--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God uses chronic pain and weakness, along…" description: "\"God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives.\" — J. I. Packer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d16/j-i-packer-1856_affliction_god-uses-chronic-pain-and-weakness-along_2525609.png" --- # God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other… ![“God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives.” quote by J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d16/j-i-packer-1856_affliction_god-uses-chronic-pain-and-weakness-along_2525609.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d16/j-i-packer-1856_affliction_god-uses-chronic-pain-and-weakness-along_2525609.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d16/j-i-packer-1856_affliction_god-uses-chronic-pain-and-weakness-along_2525609.png) > “God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives.” [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pain and weakness are tools God uses to shape us. **In simple terms:** Suffering refines character. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges as growth. Themes suffering spiritual growth faith Mood reflective hopeful Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - health crises - emotional trials - spiritual retreats Key Concepts theodicy personal transformation Questions to Reflect On - What lessons have you learned from hardship? - How can pain be a catalyst for change? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) [Afflictions Chisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afflictions-chisel-1294064/) [Chisels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chisels/) [Chronic pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chronic-pain/) [God Uses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-uses/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Sculpting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpting/) [Sculpting Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpting-lives-1294066/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/the-weaker-we-feel-the-harder-we-lean-and-the-harder-we-lean-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [The weaker we feel, the harder we lean on God. And the harder we lean the stronger we grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-eareckson-tada/the-weaker-we-feel-the-harder-we-lean-on-god-and-the-harder-we-lean/) [Joni Eareckson Tada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-eareckson-tada/) > [Men and women make their own beauty or their own ugliness. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton speaks in one of his novels of a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/men-and-women-make-their-own-beauty-or-their-own-ugliness-sir-edward/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [There is always, in the fine arts, a physical interface between the artist's esthetic vision and the material result he seeks. The interface may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-always-in-the-fine-arts-a-physical-interface-between-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [It is not permitted to a man, who takes up pen or chisel, to seek originality, for passion is his only business, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/it-is-not-permitted-to-a-man-who-takes-up-pen-or-chisel-to-seek/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [In a sense, every tool is a machine--the hammer, the ax, and the chisel. And every machine is a tool. The real distinction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/in-a-sense-every-tool-is-a-machine-the-hammer-the-ax-and-the-chisel/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Such is the never-failing beauty and accuracy of language, the most perfect art in the world; the chisel of a thousand years retouches it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/such-is-the-never-failing-beauty-and-accuracy-of-language-the-most/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Alexandros of Antioch took a block of marble and chiseled away from it everything that was not his masterpiece, the Venus de Milo. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/alexandros-of-antioch-took-a-block-of-marble-and-chiseled-away-from/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Writing is the hammer & chisel that breaks down the established way of thinking. A concrete event, then an abstraction. An image, then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-glancy/writing-is-the-hammer-chisel-that-breaks-down-the-established-way-of/) [Diane Glancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-glancy/) > [“our fates are cut by chisels we hold in our own hands, that circumstances do not limit, that time and culture do not dictate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bk-loren/our-fates-are-cut-by-chisels-we-hold-in-our-own-hands-that/) [BK Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bk-loren/) > [“With chisels and pickaxes we made our tiny contributions to this orgy of historic vandalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/with-chisels-and-pickaxes-we-made-our-tiny-contributions-to-this-orgy/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [What can a sculptor do without the chisel and the hammer? And what can an impostor politician do without the ignorants and the uneducated?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-can-a-sculptor-do-without-the-chisel-and-the-hammer-and-what-can/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What a severe yet master artist old Winter is... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/what-a-severe-yet-master-artist-old-winter-is-no-longer-the-canvas/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Write today's worries in sand. Chisel yesterday's victories in stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/write-today-s-worries-in-sand-chisel-yesterday-s-victories-in-stone/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Why should I deem myself to be a chisel, when I could be the artist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/why-should-i-deem-myself-to-be-a-chisel-when-i-could-be-the-artist/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## More by J. I. Packer > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/what-matters-supremely-therefore-is-not-in-the-last-analysis-the-fact/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/for-what-higher-more-exalted-and-more-compelling-goal-can-there-be/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Fanciful spiritualizing, so far from yielding God's meaning, actually obscured it. The literal sense is itself the spiritual sense, coming from God and leading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/fanciful-spiritualizing-so-far-from-yielding-god-s-meaning-actually/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Grace means God sending his only Son to the cross to descend into hell so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/grace-means-god-sending-his-only-son-to-the-cross-to-descend-into/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [God made life, and God alone can tell us its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/god-made-life-and-god-alone-can-tell-us-its-meaning/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Revival is the visitation of God which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God's near presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/revival-is-the-visitation-of-god-which-brings-to-life-christians-who/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Calvinism is the consistent endeavor to acknowledge the Creator as the Lord, working all things after the counsel of His will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/calvinism-is-the-consistent-endeavor-to-acknowledge-the-creator-as/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [There are few things stressed more strongly in the Bible than the reality of God's work as Judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/there-are-few-things-stressed-more-strongly-in-the-bible-than-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/maturity-is-a-compound-of-wisdom-goodwill-resilience-and-creativity/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [The peace of God is first and foremost peace with God; it is the state of affairs in which God, instead of being against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/the-peace-of-god-is-first-and-foremost-peace-with-god-it-is-the-state/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Today, on our own turf, we face pagan ignorance about God every bit as deep as that which the early church faced in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/today-on-our-own-turf-we-face-pagan-ignorance-about-god-every-bit-as/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [God is triune; there are within the Godhead three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the work of salvation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/god-is-triune-there-are-within-the-godhead-three-persons-the-father/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [It is often the case, as all the saints know, that fellowship with the Father and the Son is most vivid and sweet, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/it-is-often-the-case-as-all-the-saints-know-that-fellowship-with-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [A little knowledge OF God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge ABOUT him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/a-little-knowledge-of-god-is-worth-more-than-a-great-deal-of/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) [Explore all 203 J. I. Packer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) ## More Affliction quotes > [I don't feel insecure about any of this work anymore. Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We are infinitely more than our limitations and afflictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/we-are-infinitely-more-than-our-limitations-and-afflictions/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [God measures out affliction to our need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/god-measures-out-affliction-to-our-need/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Afflictions make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound, and so, more able to hold, to contain, and beat more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/afflictions-make-the-heart-more-deep-more-experimental-more-knowing/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-prescribes-to-every-miserable-man-the-means-of-bettering-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Browse all 598 Affliction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J. 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