Genesis 1:2, The earth was without form and was void, until God’s vision formed the earth. The painful experiences of your life is at times a means to self-discovery.
When There Is Void in Your Life
Similar to when our lives lack direction, our lives are void for form, and the pain of the void impacts our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Pain as a result of void in our lives is God working to transform us. God uses the pain as a reminder to us that it is time to make a shift, or a reminder that we need to birth something new in our life. A reminder that we need to take the next step towards the complete formation of our life. The pain pushes until we begin to refocus our energy.
When God decided to use Mary to fulfill his purpose of bringing His son into the world, Mary could never have imagined the pain that would come from it; Mary’s decision to birth Jesus lead to much pain (1) people ridiculed her (2) her engagement to Joseph was jeopardized (3) she would be shamed for having a baby out of wedlock. But what caused Mary so much pain God used to change the world.
Finding God’s Favor through the pain
God’s favor isn’t automatic, nor does it bring instant success. In order for your vision to pull you out of a painful place, God must push you to the brink. God allows the pain because He needs you to learn from it, He needs you to learn to be patient and trust Him, He needs you to arrive at an aha moment where all you can say is God, I see what you are doing, have your way.
How does vision pull you out of the pain?
Re-focus your Discomfort
It is similar to pregnancy and childbirth. I hate being pregnant. I am uncomfortable; my body does not feel like it belongs to me; I have no energy, my feet hurt, my back hurts, I am miserable. When I am pregnant, I am entirely focused on the discomfort, I count down every second of the pregnancy. But then comes that moment when I hear the heartbeat of the baby, which instantly refocuses my energy, it creates a sense of worth and accomplishment. The pain shifts and the pleasure the future overshadows the pain. The pleasure of holding the child (birthing your vision) begins to pull me away from the pain and discomfort of pregnancy.
Pain Pushes but Vision Pulls
Pain pushes you, but vision pulls you into another realm of what is possible, your vision pulls you to the realm of your possibility, your purpose, your passion. Vision enables you to focus your attention on things of greater value than what the pain represents.
