Pain Is Producing the Promise
Experiencing something painful and uninvited can be confusing. We sometimes wonder, while we’re in the middle of it, where is the promise that I know is there, but I can’t see? Where did my purpose go in all of this? But we will learn that the pain is producing the promise and possibly even sharpening our purpose.
There is a specific, sinking feeling that accompanies a season of prolonged struggle. It’s that feeling that you’ve done something wrong. We look at the problems and trials in our lives, and we interpret them as a grade on our spiritual report card. We think the presence of pain equals the absence of God’s favor, or worse yet, His disappointment in us.
If the bank account is low, we feel we’ve failed at stewardship. If the relationship is crumbling, we feel we’ve failed at love. If our spirit is dry, we feel we’ve failed at faith.
Romans 5 suggests that your hardest moments aren't a sign of God’s absence, but the primary site of His work. The discomfort you feel is not always a punishment; sometimes it is the process of being shaped. In fact, I’m learning that the pressure of preparation can often feel eerily similar to abandonment.
The Divine Encroachment
When we draw closer to God, something uncomfortable happens: the light gets brighter, and the space for our flesh tightens.
Imagine walking into a dimly lit room. It looks clean enough, and you feel comfortable. But the moment you throw open the curtains and let the midday sun flood in, you see the dust on the shelves and the stains on the carpet that you never noticed before.
Think of it like being inside an ancient pyramid and climbing your way to the top. The closer you get to the top, the less space there is. Likewise, the closer we get to Him, the less room there is for our junk, our baggage, our sinful acts, our fears, and our lack of faith. Often, the chaos in our lives is simply God turning up the light. We think we’re falling apart because we’re suddenly seeing all these new issues, but the truth is, God is just addressing the things that were already there, so we can be prepared to be drawn even closer to Him.
He is clearing the baggage to make room for the Promise.
Where did God go?
We see the ultimate picture of this preparation through pressure in the book of Daniel. Three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow to an idol, and their reward for obedience was being thrown into a furnace.
Here is the beauty of the fire: God didn't meet them after the fire was extinguished. He didn't wait for them at the exit with a towel and a glass of water. He was waiting for them inside the pain. Sometimes we pray for God to keep us out of the furnace, but it is in the furnace that we get the most intimate revelation of His presence. There are some versions of God’s character you will never know on the cool grass of the mountaintop. You only meet the Fourth Man when the heat is turned up. His presence is a shield. And it is healing. Experiencing pain and pressure does not equal God’s absence.
Without the Smell of Smoke
One miraculous part of the story isn't just that they survived, but it’s the manner in which they exited.
They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of smoke on them. Daniel 3:27
When we go through chaos, we expect to be marked by it. We expect to carry the scent of our trauma, our bitterness, or our loss for the rest of our lives. We think the pain will leave a permanent soot on our souls.
But when you walk through the fire with the Fourth Man, He does something supernatural. He allows the fire to burn off the ropes that bound you, but He protects your essence. He is so thorough in His healing that He can bring you out of a season of agony without the smell of smoke clinging to you.
He brings beauty from the ashes. He not only walks with you through the chaos, but He also ensures that the chaos doesn't get the final say in who you are. Coming through the fire without smelling like smoke is real, but so is the experience you went through. God isn't using this example to minimize what you went through or even deny its existence. It is His way of showing you that your experience doesn't have to define you and the rest of your life.
The Formation Process
This is what Paul means by the assembly line in Romans 5:3-4.
Suffering (The Furnace) produces Perseverance: You learn that you can survive the heat because He is there.
Perseverance produces Character: The fire burns off the ropes of self-reliance and fear.
Character produces Hope: A hope from knowing you are not alone. Knowing you are accompanied, loved, and wanted.
The Promise in the Pressure
If you feel like you’re under a spotlight or inside a furnace right now, or if your hidden fears are being exposed, don't run. Stay close to the Fourth Man.
What is being formed in you is stronger than what is breaking. A difficult, but essential message to grasp is that you aren't being punished; rather, you're being prepared. You're being drawn into proximity with God that will leave you healed and restored, and smelling like grace instead of smoke.
