Don’t Let Your Pain Be in Vain
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death.” Revelation 12:11 (KJV)
Jeremiah was a prophet chosen by God before he was ever born. He had a purpose, a destiny, and a divine calling on his life. Yet in this passage, he finds himself in a dark dungeon. He was sinking in mud, starving, and forgotten. One messenger said to the king, “He is likely to die there.” That is how hopeless it looked.
But God saw him. When the king heard what had happened, he ordered that Jeremiah be lifted out of the pit. What is amazing is how God chose to rescue him. The king did not send gold chains or silver ropes. He told his servant Ebed-Melech to go under the treasury and find a pile of dirty old rags, torn, stained, and worn out. Those rags were tied together and lowered down to lift the prophet up.
It makes you wonder what filthy rags were doing in a royal treasury filled with gold and jewels. It is because this king had a place for dirty rags. And so does ours. God keeps what others would throw away. He takes what is stained and ruined and places it among His treasures. When grace gets involved, rags turn into royalty.
Isaiah said, “All our righteousness is as filthy rags.”
None of us are spotless. But God does not discard us. He redeems us.
He uses the very things that remind us of where we have been, the pain, the failure, the mess, as the tools to lift others out of their own pits. If you throw gold into the mud, it sinks. But throw down an old rag that has already been stained, and it can reach someone right where they are.
Maybe you have been through something that left a mark. Maybe you have felt like that rag, torn, tired, and too messy to be used. But God says, “I can use that. I can use you.” Your story, your scars, your struggles, none of it is wasted. He will take what was meant to destroy you and turn it into someone else’s rescue line.
Do not let your pain be in vain. God is writing redemption through every part of your story. You may have been in the pit, but now you are part of the King’s treasure.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for keeping a place in Your treasury for me. Thank You for lifting me out of the pit and giving purpose to my pain. Use my story to pull others toward Your light. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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