THE GROWING PAINS OF FAITH

THE GROWING PAINS OF FAITH

A Sermon on God’s Transforming Work Through Trials

WHEN GOD GROWS US THROUGH PAIN

There is a line in the worship song New Wine that captures the Christian journey with startling clarity:

“In the crushing, in the pressing, You are making new wine.”

These words are not poetic exaggeration. They are a theological reality. They remind us that God often brings forth His greatest work in us through the most painful seasons of our lives. Growth is not glamorous. Transformation is not painless. Faith does not mature in comfort.

Faith grows through pressure. Faith grows through stretching. Faith grows through the crushing and the pressing of God.

This is what I call the growing pains of faith.

I. GOD USES PRESSURE TO PRODUCE NEW WINE

The imagery of crushing and pressing speaks of:

• stripping away the old
• breaking down what is rigid
• removing what cannot carry the new
• preparing us for transformation

New wine cannot be poured into old wineskins. New life cannot flourish in old habits. New power cannot rest on old self-reliance.

So, God presses. God crushes. God breaks new ground.

And like the song says:

“When I trust You, I don’t need to understand.”

This is Hebrews 12:11 in lyrical form:

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful; but afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.”

The growing pains of faith are not punishment—they are preparation.

II. FAITH DOES NOT GROW BY SHOUTING AT SITUATIONS

Many believers assume faith is loud. They think faith is commanding, declaring, shouting, naming, claiming.

But Scripture corrects this.

Jesus warns in Matthew 6:7 that vain repetitions—long, loud, empty words—are not faith. The prophets of Baal shouted all day, but nothing happened (1 Kings 18:22–29). Noise is not faith. Volume is not faith. Emotion is not faith.

Faith is formed in the furnace of experience. Faith grows through trials, not theatrics.

III. PAUL’S THORN — THE SCHOOL OF GROWING PAINS

Paul prayed three times for God to remove his thorn. Three times God said no.

Not because God was cruel. Not because Paul lacked faith. But because God had a greater purpose.

God said:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul learned four life-changing truths:

1. God may not remove the thorn, but He will supply grace

Grace did not take the pain away. Grace empowered Paul to endure it.

Sometimes God delivers us from the fire. Sometimes He delivers us in the fire.

2. God uses weakness to display His strength

If God removed every thorn, we would trust our own strength. But God allows weakness so His power becomes visible.

Many believers—especially successful ones—mistake self-effort for divine favour. They boast of their achievements, their grind, their hustle, their journey. But Paul says:

“I will boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Weakness is not a liability. Weakness is an invitation for God’s power.

3. God’s grace is greater than any earthly resource

Spurgeon said God’s grace is:

“Sufficient to uphold, strengthen, comfort, and make your trouble useful to you.”

Money cannot do that. Influence cannot do that. Connections cannot do that. Only grace can.

4. Weakness guarantees dependence—and dependence guarantees victory

Paul’s thorn kept him leaning on God. And leaning on God kept him victorious.

The illusion of independence is spiritual suicide. The proud Christian is the powerless Christian.

As Calvin said:

“A man must become a valley if he wants to receive the rain of God’s grace.”

IV. GROWING PAINS ARE NOT A SIGN OF GOD’S ABSENCE

Rebecca asked in Genesis 25:22:

“If all is well, why am I like this?”

She was in the will of God. She was carrying a promise. She was chosen for destiny.

Yet she was struggling.

Why? Because two nations were wrestling inside her.

Sometimes the conflict inside you is proof of the calling upon you.

Doing the right thing does not eliminate struggle. Being in God’s will does not remove pressure. Obedience does not guarantee ease.

Growing pains are not a sign of God’s absence—they are evidence of His activity.

V. GOD’S DISCIPLINE IS GOD’S LOVE IN ACTION

Hebrews 12 teaches that God disciplines those He loves. Discipline is not punishment—it is training.

Verse 11 says:

“Afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.”

The pain is temporary. The fruit is eternal.

VI. GOD WILL NOT ABANDON YOU IN THE PROCESS

Hebrews 13:5–8 reminds us:

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Not in the crushing. Not in the pressing. Not in the stretching. Not in the breaking.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

VII. WHEN LIFE CONTRADICTS YOUR EXPECTATIONS

Psalm 37:25 says:

“I have never seen the righteous forsaken…”

But Naomi in Ruth 1 felt forsaken. She said:

“Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.”

Her experience contradicted David’s testimony.

And that’s the point:

• David spoke from his experience.
• Naomi spoke from her pain.
• God was faithful to both.

Sometimes your season does not look like your theology. Sometimes your reality does not match your expectation.

But God is still working.

CONCLUSION — EMBRACE THE GROWING PAINS

The growing pains of faith are:

• uncomfortable
• confusing
• stretching
• humbling
• necessary

They are the spiritual equivalent of metamorphosis. The caterpillar must struggle to become a butterfly. The believer must endure to become mature.

Do not despise the crushing. Do not resist the pressing. Do not fear the stretching.

God is making new wine. God is forming new strength. God is producing new character. God is shaping new faith.

And when He is finished, you will say like Paul:

“When I am weak, then I am strong.”