Peggy Boldizsar Nunley

Recently my husband and I returned from a Retreat designed for Pastors and their wives. It was a huge blessing and I can’t remember a time I felt so poured into and just cherished by God. On the retreat we had an incredible Godly couple who stepped away from their own flock and used this time to pour into my husband and I. They spoke profound words deep into our souls. You see, in ministry, you often feel like you are always on the giving end. So for us to actually be on the receiving end, well it was refreshing. One morning during one of our meetings, this phrase was spoke over us, “Your place of pain, is your place of Reign”  I wrote it down immediately! I didn’t want to forget these words. God instantly began speaking to me. It was like I began seeing flashbacks of my childhood, relationships I felt betrayed in, places where I had failed and so on… I sat there remembering. Every pain, every sorrow, every failure, every disappointment and then almost instantly it hit me! Your place of pain, IS your place of REIGN… All of the pain I have walked and journeyed, were the very areas God was using to mold me, shape me, character build in me. You see I have always kept this hidden mindset that I conquered in areas of my life I did well. I never associated conquering ( reigning) with areas of my life that I have experienced grief, loss or pain.

Phil 3: 7 says “But whatever was gain to me, I count as loss for the sake of Christ. 8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…”

You see pain is where we find our purpose. It is in those moments we make a choice. A choice to entrust to a faithful Creator or hide in the fear of exposure. Pain has been a constant in my life, Im sure in yours too! In a fallen world we cannot get away from it. In ministry, sometimes I think we see it more than other people. It moves some  to want to serve more, love more, give more, and be on mission more.. But it can also have the opposite effect. It can make us want to run, hide, and blame.

I believe the plan of satan is always to kill, steal, and destroy. He is the father of lies and is always turning situation to look like God isn’t for us or God has abandoned us. When in reality, I believe God uses pain to help us see our need. To see our deficiency without Him. It is in my pain, I find Jesus more able, more loving, more dependable. It is also though my pain, I step more into my purpose. I am more able to identify with Christ and his sufferings. I am more able to empathize with those around me who are fighting through emotions that want to control them. I am more able to lose myself, and step into faith that I would not naturally be willing to walk in. In fact, it is in my pain, that I conquer more. I reign more. I walk as a daughter of the King more. I see my purpose in Christ worth fighting for and this life as temporary.

My pain allows me to walk in a purpose greater than myself. It has given me depth and resilience. It has built perseverance in my heart and tenacity in my walk with Christ. In fact, Im most thankful for the pains in my life, because I believe through it, I have come to love Jesus more. I have come to value the cross and its healing power more, when I have experienced a need that only Jesus could meet.

What is your response to pain? Does Jesus and His purpose grow deeper in moments of affliction or do you run from your source of healing? Let me encourage you to entrust your pain to a faithful Creator, who not only identifies with it, but always brings healing to you! Never forget. Your place of pain, IS your place of Reign!