No Pain, No gain
“My soul loathes my life; I will give free course to my complaint, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. ~ Job 10:1
When I was young, my mom used to say, “No pain, no gain.” I didn’t understand what she meant at the time. It sounded harsh and didn’t really stick with me, until life brought me face to face with pain that felt unbearable.
There have been seasons when my heart hurt so deeply that I wished I could take it out and kick it away from me, just to make the pain stop. I remember questioning why God gave me emotions in the first place. Why did He create me with the ability to feel so deeply, especially when that meant experiencing hurt, disappointment, and heartbreak?
But in those raw, honest moments, the Holy Spirit gently reminded me: If we didn’t feel pain, we wouldn’t be able to fully experience joy, love, and happiness. The valleys in life help us treasure the mountaintops. The bitter makes the sweet even sweeter.
That’s when it truly clicked and I really began to understand: You can’t have victory without a battle. You can’t grow stronger without struggle. The greater the struggle, the greater the victory.
In Job 10, we hear the raw cry of a man who had lost everything, his health, his wealth, and his family. But Job’s greatest battle wasn’t just with his circumstances, it was with his emotions. He wrestled with grief, confusion, despair, and even anger toward God. He couldn’t make sense of the suffering he was enduring, and his heart was full of questions. Job wasn’t afraid to say what he felt. His soul was bitter, and he let his pain pour out in his words. Still, in the middle of all that emotional turmoil, he never turned away from God. His willingness to bring his full self, feelings and all, into conversation with the Lord shows us that God desires relationship even in our lowest moments.
Even in his pain, Job acknowledged God’s role in forming him, preserving him, and caring for him at one time. Though confused and hurting, Job was still speaking to God. He knew that was where he would find answers and he knew it was the only place to get peace.
Here are some practical steps you can take when you are struggling:
- Let yourself feel.
Don’t bottle up your pain. Give yourself permission to grieve, question, and even lament, just like Job did. God can handle your honesty. - Take your pain to God.
Job didn’t just vent to people, he brought his complaint to the Lord. In your pain, keep praying, even if your words are raw and messy. - Look for growth in the struggle.
Ask God to help you see what He’s developing in you. Is it patience? Compassion? A deeper trust in Him? Ask Him to show you how He is turning that situation to bring something good from it. - Reach out for support.
Pain can isolate us, but healing often happens in community. Find a trusted friend, mentor, or counselor to walk with you through it. - Reflect on past victories.
Remember times when God carried you through before. Let those memories fuel your hope for what He’ll do again.
Pain is not pointless. Even when it feels overwhelming, it’s producing something in you. Strength. Endurance. Compassion. Faith. Job didn’t know how his story would end, but we do. God restored him and gave him double what he had before (Job 42:10).
Today I want to encourage you to consider that you may not see the gain right now, but God is working even in what hurts. Every tear you cry, every prayer you whisper, and every step you take through the valley is shaping you into someone who shows His glory. You will come out stronger. Wiser. Deeper in faith. The pain you endure today can produce the greatest victory you have ever had when you get it into God’s hands.
Today’s scripture reading: Job 10
1 “I am disgusted with my life. Let me complain freely. My bitter soul must complain.
2 I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me, tell me the charge you are bringing against me.
3 What do you gain by oppressing me? Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands, while smiling on the schemes of the wicked?
4 Are your eyes like those of a human? Do you see things only as people see them?
5 Is your lifetime only as long as ours? Is your life so short
6 that you must quickly probe for my guilt and search for my sin?
7 Although you know I am not guilty, no one can rescue me from your hands.
8 “‘You formed me with your hands; you made me, yet now you completely destroy me.
9 Remember that you made me from dust—will you turn me back to dust so soon?
10 You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together.
12 You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.
13 “‘Yet your real motive—your true intent—
14 was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my guilt.
15 If I am guilty, too bad for me; and even if I’m innocent, I can’t hold my head high, because I am filled with shame and misery.
16 And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion and display your awesome power against me.
17 Again and again you witness against me. You pour out your growing anger on me and bring fresh armies against me.
18 “‘Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother’s womb? Why didn’t you let me die at birth?
19 It would be as though I had never existed, going directly from the womb to the grave.
20 I have only a few days left, so leave me alone, that I may have a moment of comfort
21 before I leave—never to return—for the land of darkness and utter gloom.
22 It is a land as dark as midnight, a land of gloom and confusion, where even the light is dark as midnight.’”
Journal:
- What painful moment in your life has God used or is He using to shape and grow you?
- Write out a prayer of honesty like Job’s.
- Let it be your reminder that no pain is wasted in the hands of your Redeemer.
The Daily Dose 