Can My Pain Become My Purpose? With Shaun Groves [Episode 77]

Have you ever questioned whether God can use your pain to shape your purpose and build a platform for you to bless others?

Sister, He sure can!

God wastes nothing in your life. And, on this episode of the 4:13 Podcast, you get to eavesdrop on a conversation I had with my friend, Shaun Groves. We chatted in the green room at a Fresh Grounded Faith women’s event.

God wastes nothing in your life. He can use your pain to shape your purpose. [Click to Tweet]

Shaun is a storyteller, musician, and one of the most compelling communicators I have ever heard. His songs and messages reflect the bare-bones honesty of a searching, passionate faith. Shaun’s married to Becky—the most fun, sociable accountant you’ve never met. They have four kids and live in Nashville.

And, today, you’re joining Shaun and me for an insightful and inspiring conversation. We talk about how that thing—that really hard thing that’s difficult for you—may be the very thing that God is using to fashion you into who He has called you to be and what He has called you to do.

You’re going to love Shaun, and you’re going to love this episode. You will be challenged, comforted, and encouraged. So pull up a chair! This may end up being one of your favorite episodes of the 4:13 Podcast.

How Your Pain Can Become Your Purpose

  1. Be patient for a platform. Shaun says that if you have a passion built on pain, don’t turn that into a platform too soon. You have to reach a certain amount of healing. While you’re never going to be entirely whole until you see Jesus, there is such a thing as going too early. Some people write the book too soon before marital wounds heal or while the depression is still a daily struggle. You have to heal enough that you can help without re-wounding yourself.
  2. Take time to learn about your passion. Shaun shares how, for him, childhood and adolescent pain he experienced fuels his passion for helping mothers and children in poverty. But, he says he started not knowing anything about international holistic development, or about the dynamics of poverty. He wasn’t sure what the best way was to help moms and kids without hurting them further. So, he took the time to read books, talk to experts, and seek out wise counsel.

    He encourages you to invest time in learning about your passion also. For you, this may look different than it did for him. It might be just sitting down for coffee with an older, wiser believer who can help you.

    3. When it comes to your purpose, start small. Often the small things are simply a different kind of big. [Click to Tweet]
  3. Get to know people whose struggle looks different than yours. Shaun talks about a friend of his who struggled with sexual addiction. Instead of encouraging his friend to write a book or launch a website immediately, he challenged him to first be in a group where he was just a participant. This way, his friend could hear what people really need and what the best way to help them is.

    When it comes to struggles, Shaun notes that not everybody’s struggle is the same as yours—even within a similar area of pain. So, if you want to be able to help those in that particular struggle in general, get to know people whose struggle looks different than yours.

  4. Take risks. After you’ve done these things, Shaun says it’s then about sticking your foot in the water and taking a risk. For Shaun, speaking on behalf of mothers and children living in poverty was scary at first. So, he started on a small scale with a small group of people. It was fruitful, and he learned from listening to both the encouragement and the critiques.

    You, too, can start small. Sometimes you may feel tempted to go big fast, but often the things that seem insignificant are simply a different kind of big.

Friend, if you’re wondering how God can use you and if your pain really can inform your passion, give it to Him. Ask Him to reveal His purpose and then trust that whatever you’re facing, God can use it.

And, remember, no matter what you are going through, you can get through it because you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Related Resources

Books and Bible Studies by Jennifer Rothschild

More from Shaun Groves

Links Mentioned in This Episode

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