Putting things in perspective...

"You do not find one godly man who came out of an affliction worse than when he went into it; though for awhile he was shaken, yet at last he was better for an affliction".

I have been thinking a lot about this type of thing lately, because life has just seemed so hard.  Do you ever have those days where you just feel like you're failing at everything?  Those days when nothing seems to go right, and you just feel like giving up?  I've been having a lot of those days lately.

But that's not the point of this post.  The point is that no matter how discouraged I feel, I have something to hold onto.  And, no matter how much I feel like I'm struggling, it is nothing compared to what Christ suffered for my sake. 

The crazy thing is how easy it is to forget about his sacrifice.  I so often catch myself living with such entitlement.  It is so easy for my heart to fall into thinking that i deserve good.  That i deserve to be happy, healthy and content.  But that is not true!  What I deserve is hell, because I have sinned against a holy and righteous God.

When my thoughts start going in a downward spiral, the only thing that helps is teaching myself again, and again and again that Christ is enough.  The quote above is from a book called "Be Still My Soul", which has been invaluable to me.  I can't recommend it enough!! It is a compilation of excerpts from different essays on pain and suffering, and the thing that has been so helpful is that every single one points me back to Christ's suffering.  It is full of such clear, practical and helpful truth...a welcome breath of fresh air from my thoughts.


Here are a few more quotes that have been so helpful for me in breaking the cycle of my thoughts:

"Because Jesus is raised from the dead, it is the very meaning of history that life comes out of death - that out of devastation comes redemption". - Keller

"I have the comfort and confidence that the entire matter was under God's overarching decrees, and that nothing happens in my life outside of his loving plans for me...God cares most...about teaching me to hate my transgressions and to keep growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus". - Joni Eareckson Tada

" Believe that God is loving enough, and powerful enough, and wise enough, and gracious enough to do what he says when he promises to work everything for your good". - Benton
 
There is SO much more I could say about this, but suffice it to say that I have been greatly encouraged by this little book.  There is nothing like a little perspective!