Times of Pain and Suffering

I often tell my students that the greatest lessons I’ve learned in life occurred during my darkest times of pain and suffering. C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, The Problem of Pain: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Author Elmer Towns visited Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota for the first time at night, only to discover that, because of a thunderstorm in the area, all the light that usually illuminated the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt had vanished, making it impossible to see their faces clearly. “The spectacular carvings were veiled in darkness," he wrote. “But what I thought was a barrier became a blessing. Flashes of lightning accompanied the thunderstorm, and with each flash I got a quick glance at the great sculptures. The more I watched, the more I realized that I was appreciating their magnificence and grandeur even more than I would have if the storm had not forced me to view them more intensely.”
In the same way, we often struggle to understand life, God, even ourselves - especially during the dark and stormy times. Usually we know God is there, but sometimes we cannot see Him clearly. Then comes some flash of light: an incredible moment when we appreciate the beauty of creation - perhaps a spectacular sunset, or a renewed admiration for autumn’s color; maybe it is a prick of our conscience when we fail to do something we know we should do; or it could be a reminder of some Scripture like Psalm 23, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
Many Scriptures remind us “if God is with us, who can be against us,” and Jesus himself promised, “I am with you always.” So, look for Him, no matter what you’re going through during this season of your life. If you look carefully, I know you will see flashes of His majesty and grace.