“And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring in the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.”
2 Corinthians 1:6 (KJV)
Whether we are afflicted or comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. What a place to be in spiritually: to have the sense of peace which helps you see the greater purpose in all circumstances. Whatever it is, I’m not going to let the challenge get me down, but I will persevere in Christ so that the challenge sharpens me rather than crushing me, and furthermore, all of that sharpening can be pointed toward the purpose of greater love. You don’t always know who you might be helping, or why.
Andrew K. Banks 