I endure everything for the sake of the elect,

that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

2 Timothy 2:10

Oh, if only Job had known, as he sat in the ashes,

troubling his heart over the thought of God’s providence,

that millions down through history would look back on his trials.

He might have taken courage in the fact that his experience

would be a help to others throughout the world.

No one lives to himself, and Job’s story is like yours & mine, only his was written for all to see.

The afflictions Job faced & the trials he wrestled with

are the very things for which he is remembered,

and without them we would probably never have read of him in God’s Word.

We never know the trials that await us in the days ahead.

We may not be able to see the light through our struggles,

but we can believe that those days, as in the life of Job,

will be the most significant we are called upon to live.

Robert Collyer

Who has not learned that our most sorrowful days are frequently our best?

The days when our face is full of smiles & we skip easily through the soft meadow

God has adorned with spring flowers, the capacity of our heart is often wasted.

The soul that is always lighthearted & cheerful misses the deepest things of life.

Certainly that life has its reward & is fully satisfied,

but the depth of its satisfaction is very shallow.

Its heart is dwarfed & its nature,

which has the potential of experiencing

the highest heights & the deepest depths, remains undeveloped.

And the wick of its life burns quickly to the bottom,

without ever knowing the richness of profound joy.

Remember, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn”

Matt 5:4

Stars shine the brightest during the long dark night of winter.

And the gentian wildflowers display their fairest blooms

among the nearly inaccessible heights of mountain snow & ice.

God seems to use the pressure of pain to trample out

the fulfillment of His promises & thereby release the sweetest juice of His winepress.

Only those who have known sorrow can fully appreciate

the great tenderness of the “man of sorrows”

Isa 53:3

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We may be experiencing little sunshine,

but the long periods of gloomy darkness have been wisely designed for us,

for perhaps a lengthy stretch of summer weather

would have made us like parched land or a barren wilderness.

Our Lord knows best & the clouds & the sun wait for His command.

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When told, “It’s a gray day,”

an old Scottish cobbler once replied,

Yes, but didn’t ya see the patch of blue?”