Shattered Dreams: The Megaphone of Pain

Part 2 of 4 in the "Shattered Dreams" Series

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
~ C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Shattered dreams cut deep. The collapse of a marriage, the loss of a cherished job, the forced move from a beloved home, or the sting of rejection from someone you love—these aren’t just setbacks. They’re wounds that pierce the heart. When our dreams break apart, we feel the ache in our bones.

We despise pain, don’t we? Whether it’s physical or emotional, it’s an unwelcome guest—throbbing, relentless, impossible to ignore. We might escape it for a fleeting moment, but it always creeps back. Life, we tell ourselves, would be better without it. Yet pain isn’t just an intruder; it’s a signal.

Consider Ashlyn Blocker, now a young adult living with a rare condition called CIPA (congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis). As a child, she couldn’t feel pain—she once ran on a fractured ankle for days without noticing, and her parents found her with bloody lips from teething, unaware of the damage. Now in her twenties, Ashlyn still faces the challenges of a life without pain’s warnings. She might burn herself on a hot stove or miss a serious injury, relying on others to spot the danger.

Pain, as harsh as it is, alerts us when something’s wrong. Without it, we’d miss the cues that our bodies—or our lives—need attention.

Pain as a Signal

Emotional pain works the same way. It screams that things aren’t as they should be. We live in a broken world, where sin and death guarantee pain as a companion. It’s a reminder we’re not in Heaven yet.

And here’s the twist: God uses that pain to wake us up. C.S. Lewis called it His megaphone, a loud call to look beyond our own plans. We get so fixated on our dreams—our perfect job, our ideal family—that we miss the life God envisions for us. Pain, messy as it is, pulls our eyes upward.

But let’s be honest: understanding pain’s purpose doesn’t make it easier to bear. When agony hits, we wonder why a loving God stays silent. If we saw someone we loved hurting, we’d rush to fix it. God could erase our pain—yet often He doesn’t. That silence stings. Does He even get it? Does He know the loneliness, the sorrow, the weight of a shattered dream?

The God Who Understands

He does. Jesus proves it. The Son of God didn’t float above pain—He walked through it. Rejection by His own people, brutal beatings, the agony of the cross—Jesus felt it all. And God the Father? He endured the gut-wrenching tear in the Trinity’s fellowship as Jesus bore our sin. The cross isn’t just a story of redemption; it’s a loud declaration that God understands suffering.

Still, in our pain, God can feel distant. That’s when we need to cling to what Jesus shows us: God cares. Without that truth, the weight of broken dreams crushes us. With it, we can endure more than we ever imagined—just look at the countless Christians through history who faced persecution and martyrdom, sustained by certainty in God’s love.

Shattered dreams don’t mean God’s abandoned us. They’re a chance to see how fragile our plans are—and how much greater His are. Pain isn’t evidence of God’s indifference; it’s a sign this world isn’t our final home.

So, if your dreams lie in pieces today, listen through the hurt. God’s shouting something worth hearing.

Next time, we’ll explore how to grieve what’s lost while reaching for what’s ahead.

For now, what’s one way pain has redirected your focus? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Stay tuned for Part 3 in the "Shattered Dreams" series as we continue exploring how God’s plan transforms our understanding of life and fulfillment.

Shattered Dreams: An Unexpected Blessing

 

Part 1 of 4 in the "Shattered Dreams" Series

We’ve all heard it before: we matter to God. And part of us wants to believe it. But life has a way of wearing down our confidence in that truth. If God really cares about us, then why didn’t He ___________? Fill in the blank: Heal your loved one. Save your marriage. Open doors that remained shut. Make life easier.

Either (a) we’re blowing it, or (b) God is holding out on us. Or some combination of both, which is where most people land.
— John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive

Take a moment to reflect on the dreams you once had for your life. What did you envision for your family, career, friendships, home, and future? If we’re honest, most of us are not living the life we imagined.

On one hand, that’s not entirely a bad thing. Many of our youthful dreams were built on unrealistic expectations. Achieving them might have led to an outcome far different from what we expected—perhaps even worse. Think of the lives of celebrities who have everything we think would bring happiness, yet struggle with addiction, depression, and broken relationships. Or consider if you had married your first crush—would it have truly been a fairy tale?

We recognize that not all unfulfilled dreams are tragic. Yet, there are dreams we believe are essential to our happiness. The single person might believe that marriage is the key to joy, while a married person may long for the freedom of singleness. We might think a specific job, possession, or achievement will finally make us content. And when those things do not happen—or are taken away—we feel crushed. We cry out, “God, don’t You care about my happiness? I thought You loved me!” And often, we are met with silence. We pray, plead, and wait, but God seems unresponsive.

