Joy in Suffering

That doesn't sound like a very encouraging title, does it? But I'm learning it's very true.

If we want to experience joy, we must experience suffering. What? you ask.

It's true. I mean, how can I truly understand heat if I haven't experienced cold? How can I truly enjoy sweet if I haven't tasted sour? How can I exult in joy if I haven't felt the despair that comes with suffering?

The few days that I feel relatively well are better and brighter because of the days that I feel unwell. It's true.

But even more, the joy from suffering comes when I see how God uses my suffering to encourage others.

True joy comes from seeing how God provides encouragement and hope to others through me. And I wouldn't be able to encourage victims of abuse or a woman struggling with infertility or the spiritually single if I hadn't gone through the suffering.

So yes, there is joy in the suffering because I know what God can do through the suffering.

Thank you, Lord, for the reminder that all suffering can bring joy as we see how You work through it. Thank You for letting me experience the valleys so I can revel in the mountaintops.