James 5:11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
There are so many verses about perseverance and hope in the Bible. Verses that talk about the suffering and hardship. Right on the heels are the verses about compassion and mercy and grace. I know I have written about it before, but I wonder why we need to have the suffering and hardship in order to fully experience the compassion and mercy of God. What is it in our human nature that makes us so bent on being the one who gets the glory when times are good, but complaining to God when times are hard? I have gained so much more in those times of difficulty and the Lord's compassion and mercy are more deeply understood. I hope that as times get better and I am back on the mountaintop once again, whenever that comes, that I am able to keep my focus on Jesus and give Him all of the glory there too. Life is full of valleys and mountaintops simply because we need them. Our brokenness cries out for both valleys and mountaintops because we need the closeness of Christ in the valleys and the rest in Him on the mountaintops. We were made to live in Jesus, and we can only do that when we suffer with him and rejoice with him, valleys and mountaintops.
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