There is Purpose in Pain

 “Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?”

Job 2:10

Suggested reading: Genesis 15

The first dream the Lord used to speak to me happened on January 10, 2019. It was a dream that felt so real, with a distinct message that compelled me to wake up in the middle of the night to write it all down. The dream highlighted a hole in my faith, carried a message of comfort, and unknowingly foreshadowed a reality that would unfold before the end of the year.

Our church at the time held a yearly Christmas party for women called Favorite Things. It was a giant gift exchange with delicious food, fellowship, and a faith-building word delivered by a speaker. In the dream, I was the speaker, preaching an encouraging word to the women. The message was anchored on Romans 8:28:

“And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Standing before a room full of women, I confessed that I struggled to trust God with ALL THINGS. I could see His hand in my past and generally trusted Him with my present. However, I was riddled with anxiety about my future. My future was the part of the “ALL” that left me unsettled.

I woke up, wrote down the message I had preached in the dream, and began to question its significance. Was this dream related to my recent diagnosis and battle for remission with ulcerative colitis? What areas of my future was I fearful of? What I did not see coming was the great challenge of 2019 that would refine me as I walked through the fire.

📖 In Genesis 15, God lavishly speaks promises of future blessings to Abram. He promised him a son, a nation, and a land flowing with milk and honey. However, following this vision of blessing came a dark dream. God said to Abram:

“Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.”

After giving Abram a rich vision of his future, why would God tell him of the grave hardship his people would face? I believe one reason is so Abram’s people would not doubt God’s sovereignty or promises when they faced this enslavement. As Abram passed this dream down for four generations, his people would be able to endure because they knew God would “judge the nation and they will come out with many possessions” (verse 14). God is so good that He uses dreams to give us insight into what is to come so we can put our trust in Him.

A few weeks after having my dream, we found out the boss would be deploying, and we would be separated for six months. The dream was God’s gentle whisper to trust Him with what was to come because He would work all things out for our good. Even though we had experienced three deployments in the past, this one was the most challenging of all. Romans 8:28 became my declaration, and THIS song of God’s goodness became my anthem.

This deployment taught me to trust God with my future, to trust Him when things were falling apart and I couldn’t see how they would work out. I learned to quiet fear with Scripture and to lean on others when I was weak. The dream and its message brought me comfort, reminding me that God is sovereign. He knew what was to come and would walk with me through it.

In my dream, I was preaching a message of trust from Romans 8:28.  By the end of the year, in December, I found myself sharing this word at the Christmas Favorite Things party.  What I did not see in my dream was the Scripture that concluded this season and that message. Trusting God with my future required me to surrender it all. I shared the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when faced with the order to worship an idol or be thrown into the fiery furnace:

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Daniel‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬

Even if my faith wavered during the deployment and with my health battle, I chose not to bow to anxiety and fear because I knew the Lord would deliver me. I trust that God will work ALL things for my good.

❓Reflection Questions:

1. Do I trust that God will work all things out for my good?

2. What areas of life do I struggle to put my trust in him?

3. What idols do I lean on in place of God. 

🙏🏻 Prayer

Lord, your word says that in this life we will have trouble and I thank you that you are a God who prepares us for these valleys of life.   I surrender my doubts and ask that you help me with my unbelief when I cannot see a way out.  You reassure me that even when everything feels like it is falling apart, you are there with me.  You are my rock and my salvation, my defense and I will not be moved.  Even if things do not go the way I expect I refuse to bow down to fear and anxiety and I put my trust in you.  Renew my thoughts, adjust my heart to align with yours, and guide my actions.  May your will be done in my life.