From My Flesh I See God
Iyov's words teach that pain can bring a person to see his own smallness and Hashem's greatness, and so to teshuvah.
Iyov said, from my flesh I see God. The Midrash hears these words in the mouth of Avraham Avinu after his bris milah: had I not done this, how would Hashem have revealed Himself to me? The Yismach Yisroel explains that through suffering a person can come to a settled mind. He looks honestly at his own state and his own lowliness, and that is how he comes to see the greatness of the Creator; and the more he sees Hashem's greatness, the more he feels how far he has drifted, and he returns to Hashem with his whole heart. If Iyov could see God through the pains of the body, he adds, how much more can a person see God when he takes to heart the pains and sicknesses of his soul.
Source: Yismach Yisroel, Bereishis, Vayeira (on Iyov 19:26 and Bereishis Rabbah 48:2)
When something hurts this week, a headache, a disappointment, a hard day, give it one minute before you push it away. Ask yourself quietly how small you really are, and how great is the One who holds the whole world. Then say one sentence of teshuvah for something specific you would like to change. Pain does not have to be wasted. Even a small hurt can become the moment you see Hashem a little more clearly.