Celebrate Recovery Choice 8

Hyunjin Lee
Dec 3, 2025
3 min read

“Yield Myself to God to Bring This Good News to Others”

Choice 8: The Sharing Choice — Recycling Your Pain for God’s Purpose

Many people assume that God only uses the gifted, the strong, and the extraordinary. But Scripture shows us the opposite: God delights in using ordinary, imperfect, weak people. He says, “My power works best in weakness.” When we allow others to see our honesty and vulnerability, God gets the glory. People don’t connect with our strengths—they connect with our transparency.

Recovery becomes real when we move from “God, help me” to “How can God use me to help others?”

Why Does God Allow Pain?

1. God Has Given Us Free Will

God created humans with the ability to choose. Real love requires freedom—not control. But this also means others can choose wrongly, and sometimes we are hurt as innocent victims. God could take away someone’s ability to harm—but to be fair, He would have to take away ours too. Pain is part of the “free will” package.

2. God Uses Pain to Get Our Attention

Pain has a way of waking us up.“Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.”Paul wrote, “I am glad, not because it hurt you, but because the pain turned you to God.”Pain alerts us that something is wrong—and points us back to Him.

3. God Uses Pain to Teach Us to Depend on Him

Without problems, we would never discover that God is the only true problem-solver.Crisis pushes us to trust Him more deeply.

4. God Uses Pain to Equip Us for Ministry

Pain creates humility, empathy, and sensitivity. It prepares us to serve others who are hurting in the same way we once were.

Everyone needs recovery—emotionally, mentally, spiritually, relationally. God never wastes a hurt.“You meant to harm me, but God intended it for good.”He is bigger than what people have done to you, and He can recycle your hurts, hang-ups, and habits into healing for someone else.

How Can We Use Our Pain to Help Others?

1. Accept Your Mission

Jesus said:“Go and make disciples of all nations…”Your mission is not to have a perfect life but to be a witness. You don’t have to be a theologian—just tell what God has done for you. Your story is powerful.

2. Tell Your Story

Be humble. Be real. Don’t preach or lecture. You are a witness, not a defense attorney.

3. Know Who Needs Your Story

Your beneficiaries are people going through what you have already survived.

Making the Choice

Action Step 1: Pray About It

A daily prayer might sound like this:

“Dear God, help me be ready to share with someone today the victories You have given me. Help me find the right words and the right time to share my heart with someone who is hurting. Thank You for freeing me from my hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Let me share with gentleness and respect. Thank You for letting me serve You today. Amen.”