How God Uses Pain to Grow Us Up: A Gospel Perspective on Suffering
Published: Mon, 08/18/25
Updated: Mon, 08/18/25
Sessions Include:How People Change, Lesson #1 How People Change, Lesson #2 How People Change, Lesson #3 How People Change, Lesson #4 How People Change, Lesson #5 How People Change, Lesson #6 How People Change, Lesson #7 How People Change, Lesson #8 How People Change, Lesson #9 How People Change, Lesson #10 How People Change, Lesson #11 How People Change, Lesson #12 How People Change, Lesson #13 How People Change, Lesson #14 How People Change, Lesson #15 How People Change, Lesson #16 Why Study Books?My church recently transitioned to using books as curriculum in our Sunday School. The reason is simple. My life has been profoundly influenced by the reading of books. I don’t think my life has ever been changed by any curriculum piece I have ever read. Ever. I have actually surveyed a number of groups I have taught over the years, asking: Has your life ever been changed by any curriculum? The most common response is for people to laugh out loud. Our first study was the Bless book by Dave and Jon Ferguson. It is a great study on relational lifestyle evangelism. About half-way through the the study, we did a survey to help determine what we would study next. No one wanted to go back to the curriculum. Not. One. Person. The #1 choice for what to study next was a tie:
We will be studying these two books over the next year and a half or so. Here is what Amazon says about Ortberg’s book: The Me I Want to Be will help you discover spiritual vitality like never before as you learn to "live in the flow of the spirit." Why does spiritual growth seem so difficult? God's vision for your life is not just that you are saved by grace, but that you also learn to live by grace, flourishing with the Spirit flowing through you. And this book will show how God's perfect vision for you starts with a powerful promise: All those who trust in God "will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8). Pastor and best-selling author John Ortberg first helps gauge your spiritual health and measure the gap between where you are now and where God intends you to be. Then he provides detailed tasks and exercises to help you live in the flow of the Spirit, circumventing real-world barriers - pain and sorrow, temptations, self-doubt, sin - to flourish even in a dark and broken world. As you start living in the flow, you will feel:
God invites you to join him in crafting an abundant and joy-filled life. The Me I Want to Be shows you how to graciously accept his invitation. I have just completed a new, 22-week study of John Ortberg’s book, The Me I Want to Be that we will be using in my church. (I had previously done a 7-week study.) I have always thought that using books as a curriculum would be a good idea, and I have written a lot of book studies over the years. One of the things that actually using books as curriculum caused me to realize has to do with cost. By writing a study on every chapter of this book, instead of my previous study that had a lesson for every section, the cost drops to below what we were paying for curriculum. Better curriculum. Cheaper cost. Win. Win.
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How God Uses Pain to Grow Us Up: A Gospel Perspective on Suffering In How People Change, Paul David Tripp and Timothy S. Lane present a radical and transformative perspective on pain and suffering. While many of us would like to avoid discomfort and hardship, Tripp argues that God uses pain as a tool for spiritual growth. The gospel provides the lens through which we can view and respond to pain, teaching us that suffering is not meaningless but a purposeful part of God’s plan to grow us into mature, Christlike individuals. One of the book’s key themes is that suffering reveals the state of our hearts. Life’s difficulties expose what is hidden within us—our idols, our desires, our insecurities, and our weaknesses. Tripp explains that when we face pain, we don’t just encounter external circumstances; we encounter internal realities. Pain forces us to confront what we truly worship. It brings to the surface the things we rely on for security, comfort, or identity—things that aren’t God. In this way, pain becomes a diagnostic tool that shows us where we need to grow. The gospel reshapes how we view pain. Instead of seeing suffering as something to be avoided at all costs, we begin to see it as something that God can use to refine us. Jesus’ own suffering on the cross shows us that pain has purpose. The cross is the ultimate example of how God uses suffering to bring about good: through the pain of Christ, the world is redeemed. In the same way, God uses our pain not just to break us down but to build us up, making us more like Christ. Tripp also explains that suffering is a vital part of God’s sanctifying work. Sanctification—the process of becoming more like Christ—often happens through the “heat” of life. When we face trials, we are forced to rely more fully on God and His promises. Our faith is tested, and we are given opportunities to trust Him in new ways. Pain forces us to wrestle with our dependence on God, and as we learn to lean on Him more, we grow in spiritual maturity. As the apostle James writes, “the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-4). In this way, pain becomes a tool in the hands of a loving God, shaping us into the people He wants us to be. Moreover, Tripp reminds us that the gospel empowers us to endure suffering. The cross shows us that God is not distant from our pain. He has entered into our suffering and is present with us in our trials. Because of the gospel, we can approach suffering with a different mindset. Instead of seeing pain as a punishment or a sign of God’s abandonment, we see it as an opportunity to trust Him more deeply and grow in our dependence on His grace. Pain also has a communal aspect. Tripp stresses that God does not intend for us to endure suffering alone. The church is designed to be a community where believers support one another through life’s difficulties. We are called to bear one another’s burdens and to walk alongside each other, offering encouragement and reminding each other of the hope we have in the gospel. In How People Change, Tripp and Lane show that pain is not an obstacle to spiritual growth but a necessary and purposeful part of God’s process to make us more like Christ. Through the gospel, we can learn to see our suffering as a tool in God’s hands, used to refine us, deepen our faith, and grow us up into the people He has created us to be. Pain, when viewed through the lens of the gospel, is not meaningless—it is part of the journey toward spiritual maturity. If you would like to explore this new study, it is available on Amazon, as well as part of Good Questions Have Groups Talking |
