…My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. 2 Corinthians 12: 9 (MSG)
I don’t know what song I was listening to last week on the radio, but a line caught my attention, “Is there purpose in the pain?” As a Christian and a person in recovery, that question is vital in helping us through our pain. It’s an understatement to say all of us experience pain, we hurt others and others hurt us. Pain from broken relationships, lost careers, addiction, and abuse, there is a lot of pain to go around. So is there purpose in our pain? The answer is yes, but there are two sides of the coin.
From a negative perspective, if we hide our pain and bury it weariness and despair is the result; building walls to keep others out, but at the same time fencing us in our own little world of pain and unneeded misery. Living a life of fear, guilt, and shame; wondering why we just can’t seem to shake our demons and get ahead. That’s what happened to me for half a life time, and I’m betting many of you have experienced this as well. The purpose in stuffing our pain leads us away from God.
The purpose in surrendering our pain is it leads us to God. Once we get honest and admit our pain to God and others, we begin to rely on His power and grace to walk through it and in the process we experience tremendous freedom. Not until I understood that pain is a necessary part of life and is vital in my spiritual growth, did I find positive purpose in the painful times of my life. That is one of the most important truths I have learned in Celebrate Recovery
—Pain is necessary but misery is optional. If you would like to experience some positive pain relief in your life give Celebrate Recovery a try, we meet every
Friday Night at
7pm at Crossroads Church. It’s a great place to be on a
Friday night!
Love God, love people, Jesus first!
Dana Cramer
Celebrate Recovery at Crossroads Church Calendar
January 16-22, 2016
Friday, January 20: Message Night
- 6 pm: Our Hospitality Team is preparing a wonderful meal for you this Friday.
- 7 pm: Join us for Worship and a message on Step 4.
- 8pm: Open Share Groups.
- 9 pm: Solid Rock Café.
Announcements:
- A new women’s mixed issue 12-step group has started on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8 pm in room 141. Sign up in your Friday night share groups or contact [email protected].
- A new women’s “The Journey Continues” 12 step group is starting January 23. For more details, contact [email protected].
Questions? For more information, contact
[email protected], or call the church office at 970-203-9201.
