Pain is never appreciated as a gift until God unwraps it. He grabs our attention when we’re in pain and, through its refining process, He brings the best out of us. Writes the prophet Isaiah “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). Pain is a “blessing,” so wrote Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008), the Russian literary giant and outspoken critic of Soviet communism. Describing his 11 years of suffering in forced labor camps and exile, and its effect on him, he said: “It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good…That is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say…‘Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!’” One day, we also will look back on our prisons of trials and afflictions, and say, “Thank you, Pain, for coming into my life!” (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75; Romans 5:3, 4.)—Samuel Koranteng-Pipim
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SAMUEL KORANTENG-PIPIM,PH.D. , is a US-based Ghanaian author, inspirational speaker, leadership trainer, and an advocate for youth empowerment. He was trained in engineering and systematic theology, and has authored more than twenty books. They include his bestselling works Hope Through the Dark, Six More Chances, Healed Wounds but Ugly Scars, and Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions. Dr. Pipim currently directs two Centers for Leadership Development known as EAGLES (Empowerment & Advisory Group for Leadership, Excellence, & Service) and ANANSE (African Network & Advisory for Needed Services & Excellence). www.EAGLESonline.org. He also serves as a special consultant on Bible projects for Remnant Publications. 