1. God uses pain to guide and direct me.
A person may plan his own journey, but the Lord directs his steps. —Proverbs 16:9 (GW)
God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes. —Job 36:15 (GNT)
Now I am glad…not because it hurt you but because the pain turned you to God. —2 Corinthians 7:9 (TLB)
My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. —Psalm 119:71 (NLT)
2. God uses pain to goad and correct me.
Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. —Proverbs 20:30 (GNT)
God corrects all his children, and if he doesn’t correct you, then you don’t really belong to him…God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. —Hebrews 12:8,10 (CEV)
3. God uses pain to gauge and inspect me.
You (God) inspect them every morning and test them every minute. —Job 7:18 (GNT)
The Lord knows! He searches all hearts and examines deepest motives so he can give to each person his right reward, according to his deeds—how he has lived. —Jeremiah 17:10 (TLB)
…tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. —James 1:2-3 (Msg)
4. God uses pain to guard and protect me.
God will save you from hidden traps and from deadly diseases. —Psalm 91:3 (NCV)
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. —Genesis 50:20 (NLT)
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” —John 13:7 (NLT)
5. God uses pain to grow and perfect me.
So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed… —James 1:4 (Msg)
F3 Discussions - Sunday, September 24th, 2023
Icebreaker: The smell of
1.Today we learned that pain is a warning light that something is wrong. What does pain mean to you?
2. Hebrews 12:11 says,
“Discipline is not pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” —Hebrews 12:11
Why is discipline painful? What is the “harvest of righteousness and peace” that discipline produces? Does knowing that the pain of discipline produces a harvest help you persevere through said pain? Why or why not?
3. What’s a painful experience you have been through?
(Only share the experience if you’re comfortable doing so)
How did this hurt you? How did you see God turn it into good?
Going deeper: Commit yourself to the following in prayer over the next couple of weeks:
When pain comes your way, what do you have the tendency to do? Do you run to God? Or run away? What are some pains in your life that you are running away from God in? Why are you running from them? What do you need to do to turn those pains over to Christ?