God Never Wastes a Hurt: 7-Day Pain-to-Peace Devotionals

This seven-day Battle Drill Daily Devotional series helps you turn hurt into hope and become a peacemaker in everyday life. Rooted in Scripture - Matthew 5:9, 2 Corinthians 1, Romans 8:28, and 1 Peter 3:15 - each day blends honest teaching, a frontline snapshot (from the corps hall to the high street, workplace, classroom, and home), and one practical next step. You’ll learn how God brings good out of bad, how your story and scars can comfort others, and how simple, gentle honesty opens doors for the Gospel. This series equips Christians seeking daily encouragement and curious non-Christians exploring faith with short, Bible-based guidance, actionable prayer, and real-world application - so you can pass on the comfort you’ve received and share hope wherever you live, work, study, and serve. 

Here are the Battle Drill Daily Devotionals for the coming week. The accompanying video and audio podcast episodes will be published each day.

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Struggling with spiritual stagnation? This 7-day devotional series offers practical steps to establish daily time with God, set faith goals, and reignite your spiritual growth.

Why God Uses Broken People to Bring Peace and Hope

Sunday 16 November 2025

Life has knocked you flat. You feel useless. What could God do through you right now? you think. But God never wastes a hurt. He can bring good out of bad. He can give you peace of mind. He can turn you into a peacemaker who carries your hope in adversity to others.

Jesus says:

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

This world is broken. Pain is universal. Just because you follow Jesus, you are not spared from pain, hurts, and hang ups. Instead, God transforms you through them. Jesus says that we receive his peace, and then we share it.

How do you know you’re being healed from your pain and hurt? It’s when you start helping others who are suffering in the very area where you were hurt. After all, who’s best placed to help someone going through a marriage break-up than someone who has been through one themselves? Who’s going to be the greatest help to someone battling bankruptcy than someone who was once made bankrupt? Don’t waste your pain. Let God use it to help someone else.

God brings good out of bad. He uses broken people to help other broken people. Why? Well, in one sense, he doesn’t have much choice – we’re all broken! But he uses broken people to pass on the comfort he has given them.

In my ministry I often have the privilege of comforting those who have lost a loved one. That ministry has been so much deeper since I lost my own mum a few years ago. The comfort I received from God – through his presence, through his Word, and through his people – is something I can now pass on to those who need it. Your greatest ministry often flows from your deepest pain.

Wherever you are today – at home, at church, or online – there will be someone around you he seems quiet and withdrawn. Ask God to help you pluck up the courage to ask, “How are you – really?” and listen to them without interrupting. Resist the temptation to fix their problem. If it’s the right moment, share with them one honest sentence about your own pain and how God met you there. Offer to pray with them right then. And then, if you can, follow it up with a text this evening, or perhaps tomorrow morning: “Still praying. Here if you need me”.

When you pass on God’s comfort, you’ll find the peace he’s given you deepening still further. And the people around you on your frontline – your family, your friends, your neighbours, your colleagues – will taste God’s Kingdom.

God will not waste your hurt. If you make the choice to share it with others, he will weave it into someone else’s healing. Choose today to become a hope dispenser in your church, or your street, or your workplace, or on your social media timeline.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please make your peace at home in me. I ask you to take the pain and hurt I carry and use it to comfort someone I meet today. Help me to listen well, to speak hope to them, and to work for peace. Amen.

The Hidden Power of Your Testimony in Everyday Places

Monday 17 November 2025

What if your kitchen table, or your WhatsApp chat, or the school gate became a small outpost of the Gospel today?

One of the distinctives of Salvation Army worship is testimony time, an opportunity for members of the congregation to share how God has been working in their lives. But your testimony doesn’t have to be restricted to grabbing the mic on a Sunday morning.

Paul says:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

When we fall into the trap of thinking that “giving our testimony” is only about standing up on a Sunday morning and speaking to our corps or church family, we are tempted to stay silent at home, at the school gate, in the group chat – exactly where people are aching for hope.

