On the Other Side of the Pain

• By candidasullivan
• March 26, 2026
• No Comments

The enemy tells us we don’t want change. It will be too hard. So we weigh the possibility of discomfort as too much, and decide our current pain isn’t that bad. 

So we stay in the discomfort we’ve learned to manage and hold onto the pain every day. Somehow believing that it will get better, without any change or real effort from us. We become afraid of rocking the boat any little bit because we don’t want to drown. 

But what the enemy doesn’t tell us is that if we stay in the pain, afraid to come out of it, the light in us will dim, and the joy of our souls will starve, until we feel dead inside. 

Okay, I know that is a terrible image, but the sad part is that it is true. 

Every time we ignore the Lord’s voice, beckoning to us, we lose a little bit of our joy and ourselves in the process. At the time, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. Honestly, we probably miss the moments. But the effects on us grow, consuming us until we don’t even recognize ourselves anymore. 

It’s gradual and yet destructive. 

We gain or lose weight, lose interest in things that once mattered greatly, dig deep holes of debt, and stray away from Him. Our attention focuses on something else, and we ignore the pain by stuffing it inside or staying so busy that we can’t feel anything but the exhaustion. 

This happened to me. Little habits infiltrated my day. They seemed so harmless that I didn’t pay much attention to them. It was like taking the pain, disappointments, frustrations, and bad habits and stuffing them in a closet to deal with later. I stuffed and quickly shut the door. I dug ditches for myself and wondered why I felt like I was drowning in my own tears. 

To move forward, we have to sort and sift through all the things we’ve ignored. That is hard. The moment all of the unwanted emotions start coming up for me, I want to run away and hide them all over again. But I’ve learned that if I sit with it, God can help me to overcome it all. 

God is a master of emotions. He knows how to help me process each one. There’s no emotion He can’t help me handle. 

The enemy tells us that we can’t face the darkness; it will destroy us. God tells us He is the light that overcomes the darkness. 

With God holding my hand, I can face it all. I can sit in the discomfort. I can process the pain and let it go. I don’t have to hold it any longer. 

That’s the change I’m really after. I want to feel peace, joy, and God’s amazing love. Sometimes, everything we want is on the other side of all that pain and discomfort. And the only way to get to it is by going through it. 

So, I’m learning to feel again. To sit with God and learn from Him. And let His goodness change me in the most beautiful of ways.