Mental Vitamin Monday: Finding Purpose In Suffering

"You don't have to be alone in your hurt! Comfort is yours. Joy is an option. And it's all been made possible by our Saviour. He went without comfort so you might have it. He postponed joy so you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so you might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow."  -Joni Eareckson Tada

 It doesn't matter if we are in a room full of people or in an empty room...when we are dealing with life's difficulties, we can find ourselves feeling alone and sometimes even feel abandoned. Suffering seems to welcome isolation and hopelessness. But if we welcome the Lord to replace our thoughts of hopelessness and sorrow with peace and joy then we can understand that no matter what we are going through, God is going through it with us. We are NEVER alone. And we will realize that suffering is not meant to break us down, but to build in us strength. When we are going through a serious struggle and we remain hopeful in God's promises as faithful believers then others will see God's love and hope through us and discover His peace also....making our suffering purposeful. If we don't see the purpose behind our suffering it can consume us, making us bitter, and resentful. But in knowing that God uses the all together for GOOD, then, and only then, will we see the purpose of our suffering and revel in His goodness and grace.

I take constant comfort in knowing that nothing we experience here on earth can compare to the joy that awaits us in Heaven. So when I find myself focusing on the negative or feeling the weight of despair...I return to this promise of hope. It puts everything into perspective for me.