Pleasure and Pain

O my God, in You I trust, 
do not let me be ashamed; do not 
let my enemies exult over me.
Psalms 25:2

It's impossible to pass through life without experiencing times when you cannot see your way through a deep valley. Times when the package delivered at the back door comes delivered in the ugly wrapping of death or affliction or illness or even divorce.

 "Pleasure is nothing else but the intermission of pain." That statement, as spoken by a British author, is very blunt; but it has some truth to it.

You may find yourself enjoying the intermission. Today, you may be smiling. Your heart may be light and merry. Perhaps answers to prayer have come beautifully and deliberately. You are swept away in delight. 

But it's also quite possible that you are caught in the grip of affliction. You may be going through some of the hardest days of your life. You may be wondering, Why? Why me? Why this trial?

When you persevere through a trial, God gives you a special measure of insight. You become the recipient of the favor of God as He gives to you something that would not be learned otherwise. Your faith will increase, and you will march on with the victory Christ gives you.