When we are misaligned with God, it is painful to leave behind what we've grown accustomed to in order for our believing, thinking, being, and doing to be transformed. But this pain can come from two completely different places.

Trying to follow God's law and live righteously by our own effort and in our own way, can bring a pain that is like building our house on the sand. When life's troubles come, we falter because of our limited ability to live apart from God's enabling grace and power.

However, the pain of learning to die to our selfish desires and lean on Christ alone allows us to grow in humility, submission, and dependance on Him. The significance and value of this true transformation means that we can embrace this kind of pain because it is only through the process that our life will be conformed to God's design.