God has never promised a life without suffering, but He has promised to comfort us and give us the strength to carry on. He has also promised to work good out of everything that happens to us if we love Him and continue wanting His will in our lives (Rom. 8:28).

Your mess can become your ministry if you will have a positive attitude and decide to let everything you go through prepare you for what is ahead.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5b Have you ever noticed that being upset or downtrodden about problems never changes them? Sometimes we don't take time to look at the fruit of our actions, but if we did, surely we would see that worry is useless. We can learn to enjoy the journey of life, even when it takes us in a different direction than we had planned.

It's been my experience that most people aren't truly happy until they've had many reasons to be sad. I believe this is because it takes all of those bad days and hardships to teach us how to truly appreciate what we have. It builds our resilience."2

Jesus did not leave Peter to drown just because he had done fine for a while and then made a mistake.

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. . . . You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

I am the man, I suffer'd, I was there.

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have — life itself.

Some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage and working their solitary but irresistible way throughout a thousand obstacles.

Even when we feel we should be disqualified from all that Christ offers, grace beckons us back.

Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT

Forgiveness as the response to the inevitability of failure. Suffering understood as part of life. Trust as the other side of anguish. A permanent thankfulness.