“If you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.” 1 Peter 4:19 (NLT)
Before photography went digital, you took a picture, and the first thing you’d get was a negative. Then you’d develop the negative into a positive by going into a darkroom and shining a light through it onto photographic paper. This turned the negative into a positive, full-color photograph.
I'm learning that this is what God wants to do with the injustices in our lives. We have all experienced injustice. People have mistreated us. They’ve passed over us. They’ve taken advantage of us. God wants to take all the negatives, shine the light of Jesus through them, and turn them into positives—a full-color picture of the life I was made to live.
The Bible says, “If you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you” (1 Peter 4:19 NLT). The most important thing I can remember when I’ve been treated unfairly is that Jesus is on my side.
Throughout Scripture, God shows special care for people who are treated unfairly. He is a God of justice. He hears my cry, sees my pain, and knows my hurt. I didn’t get what I thought you deserved. But God has a plan for my pain.
When I shine the light of God’s love through my circumstances, he can turn my pain into a beautiful picture. He develops my character through it. He makes me stronger. Most importantly, he uses my pain.
I’ll never get an explanation for much of the pain I'll endure in this life. When I get to heaven, I may understand more about why bad things happened to me. But God does not owe me an explanation for it.
The good news is that I don’t need an explanation. I just need to know that God loves me. He has a plan for me. God will settle the score with whoever hurt me.
God never wastes a hurt. Welcome the light of the gospel into it, and God will use my hurt—the very real injustice that has happened to me—to create a beautiful picture through my life.
In summary:
Just as a photographic negative is transformed into a beautiful image by light, God can shine His light through the injustices and hurts in my life to create something good and meaningful. When I suffer in a way that honors Him, Scripture encourages me to keep doing what is right and trust in His unfailing love and justice (1 Peter 4:19). Though I may never get an explanation for the pain I endure, I can rest in the truth that God sees, hears, and cares deeply. He uses my suffering to strengthen my character, grow my faith, and ultimately turn my pain into purpose—never wasting a hurt when I surrender it to Him.
When I trust God with my pain, He will use it to shape my character, reveal His love, and create something meaningful from my suffering.
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