There are times when sorrow can be the means of bringing us heart-to-heart with God. When repeated attacks have robbed us of health, friends, money, and favorable circumstances, God then becomes the only thing in life for us. We come to love Him for who He is and not merely for what He has to give.

Reasons why, we should rejoice with our hardships and praise Him for our difficulties.

1. Jesus knew that God often uses tragedy to cause people to look to heaven for solutions to their problems. The Savior said,"Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John. 15:2) Thank the Lord to for His pruning of certain habits, thoughts and dependencies enabling us to be more fruitful.

2. Jesus knew that people need to die to themselves and their desires before God can properly use them. The Lord Jesus said,"Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." (John 12:24) Ask the Lord for a greater yielding attitude so we can enjoy greater spiritual success.

3. Jesus knew that sometimes we must step aside in order for God’s greater work to be done. The Lord Jesus said,"It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (John. 16:7) Ask the Lord for the wisdom to know when to step aside to allow God to use whomever He wants to get His will accomplished.

4. Jesus knew that adversity often happens to the Godly as a means of greater visibility for God’s kingdom and righteousness. The Lord Jesus said, "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me." (John. 16:1-3) Ask the Lord to help you see the silver lining behind every dark cloud of adversity.

5. Jesus knew that hardship often happens so that we can see how the Lord turns our grief to joy. The great Shepherd said, "I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy." (John 16:20) Ask the Lord to give us greater faith enabling us to see how God can turn any grief into greater lasting joy.

6. Jesus knew that things often get worse in minor areas so that we can learn how to assume greater responsibilities. The Master said, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." (Luke. 16:10) Ask the Lord to help us be faithful and effective with our minor duties so God can promote us to greater responsibilities.

7. Jesus knew that adversity is often used to accomplish the greater purposes of God throughout society. The Lord Jesus said, "Neither this blind man sinned nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:4) Ask the Lord to give us greater insight into how the Lord uses everyone and everything for His sovereign purposes.

As we look at the words of the Bible, we find there is much wisdom shared with us from 2000 years ago. It’s as if the Bible were written yesterday. That’s because He is the same now as He was then, and the same as He will be tomorrow.

Joy is the ability to stand in the middle of the storm, when our entire world is falling down around us, and remain thankful to God, in the knowledge that all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord. Do we love the Lord? Are we expressing thankfulness for the hard times? Is His light shining through us for others to see?