The first emotion that takes charge of your heart when calamity descends, is not normally joy. What do you want most while you are suffering? Is it relief? Is there not huge loss incurred when you long for relief and fail to see the value of wisdom learned through suffering? Also, wisdom is not a mock-prize that God gives to suffering people instead of real blessings like relief, money, resources, privileges, relationships, etc. Christians are called to be people who are not defined by our circumstances or life events. Rather, they are defined by how they respond in their hearts to Christ and appreciate that Christ is giving everything of value to them, through their struggles. The glory of what Christ gives is so overwhelmingly enormous in contrast to suffering in this world, that it is more suited to the contrast between an elephant and a flea than to an elephant and an elephant. |