God’s pattern is comfort-in, comfort-out. He comforts us in our struggles and then turns that into our ministry. He brings good out of bad. He brings peace out of panic. And he asks us to pass it on by our example and by our words.

William Whiting was a priest in the Church of England. Whilst he was serving as Headmaster of the Winchester College Choristers School, he was approached by a s student who was about to embark on an ocean voyage to the United States. He confessed he was terrified at the prospect.

Whiting happened to know something about fear of the sea. Five years before, at the age of 35, he had found himself on a boat on the ocean, beset by a fierce storm. Fearing the boat was about to go down, he prayed and was overcome by a powerful sense of God’s presence and protection.

So, Whiting wrote a hymn to comfort his terror-stricken student:

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

William Whiting (1825-1878)
The Song Book of The Salvation Army - Song Number 11

So, if you’re a parent, why not choose today to text one line of encouragement to your child’s teacher or a parent in your class WhatsApp today: “Thinking of you – praying peace for you today”. Or if you’re a student or going to work today, before you enter a lesson or a meeting, pray, “Lord, I’m yours. Please use me”. Then look for one person to encourage and one moment to speak about how Jesus helps you in life.

Let’s be honest with others about our weaknesses. Let’s be clear that God never wastes a hurt. Let’s tell others how he reframes hurt and pain as a gift for others. And how he often starts in the most ordinary places – at a sink full of dishes, at an inbox full of deadlines, in evenings full of revision.

Who at home or school or in your workplace needs the comfort you have received? Name them today and then act.

Prayer: Merciful Father, would you give me the grace and peace I need today. I yield myself – my conversations, my schedule, and my story – to you. Make the places I spend most of my time places where your comfort and Good News are seen and heard. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Truth About Why God Uses Your Pain for Purpose

Tuesday 18 November 2025

When did pain finally get your attention? The truth is, most of us don’t change when we see the light. We change when we feel the heat.

If we’re honest, you and I try to outrun discomfort. We keep busy. We keep scrolling. We keep smiling. We tell everyone we’re fine. But the ache stays with us. But God never wastes a hurt. And often our pain becomes his megaphone to our hearts:

Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. (Proverbs 20:30 GNT).

Isn’t that the truth! We very rarely move until we feel the heat rising.

God doesn’t revel in your pain. But he does use it to direct you. He does use it to correct you. And he uses it to protect you. He is your merciful Father who comforts you in your troubles so you can comfort others in theirs. Your story becomes someone else’s survival guide. Your scars become signposts to Jesus.

When I was exploring God’s call to full-time ministry as a Salvation Army officer, I was made redundant from the legal practice where I was a solicitor. I felt like I had let myself down and let my wife Gail down. God got my attention! I was reminded that if I wanted to walk on water, I had to get out of the boat. I finally decided to walk away from law and embrace this new calling on my life.

When the heat rises, notice. Be honest enough to admit that it hurts. Identify what the pain is pointing towards: fear, pride, grief, control. Then kneel and surrender your pain to Jesus. Open your hands and accept his comfort and grace. Then share your hurt with someone you trust. Ask them to pray for you and walk with you on the journey through it.

When you do this, your pain will not be wasted. One day, you will be able to pass God’s comfort on to someone else.

Prayer: Merciful Father, as I come to you today, I acknowledge this hurts. Use this pain to change my ways. Teach me to trust you. Teach me to take the right next step. Use me to comfort someone else with the comfort you show me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why Honesty Is Your Greatest Strength at Work

Wednesday 12 November 2025

What if the bravest way to help your mate at work isn’t advice but honesty? Not trying to fix things, but by going first?

Paul writes:

Dear friends in Corinth! We have spoken frankly to you; we have opened our hearts wide. (2 Corinthians 6:11).

