And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:23-24

No man likes to be broken. And you will inevitably experience a “breaking” in your life. At present, you might be experiencing brokenness in your marriage, work, relationships, finances, health, or you might be encountering a repetitive sin cycle that is breaking you. And it’s natural to try to avoid understanding, embracing, and reconciling the issues that trigger this brokenness. Yet if you continue a mission of pain avoidance, it will lead to increasing pain - not relief. So what if instead, you saw past pain avoidance, to the benefit of new life on the other side of pain?

Jesus suggests that the man who embraces brokenness and loss has potential for surprising fruit. While the principle applies to “a grain of wheat,” there is a greater principle he’s trying to teach. The principle is that loss resulting from breaking and dying which in the present is painful has the potential to yield new life and long-term produce. He’s clear that the pain which comes from loss, death, and brokenness has benefits only if we can see beyond the pain. It’s a promised rebirth if we can embrace some temporary discomfort. So here’s a question for you today. Could your propensity for pain avoidance be keeping you from the new life and the results you want?

DO THIS: Stop avoiding the pain.

PRAYER: God, I need your help today embracing a pain that I’ve been avoiding for too long. Help me to be bold and brave like Christ, when he faced into his painful mission of suffering and death. Help me to have a longer view beyond my current circumstantial pain.