Stripping Evil from Pain

Suffering has always been a mystery to our race, with many devising various ways to explain it away, or make it seem good, as if any suffering is good. We often liken suffering to the color black, or night, or darkness, our effort to call it evil. But instead of understanding the why of our pain, we would gain considerable more grace if we put our efforts into believing God's power to bring good out of it.

Jesus showed us how to conquer not only pain, but death itself. By believing in God's power to bring good from anything we suffer, we can actually strip pain of its evil, of its darkness, of its night. Then we can say with Paul, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). What power!

How we accept our vicissitudes in life have a lot to do with how we build our character. We must take stock of this truth. We must awaken our soul to its magnificence. We must not grow weary when the way becomes steep or difficult. For wondrous things happen to those who wait on the Lord with faith, believing not only that all things are possible, but that God can bring good out of all, regardless of its color.