It is a writing and reflecting kind of day, in front of the fire...

Do you ever wonder if….

If only my anxieties, pain and suffering were gone, if only I were never rejected or thought of bad, if only I had no struggles, no loss, no sickness, no thorns, no this or that…

Wouldn't that be sad, and quite selfish, if it were only you exempt from hardships? Whenever I get lost in my own this or that, I remember about those who too are dealing with their own, often much worse, set of problems.

Who do we think we are, and how can we help another if we don't ourselves know the heartbreak and tribulation that comes with the blessed breaths we take?

You know as I listen and watch the hearts of those in deep heart ache, barely holding on. Ones who lost both their parents or even just one, or how about the wife who lost her husband of over 58 years? I think about the hospitals full of sick children and how about those wondering where their children are? How about those families along side the beds in Hospice, right now as I write this? How about those who don't have a home, or the fathers or mothers wondering what will become of their children now that they have been laid off? How about those who have not one other person to call their own, completely shut in and isolated...on and on are stories that break your heart.

None of us are called not to suffer.

We are called to rejoice in Him as we all share in the suffering.

Oops edit alert, none if us are called to not suffer.

Had those things never happened, I probably would have never sought God.

And thorns?.. Bad as I hate them, they have their work to do.

BAM!!! Sooo sooo true, it is after all it is in the the wilderness where we are wooed. And about the thorns work, again, soooo sooooo true!!!

romans 5:1Peace and Hope
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

I have lived this several times over and I can assure everyone that
it is true from end to end. I don't say this as a boast and certainly
not for any pity since I have never pitied myself. It truly has made
me stronger in all aspects of these relevant verses. It has brought
me closer to good than I could ever have imagined. To be sure, I
have never asked for suffering but always I trusted that the Lord
would it away. I would love to live for a hundred years but if God
called me tomorrow; no regrets.

Edit alert: none OF us are called to not suffer..

lol


Edit: Actually, you had it right in your first post. lol

I'm seriously laughing. Hahaha. Wait are you sure the not should go before the to not after? Help me, Sister.

Well, God never said we wouldn't suffer. We can't be good witnesses if we don't suffer. So yes, we are not called to not suffer..

Leave it to not only help me with sentence structure but also paraphrase the whole point of my wordy thread very eloquently and succinctly. Nice...!!!

English and spelling were my best subjects in high school.. lol

"Painful experiences in life are not meant to cause us to suffer, but to teach us something about ourselves and to make us stronger." Melanie Moushigian Koulouris

I am strong because I've been broken
I am fearless because I've faced fear
I am wiser because of my mistakes...

You know, we'd do best to remember that, to know our loving God cares enough to watch us get hurt, all for our own good, all for His Glory. Often we think the hardships prove He is an unloving God, but looking at Him as you just did, points to His agape loving nature.

Romans 8:28 fits here, huh?

I liked your title and read=).

This reminds me of another forums subject matter today. The subject was taking up our cross.

Why did Jesus command his disciples to pick up and carry their own cross.
Here this scripture should be suffice.

Matthew 16:24
Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me.

I always thought it was so I would be crucified with Christ.
What do you do with your cross?

Click to expand...

Your Matt. 16:24 also says there will be self-denial as part of the cross burden. Just when we think that serving Christ, life will be a bowl of cherries; we are given verses to expect trouble.

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

1 Thess. 3:3 "That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto."

If we have hope in this life only, we are most miserable (1 Cor. 15:19). I have given up on being wealthy and pursuing my dreams in hope of my place in the Kingdom of God.

Love each of these scriptures and yes, so comforting, Brother Deadeit. It really is all about picking up the cross, huh? Now let me find that thread.

And of course I would have misread that and thought you said "succulently" LOL Bedtime for me, I think!! LOL .... I definitely need it!

Hahaha laughing, tyou for that.