AFFLICTION

Billy Graham commented how, "When a ship's carpenter needed timber to make a mast for a sailing vessel, he did not cut it in the valleys, but up on the mountains where the trees have been buffeted by the strong winds. These trees, he knew, were the strongest of all. Hardship is not our choice; but if we face it bravely, it can toughen the fiber of our souls."

And that's exactly why God disciplines us & allows us to go through trials. They are designed to strengthen us & help us to grow healthy & strong.

And while "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful," what we always need to remember is that "the Lord disciplines those He loves." (Heb 12:11 & 6 NIV)

- Dick Innes (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.com)            

Ps 119:71 (KJV): “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”

“A believer may pass through much affliction, and yet secure very little blessing from it all. Abiding in Christ is the secret of securing all that the Father meant the chastisement to bring us.” -  Andrew Murray.