Unlimited FaithSample

“Suffering Comes Before Fruit”

Most people wrongly believe that there is some way to have an easy life.

However, there is no escaping the shadows. Without the shadows there would be no beauty. You ask most parents about their greatest joy and their greatest sorrows, and they usually respond with one word: kids.

The greatest illusion is to think you can have pleasure without pain. In a sinful world that has sneered at the love of God, there is no escaping suffering.

Mountaineers reach the highest peaks and look out over the glories to be seen. I once asked a mountaineer, a few years before he was killed, “Why do you do it? Isn’t it dangerous?”

He answered, “Oh, if you could see the glory, if you could see the splendor looking out over the peaks, you would understand why we do it.”

But then think of the agony of getting up there, the pain, the difficulty breathing, the danger! It is an illusion and delusion to think you can have pleasure without pain.

It is wonderfully comforting to know that God is in control of the pain. He was there at the Cross. When the veil was rent his heart was torn. The blood of Christ was shed, and the heart of God felt the pain.

I have known many Christians who have known shadows and pain in their lives, yet I have never heard them complain; instead they have shared with me words of grace and encouragement. I’m sure you have had shadows and pain in your own life. Prayerfully consider how you can come to have such a relationship with God.

By Dr Des Ford