From Cross To Crown
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5
When I had COVID it was hard to breathe, especially at night in bed. But when I trusted God to see me through – even if it meant death – when I gave it all up to him, I could feel God take gentle, firm possession of this strange affliction and do a marvelous work. At first, I struggled to keep a grip on God’s promises, but as I did, I felt a wonderfully odd calmness; an indifference to how much it might hurt or how it would all end. God kept me perfectly still under his hand.
G.D. Watson wrote, “When the suffering soul reaches a calm, sweet carelessness; when it can inwardly smile at its own suffering, and not even ask to be delivered, then suffering is perfected; then the cross you carry weaves itself into a crown. When we give our suffering over to God and sink ourselves into his will, he will make every pain work its perfect purpose in our lives.” Those are comforting words for your next hardship!
© Joni and Friends
Coping in Community Instead of Suffering in Silence
Isolation and loneliness have become a common experience. Now, more than ever, we are recognizing how vital it is to cope in community instead of suffering in silence. So what are some of the barriers that keep us from being transparent with one another and choosing isolation over community?
