This week's devotion is entitled:
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
~2 Corinthians 4:8-10
We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.
~2 Corinthians 6:8-10
So, there is pain in the world and it has its reasons. That's what the last 5 lessons in this series have discussed. This week we will learn how to work through the pain to get better, and how to continue God's work in spite of the pain.
It's true that God allows pain and suffering to exist in the world. Pain serves several purposes including correction, ministry advancement, and others. But there is a way out of the pain: God. When you seek out God in your sufferring, He will be there to help you cope and help you overcome the pain. Pain points us to God.
A principle that some Christians don't like to learn is that we have to not only continue God's work to get through the pain, we have to continue God's work in spite of the pain. You can't let your personal sufferring slow or stop your ministry or hurt or even sever your relationship with God.
I hope that you have learned something from this series, and will bless others with what you have learned.