We harm no one through bitterness as much as we harm ourselves. "Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." In the face of evil and suffering, responding to God or others with bitterness, distrust, and accusations bears no good fruit. But responding in honest brokenness and turning to God in submission, faith, and trust yields untold riches of peace and comfort.
Adversity itself does not cause our joy. Our joy comes through the expectation of the development of godly character. God doesn't ask us to cheer because we lost our job, or a loved one contracts cancer, or a child has an incurable birth defect. He tells us to rejoice because He will produce in us something money can't buy and ease will never produce...the quality of perserverance.
Persevering is holding steady to a belief or course of action. It's steadfastness in completing a commitment.
God gives each of us a race to run. To finish well we must produce perseverance. A believer's life is not a hundred-meter dash, but a marathon. Those who lack patience, endurance, and discipline will drop out of the race.
We rejoice through trials, not because we find them easy, but because we know they will one day produce great reward.
In His love,
Dalinda
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