No Pain No Gain

2 Corinthians 7:10
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. (NLT)

Throughout my life I have had numerous challenges. Challenge is a nice way of saying problems, difficulties, calamities, etc. Things did not go as I would have like them to go. Some things were a direct result of poor choices on my part. Some were circumstances resulting from poor choices of others. Others were just part of being human. Stuff happens!

I learned from every situation I have encountered in my lifetime. I grow as a direct result of each of them. Some experiences taught me to do things differently the next time. Some put me in a new direction in my vocation. Others made me want to hang a big sign on the wall so I would remember never to do that again!

None of us like to get hurt either physically or emotionally. It happens. Through it all, the Holy Spirit is with us to comfort us and to direct our steps. Not only do we learn from the experience we gain a new understanding about our relationship with the Lord. We see how committed He is to us.

Do not get the title wrong. We can certainly gain without pain as long as we are moving forward with the Holy Spirit's help on the right path. However, where there is pain there can be great gain. We have to look for it and grab a hold of it. We have to let the Holy Spirit teach us and then go forward with our new knowledge.