“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5 NIV
All of us have pain. Not all of us find purpose in it.
But according to Viktor Frankl, that’s the one thing that can bring hope. Frankl was imprisoned at Auschwitz from 1942-1945. He was able to survive by refusing to give up his belief that something good could come from this. Even in the degradation and misery of a concentration camp, No sadistic Nazi guard was able to take that away from him or control the inner life of Frankl’s soul.
One of the ways he found the strength to fight to stay alive and not lose hope was to think of the purpose in his pain. Frankl clearly saw that it was those who had nothing to live for who died quickest in the concentration camp.
It was in these horrific times Frankl began to develop what would eventually be known as a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy called logotherapy. And this would lead to one of the most well-regarded and important books to ever be written, Man’s Search for Meaning. Through these works, Frankl not only found purpose in his pain, but he was also able to help countless others repurpose their pain.
Mark Batterson captured it well when he said: “It’s not our experiences that make or break us. It’s our interpretation of and explanation for those experiences that ultimately determines who we become. Your explanations are more important than your experiences.”
John noticed how Jesus could repurpose pain.
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'” John 9:1-3 NIV
The disciples see a man who has been blind his entire life, and they have to find blame. Was it his sin or his parents? Now, of course, it couldn’t be his sin. He was born this way. Perhaps his parents?
The only thing more concerning than their assumptions is Jesus’ comments. When Jesus says, “this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him,” is he saying that God caused this man to be born blind and suffer for 30-some years all so Jesus could come along and heal him and the disciples could build their faith a bit more? I think there’s more going on.
Jesus makes it clear that while the blindness isn’t because of the sin of the man or his parents, his blindness is because of sin in general. Sin has broken the world and leads to all kinds of imperfections. And despite the sin in the world, Jesus heals a man who was blind since birth in order to make a point about God’s sovereignty. This man’s pain is redeemed to encourage people for centuries.
When you can’t find purpose from your pain, God can.
Today’s prayer:
Jesus, please repurpose my pain.