We all want to help someone in pain. But often we think the most helpful thing is to hide our own hurts and hang ups. This is especially true when it comes to our workplace, or on the high street, or online. We fear that being honest about our own weaknesses and failures will cost us credibility. But hiding helps no one. Both Scripture and our experience agree: people are helped most by our honesty. By our willingness to share our feelings, our faults, our failures, our frustrations, and our fears.

When you risk going first, you create a safe space for the other person. Your honesty becomes a cue that says, “you can be real here”. The comfort you received from God when you were honest with him becomes comfort you can share. Suddenly, the Gospel becomes real on a Wednesday morning. In small teams it builds trust. In friendships it deepens connections. In God’s mission it opens door to gentle witness.

People often ask me how it’s going. I’m tempted to say it’s all good. But when I’m honest and say I’m blessed, but I’m also tired, and I’m learning to ask for help, it’s amazing how many times that opens the opportunity for conversation. The reply is often, me too. Openness turns an innocuous enquiry into holy ground.

So today, I encourage you to use the “90-second honesty rule”. In the next real-life conversation you have – at work, in your studies, in your neighbourhood, or in your DMs – give one 90 second share that touches a feeling, a fault, a failure, a frustration, or a fear. End with, “Could I pray a one-line prayer for us?” If appropriate, pray it aloud. If not, pray it silently later.

Don’t hoard what God has taught you through the pain and hurt in your life. Pass it on as grace to those around you.

Prayer: Father, please make me brave enough to go first. Teach me to open my heart wide like Paul did. Help me to carry your comfort to others. Help me to be honest about my feelings, my faults, my failures, my frustrations, and my fears, and to do it with kindness and wisdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why Feeling Crushed Is Actually a Gift from God

Thursday 13 November 2025

When pain presses in, pride runs out. But that’s when grace walks in.

Paul writes:

We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it. We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us, for he can even raise the dead. And he did help us and saved us from a terrible death; yes, and we expect him to do it again and again. (2 Corinthians 1:8-10 TLB)

We try to fix ourselves – with effort, with distractions, even with our famous stiff upper lip. But in the end, life will outmatch us. Illness, grief, burnout, addiction, money, or stress will all catch up with us. Like Paul, we eventually come to see how powerless we are. It hurts, but that moment is a gift. God never wastes a hurt. In that moment of honesty, he can bring good out of bad and turn our weakness into a channel of comfort for others.

When you place your life in God’s hands you find he steadies your mind, he softens your heart, and he gives courage for your next step. The same comfort he gives you becomes comfort you can give away – to your family, your friends, your neighbours, your work colleagues – whoever in your life most needs it. And when you feel you’ve reached the end of your rope again, his help comes “again and again”.

In making this sharing choice, we discover that our greatest ministry often flows from our greatest misery. We can’t help people by pretending to be strong. What helps them most is admitting where we were crushed and how God met us there. Dependence isn’t defeat. It’s whole-life discipleship. As we recover from our pain, hurts, and hang-ups, we become peacemakers who pass God’s comfort on to others, in both our words and our actions.

I’ve had conversations with people crushed by their workload, weighed down by caring for a loved one, feeling the heat of exam season, and by being honest about the times when I feel crushed too, and how I’m learning to put it in God’s hands, our dependence on God goes viral: one honest line, one shared prayer, one fresh strength.

Today, why not try the “Into Your Hands” habit. In a real-life moment today – at home, at work, or at play – pause and breathe this simple prayer: “Father, I put everything into your hands”. Then act on the next small nudge he gives you – send a text, apologise to someone, book the GP appointment, ask someone for help. If appropriate, share with someone what happens and invite them to share too.

Here’s the hope: God who raises the dead can raise courage in you today. And he will rescue you again and again. Your struggle can become someone else’s lifeline when you share how God met you in it. Don’t waste the hurt. Pass on the comfort.

Prayer: Merciful Father, when I feel crushed and overwhelmed, please teach me to depend on you. Put courage in my heart. Put wisdom in my steps. Put comfort in my hands for others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Trusting God Even When Your Dreams Are Falling Apart

Friday 14 November 2025

When work is wobbly, or home is tense, or studies feel heavy, it’s easy to think, “this can only end badly”.

