Joy in Trials, and Why that's Cool

There some times that are just painful. But I'm finding something REALLY weird. I'm GLAD! I know it's weird. And I find there is this spark of joy in the midst of the sadness or hardship. It's as if the outsides of me are aligned with the circumstances, warranting the hurt, but something deeper continues to shine in the darkness.

And then, when you think about things you realize, that many of those painful periods HAD to be REALLY painful. We WANT them to be painful. Of course I realize this post hoc. Why? Because sometimes these painful periods are times when our eyes are off of Christ. If our eyes are off of Christ, strange though it may seem, WE WANT TO SINK. If we don't sink, or better stated, when our eyes are off Christ and we are sinking but we don't realize we are sinking what greater messes would we find ourselves? Pain is a great thing when it's used properly. We wouldn't want all our pain sensors in our hands to be turned off. We'd hold that hot cauldron and unbeknownst to us, our hand would be burned past useability.

So in a small way this shows why we CAN count trials a real joy, for it is indicative of who we really are, and if not, it's only an indicator of us missing Him in the illusion of it all.