STOP AND THINK – We plan for happiness, but we’re formed by suffering. (David Brooks, cultural commentator)
Suffering and happiness don’t seem to belong in the same sentence. How can we suffer and, at the same time, be happy? The answer lies in thinking beyond the physical to the spiritual. For the most part, it’s not the joyful experiences of life that mold us, it’s the tough times, the struggles. We can be happy that trials have built our character, have made us what we are.
Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials . . . so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold . . . may result in praise, glory and honor. (1 Peter 1:6-7)