JOY AND SUFFERING

I've been thinking alot about joy lately and these are some quotes that ministered to my heart with truth.
"The joy of the Lord is your strength." (Neh 8:10)
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5
Joy in the bible is the means by which we are sustained in suffering - - - - - - - and joy is that for which suffering is preparing us..... John Piper
"We do not choose suffering simply because we are told to, but because the one who tells us to describes it as the path to everlasting joy." John Piper
"The difference between shallow happiness and a deep sustaining joy is sorrow. Happiness lives where sorrow is not. When sorrow arrives, happiness dies. It can't stand pain. Joy, on the other hand, rises from sorrow and therefore can withstand all grief. Joy, by the grace of God, is the transfiguration of suffering into endurance, and of endurance into character, and of character into hope--and the hope that has become our joy does not (as happiness must for those who depend upon it) disappoint us." Walter Wangrin, Reliving the Passion
"I miss my wife in numberless ways and shall miss her yet more and more, but as a child of God and as a servant of the Lord Jesus I bow. I'm satisfied with the will of my heavenly father. I seek by perfect submission to His holy will to glorify Him and kiss continually the hand that has thus afflicted me." George Mueller
"We ought to celebrate the positive glorious gifts of God, but the worth of God shines in a powerful way to the world when in the midst of suffering we still don't curse God but say "the Lord gave and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord." John Piper
"Joy is that deep settled confidence that God is in control of every area of my life." Paul Sailhamer.
"The things we try to avoid and fight against - tribulation, suffering and persecution - are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. Huge waves that would frighten the ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. "We are more than conquerors through Him" IN all these things - not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn't know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation". Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Rom 8:37, 2 Cor 7:4)
"Those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls." Charles Spurgeon
"The discontented person thinks that everything that he does for God is too much and everything God does for him is too little." Kimber Kauffman
"joy is a much sought after quality of life....Joy comes with giving away - losing, not gaining." Evelyn Christenson
"This is the secret of joy. We shall no longer strive for our own way; but commit ourselves, easily and simply, to God's way, acquiesce in His will, and in so doing find our peace." Evelyn Underhill
"Suffering is a short pain and a long joy." Henry Suso
"Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." Thomas Moore
"Strength is born in the deep silence of long suffering hearts; not amid joy." Felicia Hemans
"How happy a person is depends upon the depth of his gratitude." John Miller
"Affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it." John Donne
"We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it in full." Marcel Proust
"As soon as a baby enters the world, the baby is immediately introduced to pain. It is somewhat symbolic that life begins with a cry." RC Sproul
"The true Christian reaction to suffering and sorrow is not the attitude of self-pity, fatalism or resentment; it is the spirit which takes life's difficulties as a God given opportunity, and regards its troubles as a sacred trust, and wears the thorns as a crown." James Stewart
"Once you see your affliction as a preparation to meet God, you won't be quick to call it suffering again. Even though I have rough moments in my wheelchair, for the most part I consider my paralysis a gift. Just as Jesus exchanged the meaning of the Cross from a symbol of torture to one of hope and salvation, He gives me the grace to do the same with my chair. If a cross can become a blessing, so can a wheelchair. The wheelchair, in a sense, is behind me now. The despair is over. There are now other crosses to bear, other "wheelchairs" in my life to be exchanged into gifts." Joni Eareckson Tada
"How much more pleasant this world would be if we magnified our blessings the way we magnify our disappointments." Unknown
Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced cam from doing what his Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, "As the Father has sent me, so I also send you."(Jn 20:21). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it - - to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus has sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Mt 25:21). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 - "I will show you how many things he must suffer for my name's sake." Oswald Chambers
"It is the very joy of this earthly life to think that it will come to an end." Charles Spurgeon
"It is an unfortunate thing for the Christian to be melancholy. If there is any man in the world that has a right to have a bright, clear face and a flashing eye, it is the man whose sins are forgiven him, who is saved with God's salvation." Charles Spurgeon
"Your sorrow itself shall be turned into joy. Not the sorrow to be taken away, and joy to be put in it's place, but the very sorrow which now grieves you shall be turned into joy. God not only takes away the bitterness and gives sweetness in it's place, but turns the bitterness into sweetness itself." Charles Spurgeon (on John 16:33)
"Sorrow for sin should be the keenest sorrow; joy in the Lord should be the loftiest joy.: Charles Spurgeon (on Phillipians 4:4)
"Thankfulness is the secret of joy." Unknown