When Pain Hits You Hard on Your Path
It might be God’s detour
Don’t despise pain on your life’s path. It redirects you.
This short pep talk for anyone in pain provides a Bible-based definition of “path,” discusses pain’s role in redirecting you, and offers pain-coping tips to experience more joy in your journey.
The Bible mentions “path” 82 times, spanning 19 Old and New Testament books. Synthesizing these verses, let’s define “path” as the direction you travel on your life journey.
Your life won’t be easy if you choose God’s path. But it will be meaningful, illuminated and guided.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105, ESV).
Your path is the stage for your purpose, mission, calling, and story. It’s your raison d’être and Yellow Brick Road. You choose God’s path to become the most authentic version of yourself, more creative, joyful and Christ-like.
Then it happens. Pain sideswipes you, striking a blow that takes your breath away. Why would God allow this?
It might be the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, or the death of a loved one. Maybe you failed at something you thought you were destined to succeed at. Perhaps you strayed into sin. Take heart.
Pain on your path may be God’s detour to a better life.
Think about it. If you are comfortable, why change course? Pain prods.
Psalm 23 refers to God as a “shepherd.” But what is the shepherd’s “staff” in verse 4? It’s a pole that inflicts gentle pain by poking sheep in the direction they must go. God sees what you can’t.
That’s not to say God causes pain. He allows it. Evil is real. But God uses your pain for good if you let him (Romans 8:28).
Jesus spoke about painful redirection in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). The son strayed from his father’s path, only to be redirected back home after experiencing unbearable pain and hardship. This story, among others, underlines a fundamental truth: God always has a path for you, even when it seems you have lost your way.
One day, you will look back at painful episodes of your life and see them as divine interventions diverting you from disasters.
However, accepting redirection is difficult. You have a vision for your life. Pain disrupts your planning. You may feel like you’re losing control, that your efforts have been wasted. If you allow it, your highway to heaven can become a dirt road to bitterness.
Consider the Apostle Paul. Before his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul thought his mission was to persecute Christians who defiled his exacting Jewish faith. But God had other plans. Jesus knocked Saul off his horse and blinded him so he could find his true path.
What happened next? God sent Paul to Gentiles around the world. Pain redirected Paul through five lashings, three shipwrecks, beatings with rods (2 Corinthians 11:24–25), stints in prison and a thorn in his side. Yet he was joyful. Have you ever seen a map of Paul’s missionary journeys? The routes look chaotic and inefficient, like our lives.
Say this prayer if you feel knocked off your horse: “Lord, I trust in Your plan for my life. Give me the strength to accept the changes you bring and the wisdom to understand their purpose one day.”
Don’t isolate. Connect with people of faith. The story of your painful journey will become another person’s inspiration to believe and keep moving.
Meditate on God’s Word.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV).
Ultimately, your path is not a road. Your path is a person who knows pain, sees your pain and will use it for good if you let him.
