Let Your Pain Draw You Closer to Others

[Let Your Pain Draw You Closer to Others]( Current Teaching Series [Rethinking Your Life]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Let Your Pain Draw You Closer to Others]( By Rick Warren — 02/05/2024 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (NLT) Suffering changes you. It can turn you away from self-centeredness and toward caring more about other people in pain. One important way you can use your pain for good is to draw closer to others. If you’re honest about the things that are causing you pain, then it will deepen your love and mature your relationships and sense of community. If you allow yourself to be vulnerable, then it will help you build authentic relationships. There’s a sad statistic that about a third of marriages end up in divorce after the loss of a child. People all grieve differently, and it can drive a couple apart. When our son died, my wife Kay and I decided we were going to use our pain to grow closer together rather than let it drive us apart. We didn’t try to talk each other out of our pain. When Kay was going through a wave of grief, I would simply walk over and put my arm around her or just stand by her and be quiet. There were no words to say. The deeper the pain, the fewer words you use. Our small group came over after Matthew died. They said, “We’re spending the night at your house. We’re not going to leave you here alone. We’re going to be with you.” They didn’t try to give us any words of wisdom. They just gave us the ministry of presence. They slept on our couches and on the floor. I’ll never forget how it held us up. The Bible says, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NLT). You don’t have to try to cheer people up when they’re grieving. Instead, try to enter into their grief and feel it with them. Sharing in someone’s pain leads to building fellowship, becoming closer to other people, and strengthening relationships. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Why do you think people often need your presence more than your words of wisdom when they are in pain? - How has suffering changed your relationships? How has it drawn you closer to or pushed you further away from people? - Why is it sometimes easier to close yourself off when you are grieving rather than to make yourself vulnerable in your relationships? The post [Let Your Pain Draw You Closer to Others]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the Rethinking Your Life Scripture Cards when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( How you think controls how you live. And while your mind is a battleground for temptation, it’s also the key to finding true and lasting peace. That’s why Pastor Rick put together the brand-new Rethinking Your Life Scripture card set. As you immerse yourself in God’s Word with these beautifully illustrated Bible verse cards, you’ll discover how you can take control of your thought life so you can win when faced with temptation, defeat discouragement, and respond to pain. [GIVE NOW]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length message from Pastor Rick's series Rethinking Your Life. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Why You Need to Think About What You Think About Message 2: Learning to Think Like Jesus Message 3: Choosing to Manage My Mind Message 4: Rethinking the Problem of Sin Message 5: How to Win Over Persistent Temptations Message 6: Defeating Discouragement Message 7: Changing How I Think About Pain Message 8: Recovering from Traumatic Experiences [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. 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