The Fires of Sorrow

I love My Utmost For His Highest and I have been using it for my devotional time lately. Here is another bit that popped out at me.

"Sin and sorrow and suffering are, it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them. Suffering either gives me myself, or it destroys myself. You cannot receive yourself in success, you lose your head. The way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. You always know the man who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself. If you receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people."

I have become familiar with sorrow because I have lost my grandpa, two aunts, and a friend in the last year. I now have a small understanding of what it is like to lose someone you love. I would have to say that the most genuine people I know have experienced great pain. I can't stand fake people. I don't understand why people have to put on a show. I can usually see right through their act. I work hard to be as genuine as possible. I think that is why I love spending time with people with disabilities. They have experienced great pain and suffering and they are some of the most genuine people I know.

When we have any kind of success, it is so easy to take ours eyes off of Jesus and we can often get distracted by pretty much anything. There are so many people in this world who have so much and yet they are missing something. When you have a lot of stuff, you can be distracted by it. When you have little or nothing, there is only Jesus. The poorest of the poor and the lowest of the low, according to our society, are the ones who truly have the joy of the Lord. I have been profoundly impacted by spending time with homeless people in Chicago, poor people in Mexico, and people with disabilities. They may be poor by worldly standards, but they are rich in the kingdom!