"Suffering is an unlikely route to joy."

I know firsthand: anger and harsh remarks rise from an ailing heart. I struggled for many years with saying mean things and reacting angrily to people and situations, especially those I loved. Job 16:3 says, "What ails you that you keep on arguing?" That broke my heart. I was exactly who I had never wanted to become. Suddenly, I understood the source of the angry overflow: past hurt feelings from abuse, injustice, criticism, and rejection--all of these had been pressing on my heart, and the overflow was pungent. Forgiving so many who hurt me has helped my ailing heart get better and my angry mouth and argumentative attitude have become more and more of a distant memory. The past is not an excuse for our present anger, and it never justifies hurting people in the here and now. James 1:19 tells us to "be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." Suffering can be a source of anger. Our trials and suffering should escort us deeper into God's heart and Word. We should consider what we might learn through suffering, and what God might want us to unlearn. God showed me a few years ago that when severe pain entered my life, instead of continuing on my journey of faith, I raged in anger toward God and pulled away. Many, if not most, of us do the same at one time or another. Consequently, my faith was shaken. When pain outruns our faith, bitterness enters the soul. I remember reading again a few months ago in an Esther Bible study not to let pain turn into anger. We can be relieved of this when we finally realize the source of all the cynicism that flows into our heart, and when we allow our Redeemer to take it for us. It's about accepting the grace given to us in abundance. It's realizing that we'd rather suffer with God than without Him. In the past few months God has been teaching me a great deal about faith, all different aspects. Faith does not take the pain out of suffering, but faith prevents the infection of despair. A faith-filled person has an unimaginable capacity to face unimaginable suffering. I have learned to let pain pull me toward my Creator and the Cross, rather than away from Him.