Much sadness, but always rejoicing

Ya know...sometimes I get into this stupid habit of dwelling on the negative and thinking "why is life going like this right now?" because my mind gets a bit cluttered and overwhelmed on seemingly all these bad things happening. But then I read an issue of The Voice of the Martyrs and see people truly suffering and it helps put things into perspective of how really blessed and spoiled I am. If only I would keep these things in mind. At least my family is well fed, has warm places to wait out these winter days and isn't tortured in prison for sharing their faith.

I was reading in II Corinthians this morning and thought this verse from the sixth chapter was really good. Kind of thought-provoking because of its seeming contradictive flavor.

¹⁰ We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything.


How does one have much sorrow in life, but still rejoice? Yet I see this demonstrated today in testimonies I read of believers persecuted for their faith in Jesus in some countries in this world. I suppose they know we can rejoice in the Lord always. Even if we can't rejoice because of the troubling circumstances of life, we can always rejoice because of Him.

In chapter 7 Paul speaks of godly sorrow and has this to say:

¹⁰ The kind of sorrow God wants makes people change their hearts and lives. This leads to salvation, and you cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has brings death. ¹¹ See what this sorrow—the sorrow God wanted you to have—has done to you: It has made you very serious. It made you want to restore yourselves. It made you angry and afraid. It made you want to see me. It made you care. It made you want to do the right thing. In every way you have regained your innocence.


I think I'll go read a new book I got from the library recently. It's about Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and events surrounding their lives including background information on the areas from which they came and went. Quite interesting.