But Paul says:

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

Some things in life are bitter. Redundancy. Failed exams. Illness. Strained marriages. Scripture does not shy away from this. It never calls these things good. But it does remind us that God is bigger than the bad. He can work all of it together for good as we love him and give him the broken pieces. God never wastes a hurt.

Romans 8:28 is a firm promise from God, not a vague wish of Paul’s. It doesn’t say everything will work out the way we want. It doesn’t even say that every story has a happy ending. But it does say that God is at work in everything, and he causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him. Read Joseph’s story in Genesis for an example. Remember all that happened as Jesus went to the cross for the supreme example.

How might God bring good in your hurt, your pain, or your hang ups? Pain often gets our attention and forces us to change course. Hard times teach us to rely on God rather than on ourselves. When we hit rock bottom, his Word can train and steady us. When we seek the support of his people, they can carry us and give us hope when we feel hopeless. And eventually, our healed wounds can become a source of comfort for others.

In your home or your workplace or your classroom today, take a three-minute “Romans 8:28 Pause”. Breathe. Name one bitter thing aloud to God. Ask him to work it together for good. Then act. Encourage someone else who is anxious today. Share a short story with someone of how God met you in a similar trial. Offer to pray with them at once, or perhaps later by message.

And don’t heal in isolation. Invite someone to check in on you this week. Share honestly about your feelings, your faults, and your fears. Pray for one another. You’ll find that when you comfort someone else with the comfort you have received, hope rises in you too.

You may not see the finish line yet. But our Father is faithful. Over time, our bitter seasons can produce compassion, wisdom, and a story that helps someone else to keep going. That’s how God turns pain into purpose.

Prayer: Merciful Father, will you take what is bitter today and work it together for good. Teach me to rely on you, to follow your Word, and to comfort others with the comfort you’ve given us. Use me wherever I find myself today – at home, at school, at work, or out in my community. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How to Share Hope When Life Kicks It Out of You

Saturday 15 November 2025

Life kicks the hope out of people. You’ll see it on your street today. People with their eyes down. Shoulders hunched. The look of “what’s the point?” in their eyes. Maybe you’ve felt that. I know I have. But here’s the good news: God puts hope back in. And then he asks us to pass it on.

If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. (1 Peter 3:15b)

Many around you feel stuck. Debt, grief, ill health, stress, addiction, and loneliness. Pain is part of life on a broken planet. Jesus doesn’t remove all pain. He transforms it. He gives it meaning. And he uses it to help others, so that our pain is not wasted. That’s why people need us to share honest, gentle stories. We don’t need polished speeches.

God can bring good out of bad. He comforts us so we can comfort others. He turns our wounds into pipelines of peace. He wants you to be a hope dispenser in your neighbourhood and online. When hope is scarce, your lived testimony is gold.

So how do you explain your hope? Be real about your pain. Name your feelings, your faults, your failures, your frustrations, and your fears. That honesty will open the hearts of others and shows we don’t have it all together – we’re still growing. Share what you’ve learned. That God is all you need. That you need other people’s help. That God’s Word steadies you in the storm. Point to Jesus, not yourself. Tell them what you saw God do. Leave the Holy Spirit to do the convincing. Expect God to recycle pain. Admit you don’t have it all together, but that Christ is with you. That line alone will give others courage.

Today, ask one person: “How are you, really?” And listen. Really listen. Then share your story of God’s hope in your life and offer a short prayer. Keep it simple. Keep it kind.

When you share hope, you find more of it. God will use your pain, your hurt, and your hang ups to bless your street, your workplace, and your home. Over time you become the steady peacemaker, bringing calm and courage into anxious places.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please be in me today. Give me one person to love and one story to share with them. Fill my words with gentleness and respect. Make me a peacemaker and a dispenser of hope. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. All song extracts used by permission. CCL Licence No. 135015.