Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. Psalm 51:8.
It is true that God loves us, that He is working for our happiness, and that, if His law had always been obeyed, we should never have known suffering; and it is no less true that, in this world, as the result of sin, suffering, trouble, burdens, come to every life.... This world is not a parade-ground, but a battle-field. All are called to endure hardness, as good soldiers.—Education, 295.
Our sorrows do not spring out of the ground. God “doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” When He permits trials and afflictions, it is “for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.” If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means of turning our eyes to heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus had not sorrow led them to seek comfort in Him!—Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 10.
The true way of dealing with trial is not by seeking to escape it, but by transforming it.... Painful it must be to the lower nature, crossing, as it does, the natural desires and inclinations; but the pain may be lost sight of in a higher joy.—Education, 295.
From Radiant Religion - Page 106
Radiant Religion
Thought for the Day
In the estimation of Heaven, what is it that constitutes greatness? Not that which the world accounts greatness; not wealth, or rank, or noble descent, or intellectual gifts, in themselves considered. If intellectual greatness, apart from any higher consideration, is worthy of honor, then our homage is due to Satan, whose intellectual power no man has ever equaled. But when perverted to self-serving, the greater the gift, the greater curse it becomes. It is moral worth that God values. Love and purity are the attributes He prizes most.... Unselfish joy in the ministry of Christ presents the highest type of nobility ever revealed in man. Desire of Ages, p. 219