Have you ever heard the phrase, “no pain, no gain?" When you start a new exercise regimen, the first few days, you may feel some soreness and some pain. Your trainer will push you mentally, so that you may push your body and muscles to its new form. You become on a mission, but the only way for your body to transform into its new physique, there will be some pain, hence, “no pain, no gain”. Its necessary to suffer in order to make progress.
Our Christian journey is the same way. Our journey mimics a roller coaster ride. It’s a life-ride. There will be a lot of ups and downs. There will be times, that there will be satisfying heights that will take our breath away, and then there will be lows, full of disappointments. Sometimes there will be moments that we may feel that we are soaring like a kite, then there are those dark moments, like going through a dark tunnel, when we can’t see our hands in front of our faces. You have to go through the worst of times to get the best of times.
God never allows us pain, without a purpose. He doesn’t allow us bad seasons of sorrow and adversity, without preparing a place for us to go through, to get to the other side.
So no matter how painful the process, or how much we feel like giving up or throwing in the towel, our heavenly Father sees everything that we are going through, and he promised that He would always be with us and that He would never forsake us.
Yes, we do go through many seasons in our lives, and those “no pain, no gain” seasons have many names to them. The seasons of “no pain, no gain," has many relatives such as, suffering is needed to succeed; no effort, no result; no guts, no glory; no work, no money; no sweet, without sweat; no bees, no honey, no work, no money; nothing ventured, nothing gained; and, no cross, no crown.
You can’t build spiritual strength and endurance without having some painfully uncomfortable, and trying trials. It is difficult to achieve Christ-likeness without some sacrifice; thus, “no cross, no crown”.
If it was possible, we could ask those in “The Faith Hall of Fame," found in Hebrews 11, about their bad seasons. Those great heroes of faith, would stand proudly to tell you about “no pain, no gain”: Abel, Enouch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the other prophets that trusted God. Some, through faith were made strong again that had been weak or sick. Some were given great power. Some were beaten to death. Some were laughed at. Some were sawed in two. Some were hungry, sick and mistreated. My Bible said that some were too good for this world, but they all trusted God and they won His approval.
Those biblical heroes, truly understood and they are true examples for us today. There is no cross without the sacrifice that leads to the crown. Yes following God does comes with seasons of pain and adversity, but from the pain, God restores us and from this pain of suffering, He re-creates something new in us.
What He has created is a “new and improved” you. “No cross, No crown” and “No Pain, No Gain”.
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