OK Lord, remind me again... Why suffering and pain?

LITTLE BRAIN THOTS

Ah, I remember being in that guy's
 body... say where did it go?

This has been a difficult night... So stiff and achy... Waking up 3 times throughout the wee hours of the night feeling paralyzed and alone... So easy to play victim of my circumstance, rather than looking to God.  Help me to love you more Father, and to make a difference today in someone else... Amen.

BIG BRAIN THOTS
"Though my natural instinct is to wish for a life free from pain, trouble, and adversity, I am learning to welcome anything that makes me conscious of my need for Him. If prayer is birthed out of desperation, then anything that makes me desperate for God is a blessing." Nancy Leigh DeMoss, A Place of Quiet Rest

"God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in time of sorrow, increase faith and strengthen character." Joni Eareckson Tada

"Perhaps the way your or I hold up under suffering may be instrumental in the conversion of someone who in turn brings up his family in the fear of the Lord, so that his daughter's son becomes the next Whitefield, Spurgeon or Carey or Wilberforce. There comes a time when by rereading the Scriptures it dawns on us that God frequently utilizes small acts of faithfulness in the context of deep misery to bring forth blessing we could not possibly have asked for, but would have been happy to suffer for it." DA Carson, How Long O Lord

"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." E.M. Bounds