The Good Kind of Pain

When I go to the gym to work out, it feels great. I push myself to the limit, trying to workout harder than the last time. Try to do an extra pull-up or two, add an extra 5-10 pounds of weights onto the bar, or a few extra reps. I was raised in a family that is pretty athletic and my father taught my brother and I so much about sports and perseverance. We were taught to strive for excellence and to push on even when we were in pain. Working out at the gym feels great!

Then comes the first day after the gym. You wake up and you feel the tenderness and soreness in all of your muscles. Even muscles that you didn't even know you had, they hurt too! The pain is manageable though. You feel it, and it's a sign that you had a great workout the day before and you feel good about it. You go about your day with slight satisfaction that this was a good kind of pain to be feeling.

Then comes Day 2! Ouch! Why does the second day always hurt SO much more than Day 1?!? Seriously. I wake up the morning of Day 2 after a hard workout and I feel it from the very moment I try to sit up in bed and get ready for work. My body does not want to move because every single movement just hurts! Then, going up and down the stairs, now that is even  more painful. I guess I worked my leg muscles good on the inverted leg press, right? I hope so. Because if this pain was for nothing, it would just suck. You go about your day wobbling and feeling the pain with every step. But you know what? It's a good kind of pain. Why? Because you know the pain is a sign that your muscles are getting stronger, your body is getting healthier, and the pain is all worth it.

In life, there are good kinds of pain all around us. For most of my life, but especially in the last three years, I have been trying to be a lot more optimistic and finding the good even in the bad. The pain that life brings can just suck sometimes! Like truly suck. You ask yourself and you question God as to why He is allowing you to go through so much pain. For some of the pain, its a consequence of what you have done. But other pain has no cause. Emotional, spiritual, physical....any type of pain, you wonder why. But the pain can be a sign of growth and strengthening. Just like the pain in our muscles on day 1 or day 2 after a hard workout in the gym, the pain in our lives can be a good kind of pain! It can be a sign that God is walking us through a stage in our lives where we have a lesson that needs to be learned or its a test on our faith. In the end, it strengthens us as a person, it builds character, and most importantly it brings us closer to God and strengthens our relationship with the Lord. When you face pain in your life, don't always dwell on how horrible things are. Think about the pain as a sign that the Lord is working in you and a challenge to bring you out stronger on the other side. Just think for a second that it just might be a "good kind of pain."