In a recent Encounters podcast we dealt with the issue of why we face trials in life. During our conversation we discussed the issue of the purpose of pain—both the functional and experiential aspects of pain. In researching the subject, I came across a terrific article written by Pastor Adrian Rogers. In it, he profiled the life of Dr. Paul Brand, a great medical missionary who worked with lepers and experienced, first-hand, the suffering that they went through.

As he described it, one of the problems with leprosy is that the leper can no longer feel pain in the affected parts of the body. In commenting on this tragedy, Dr. Brand said, “If I had the power to eliminate human pain, I would not exercise that right. Pain’s value is too great.”

Pain’s value is too great! What a profound statement. Especially given the fact that no one enjoys pain. In fact, if given the choice, we would all avoid pain. And yet as Dr. Brand dives deeper into the subject it becomes clear that pain plays an essential role in our growth and our ability to overcome trials.

Pain has a protecting purpose.

As opposed to a healthy person with an injured leg, who develops a limp that causes him not to place weight down on it, a leper will sometimes wear away a wounded part of his body because he feels no pain. He doesn't have pain to protect him. Dr. Brand believes that pain is a sign of God's love. Thank God for pain. It tells us something is wrong and protects us from harm.

Pain Unifies.

There's also a unifying purpose of pain. Dr. Brand said, "I can tell the health of a human body by its reaction to pain. If the body doesn't react to pain, I know that something there is dreadfully wrong." If one member of the body suffers, the entire body suffers.

Dr. Brand makes the argument that, like our physical bodies, it’s pain that unifies the body of Christ. When one member suffers, every member suffers with it (1 Corinthians 12:26). We are drawn together by suffering. Dr. Brand said, "You can tell something of the health of a church by the way it responds to the hurting, the helpless, the homeless, the broken, the bruised, the battered, the bleeding, and the impoverished. The body is a healthy body when it responds to pain.

Pain Corrects.

Pain tells us that something is wrong. If we didn't feel pain, we wouldn't know we were sick, and we wouldn't seek an answer.

Ironically, as we experience pain, our natural reaction is to find any method of numbing the pain. Dr. Brand suggests that we live in a culture that seeks a quick fix—a sedative rather than working through the pain. No wonder we’re seeing the proliferation of drug abuse and other less pronounced sedatives. He says that as much as we try to avoid it, we need pain to tell us there is an infection, a sickness that needs to be dealt with.

Seems difficult at times to believe that God’s love language is pain. And yet, I can affirm from my own experiences that it was during times of great pain that I became acutely aware of God’s presence. Those times forced me to wrestle with the question of what does this pain mean? What areas of my life need treatment? I can truthfully say that I am thankful that God loved me so much that He refused to allow me to escape the painful times because from them came strength, perseverance, and confidence that I could make it through life’s toughest challenges. Most precious to me through my trials was that the pain drew me closer to Christ. He lovingly allowed the pain, treated the wounds, wrapped me in His arms and sent me “back outside” to live my life, knowing that He would always be near if ever I stumbled and fell again.

My prayer for you is that you would not run from your pain, but rather, run to the loving God who allowed the pain to enter your life to see you grow.