But does silence mean God doesn’t care? Scripture tells us otherwise. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you (1 Peter 5:7, NLT). This leaves us with a dilemma: either the Bible is untrue, or God has a different plan for our lives than we expected.

I am convinced that God’s plan is far greater than our own. The challenge is that His definition of a “wonderful life” often looks nothing like ours. We dream of being served, but God calls us to serve. We dream of financial abundance, but God calls us to generosity. We dream of recognition, but God calls us to humility and quiet faithfulness. To lead us into His better plan, God often allows our dreams to break.

Why? Because as long as we cling to our own visions of happiness, we prioritize achieving them over pursuing holiness. That is the fundamental difference between our dreams and God’s: we long for comfort, but He desires our transformation. We seek happiness, but He seeks our holiness.

What Is Holiness?

Holiness is a word we use in church, but rarely in everyday conversation. I like to define it simply as being separated from the ordinary. Through salvation, God sets us apart from the world because His people are to represent Him in everything we do. Holiness is both the position we have in God’s Kingdom and the calling He has placed on our lives.

Because of this call to holiness, shattered dreams are not the end of life—they are the beginning of something better. They force us to shift our focus from temporary fulfillment to the eternal purpose found in the Kingdom. When our dreams crumble, we are invited into a deeper trust—a faith that rests not on our circumstances but on God Himself.

So, what if our broken dreams are actually God’s mercy? What if, in allowing them to fall apart, He is leading us to something infinitely better? The question is not whether God cares—it’s whether we are willing to trust that His dreams for us are better than our own.

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Stay tuned for Part 2 in the "Shattered Dreams" series as we continue exploring how God’s plan transforms our understanding of life and fulfillment.

Continue the Struggle

 It is no secret that life is hard. Even when we are following Jesus and doing God’s will, life doesn’t get any easier. We may sometimes expect things to be easier if we are doing what is right, even though this has never been promised. We want to be validated and reassured that we are doing the right thing.

It is logical to assume that if we are doing God’s will, then things would be difficult. 

Why should we assume that? 

Because the enemy is opposed to God. 

If we are making progress in overcoming sin in our lives, if we are in a relationship that God wants us to be a part of, if we are part of a ministry that is making a difference in the community, or if we are standing up for what is right, we shouldn't be surprised if things are difficult.

However, we can't solely evaluate things based on whether things are going well or not. 

Sometimes things will go well even though it is God’s will, and sometimes things will be a struggle even though it goes against God’s law.

All I want to do is to remind you that struggling isn’t a bad thing. When following God’s will becomes a struggle, it gives us an opportunity to grow and appreciate what God has in store for us on the other side of the struggle.

In the midst of our struggles, we need to remember what Jesus said to the church in Smyrna:

“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life: I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 

“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death. (Revelation 2:8-11; CSB)

Jesus told this group of His followers not to give up in the face of persecution. “Hang in there,” He says, “this won’t last forever.”

Our struggle may not be persecution. 

Our struggle, most likely, are circumstances haven't turned out the way we expected. That realization that our dreams haven’t gone according to our plans, which causes us to wonder if we are really in the right place. We ask ourselves, “Should I continue to live by faith, or should I just give up?”

I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules for such situations, but let me offer you a few thoughts.

First, is to ask yourself the question, “Is my struggle related to living righteously and faithfully?” If the answer is yes, then you are doing what God wants you to do. When your desire is to honor God, to encourage and love people, and to grow in your knowledge and faith, then there are many places you can go and things you can do and remain in God’s will. Living a life that honors God by following Jesus is a life that Satan opposes.

Second, consider letting go of your dreams. I think God allows people to go through struggle because their dreams need to be changed. We miss out on the life God wants us to live when we cling too tightly to the dreams we have for our lives. Remember, we may even have to lay down our best dreams for our lives in order to experience God’s best for us. Letting go of a dream is an act of faith because we have to trust that God’s will for our lives is greater than our dreams.

Third, get the opinions of different Christians. These could be people you have a close relationship with or not. The two criteria are that you respect their opinion and they faithfully follow Jesus. We still need to evaluate what they have to tell us, but they will help us see things from a different perspective. Too often, we are so closely involved in the situation that we fail to see all the different angles it has. The perspective of other Christians helps us see things more clearly.

Life is tough. Just because life is tough doesn’t mean that we are not doing God’s will. Often, the struggle is an indication that we are doing what God wants us to do, and the Enemy is opposing us. We need to stay faithful, and in the end, we will experience the life God created us to live.