s so easy to forget about God.

During the painful times of the Great Depression, church attendance and church giving by percentage are said to have been higher than they are today. But as the economy recovered and spiraled upward, church attendance began to spiral downward. The healthier and wealthier we get, the less we thank God for it. When times are good and things are going well, people no longer feel humble and sinful. They no longer feel dependent on God. They don’t long for God’s forgiveness.

That’s when God allows pain to come. He allows thorns in the flesh to keep us from getting conceited. He allows troubles and hardships, so that we never forget who we are and what we are. He allows drought, famine, and financial hardship so we never forget the prophet Isaiah’s words: “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall.” God allows pain and trouble so we remember that we are sinners and repent.

Let’s stop and remember what kind of God we have. The Bible tells us “God is love.” Jesus said that God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son. This is the God who allows pain and trouble to come into our lives. He’s a loving God, the God who sent Jesus for us. He is a good God. So we trust that He has good and loving reasons for allowing pain to come.

What good could possibly come from sickness, cancer, and heart attacks? What good could come from drought and famine? What good could come from our own personal pains and troubles? Let’s learn from the Apostle Paul. He says, “I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.”

Thank God for troubles and pain. They lead us to pray to God. When we have troubles, we remember God’s loving invitation: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.” When pain came to Paul’s life, he knew where to go with it. He took it to the Lord in prayer.

When pain and trouble come our way, do we remember where to go? Who of us wrestles in prayer like Jacob, whom refused to let God go until he received a blessing? Who stands in the corner of the temple pleading for God’s forgiveness, like the tax collector who beat on his chest would not look up to heaven? Who gets up early in the morning while everyone else is still sleeping and finds a solitary place to pray about His troubles the way Jesus did? Who of us prays like John in the book of Revelation: “Even so, Lord, come quickly”?

I think we can see why the Lord allows pain and trouble to come, and why He sometimes leaves the pain and trouble with us. He wants more than that we just call on Him in trouble and then forget about Him when He takes the trouble away. He wants us always to look to Him and to trust His promises all the time. The Lord said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” The Lord wanted Paul, and He want us, to trust in His grace and love. And when we are at our weakest, that’s when we trust in Him the most. When we have troubles and pain, that’s when we trust the most in God’s power and strength. So pain will be for our gain. It will make our faith in God stronger.

When we have pain and trouble, we can also remember the Lord’s comforting words. We know that God loves us and forgives us for Jesus’ sake. We know that He is making all things work out for our good. We know that our pain will also be for our gain, causing us to lean more on God’s strength. And as we trust more in God’s grace and in His promises, we know that we will pass through the pain to the Paradise of Heaven.

After Paul was assured of God’s love and help, he was not content to just bear his thorn in the flesh. He was determined to use it to bring glory to God. He said: “Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities…I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

There is no more powerful witness to an unbeliever than a Christian who willingly carries his crosses in life, showing his happy trust and confident faith in the Lord’s help. When the unbeliever sees that, then he wants a part of it for his own pains and troubles. There is no more effective way to drive the unbeliever away from Christ than to always be complaining about your troubles, as though even you didn’t believe there really is a God who can help.

May God give us all the strength of faith to show the world that we are not afraid of troubles or pain. We know that God loves us and makes it all work out for our good, so that finally we go to heaven. Then through our witness maybe more people will come to faith in Christ, and they will also pass through the pain of this sinful world to the unending Paradise of Heaven.  AMEN