It’s actually a comfort

Pain is sent from heaven for our salvation, to test us, for the forgiveness of our sins and for our spiritual progress, so long as we accept it gladly, as coming from the hand of God, as the Prophet David says: ‘Your rod and your staff have comforted me’ (Ps. 22, 5). So the rod and staff of pain bring comfort to good and faithful Christians and bring them progress in their good actions. They cleanse them from their sins and make them worthy of a greater crown and reward in heaven. For the wicked, the rod of pain is an invitation to repent, it’s a punishment in place of other punishment and a rein on them, because they don’t want to come closer to God (Ps, 31, 9-10).