Insight for Leaders - A.W. Tozer, December 22

Literature Ministries International ^ | December 22 | A.W. Tozer

[Sopater]

December 22

Trials and Pain: Heartache or Happiness

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. --James 1:2-4

From the trials and triumphs of Paul, we gather, too, that happiness is really not indispensable to a Christian. There are many ills worse than heartaches. It is scarcely too much to say that prolonged happiness may actually weaken us, especially if we insist upon being happy as the Jews insisted upon flesh in the wilderness. In so doing, we may try to avoid those spiritual responsibilities which would in the nature of them bring a certain measure of heaviness and affliction to the soul.

The best thing is neither to seek nor seek to avoid troubles but to follow Christ and take the bitter with the sweet as it may come. Whether we are happy or unhappy at any given time is not important. That we be in the will of God is all that matters. We may safely leave with Him the incident of heartache or happiness. He will know how much we need of either or both. We Travel an Appointed Way, p. 80

"Lord, may I indeed be 'in the will of God' today. I'll 'leave with [You] the incident of heartache or happiness.' I can trust You to decide wisely. Amen."

---

Today's "Insight for Leaders" is taken by permission from the book, Tozer on Christian Leadership, published by WingSpread Publishers.

[Sopater]

TOZER PING

"Insight for Leaders"
From the writings of A. W. Tozer

To be added to the "Tozer Ping List", just freepmail Sopater...

God bless you.

[Ciexyz]

Words of wisdom bump.

[Ciexyz]

btt

[.30Carbine]

I've missed these lately. Tozer speaks in this one of True Joy. Amen.

[.30Carbine]

Along the same lines as what Tozer has written above, John Piper quotes wisdom words (in Olde English spelling) from the poem "Bitter-sweet" of George Herbert (d.1633) in his booklet, When the Darkness Will Not Lift that helps to set before our eyes and more firmly in our understanding this seeming conundrum of the reality equation

Happiness = Lack of Happiness < True Joy

To put it another way, happiness or the lack of happiness are equally less than Joy...and the Joy of the Lord is my Strength (Nehemiah 8:10b).

Ah my deare angrie Lord,
Since thou dost love, yet strike;
Cast down, yet help afford;
Sure I will do the like.
I will complain, yet praise;
I will bewail, approve:
And all my sowre-sweet dayes
I will lament, and love.

I personally think Joy is obtainable only in the embracing fully of Sorrow, and that perhaps is why mere happiness knows neither. Happiness is afterall based upon happenstance while Joy is a Thing Eternal. Amen.

[JockoManning]

Thank you for pinging me to this. I love A.W. Tozer.

jm

[JockoManning]

It must take a ton of maturity to even begin to grasp this.

One item in Scripture that helps me is that worldly sorrow produces death and godly sorrow produces repentance.

thanks again,
jm

[.30Carbine]

You are very welcome, dear jm. May our Lord of Light continue to shine in and overcome all the darkness in and around us, for the Glory of Jesus Christ both now and forever, amen!