Suffering Is Never for Nothing — Carol McLeod Ministries
Hard times … difficult moments … devastating circumstances … have the audacity to come to all our lives …with no advance notice and certainly no invitation.
As we encounter the wretched days of suffering … we can either be paralyzed or destroyed … or we can choose another result entirely.
Oftentimes, it is the most difficult … utterly heartbreaking … and undeserved traumatic events in life that, in retrospect, become the most beneficial.
The benefit of suffering is more glorious than you could imagine and lovelier than your deepest joy.
You see, my friend, suffering always comes with an invitation.
You are joyfully invited
To spend time with the One
Who has your name engraved upon His hands.
It is in suffering that we are invited to know Christ in His fullness … to fellowship with Him in our brokenness … and to cultivate the fruit of His Spirit even in the desert of despair.
You might wonder why God doesn’t do something about suffering.
Why doesn’t the Lord intervene and take away the torment of sickness … abuse … and tragedy?
Well … the truth is … He has intervened.
He sent Jesus to carry our sins … our grief … and our human pain on the cross of Calvary.
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:4 & 5
Jesus took what was not His and carried it on our behalf. He loved us so deeply that He suffered for us.
As the years have passed in my life … and as the pain of circumstances have become an insurmountable mountain of despair and disbelief … I have been required to embrace a theology on suffering.
Every disappointment … each tragedy … even trauma … has turned my heart toward the One who knows me best and loves me most.
Suffering has invited me into His presence … where there is always fullness of joy.
I have read a thought-provoking quote by American novelist and poet, Wendell Berry. Let me share it with you:
"Magnanimous Despair alone could show me so divine a thing ..."
Isn't it true that the greatest pain of one's life can teach the most eternal lessons?
Cancer ... infertility ... financial challenges ... depression ... have tried to paint a bleak landscape for my life.
If I had allowed it, those horrid interruptions would have placed me in the desert of despair. My world would have been monochromatic with no joy or hope to be found. I would have been a shadow of a woman … drowning in the brown sea of human anguish.
But something in me rose up ... and I was determined to learn rather than to lose.
Now ... let me be clear … I hate cancer ... I despise infertility ... I abhor financial challenges ... and I loathe depression. But I would go through them all again to be the woman I am today.
You see … through those intolerable circumstances ... I have seen the goodness of God.
I have experienced His faithfulness and His power.
I have received the gifts of defiant joy … sparkling hope … and triumphant hope.
When we offer our agony to the Lord ... as a bloody sacrifice ... it often becomes something glorious and beautiful.
I no longer fear what the circumstances of this world may do to me … because I have been in His presence, and I am forever changed.
If I am required to once again walk the lonely road of suffering and grief … I will walk it with joy knowing that it leads me to something extraordinarily good.
Trouble has made me stronger … misery has been transformed into resiliency.
“Suffering is never for nothing.” – Elisabeth Elliot
I'd love to know what you have learned from the challenges in life.
I believe ... as we observe the tenacity of others through the burdens of life ... we are encouraged to carry on with hope.
What have you learned from your pain?
In what way has despair led you to the Father?
Have you found joy on the path of suffering?
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!
$40.00
Join us for the Stormproof Bible Study from September 10 to October 15, meeting weekly at 7:00 pm Central/8:00 pm Eastern via Zoom. Whether you attend live or watch the replay, this study will guide you through the storms of life by examining key biblical storms and extracting powerful life lessons. Led by Carol McLeod, you'll discover how to navigate life's fiercest gales with faith, courage, and resilience. Equip yourself with the practical wisdom and hope found in God's Word to become a voice of hope in the midst of any storm.
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN. A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers. Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain. She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY. Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN. A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers. Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain. She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY. Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
