I even reckon all things as pure loss because of the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord - Phil 3:8 Shining is always costly. Light comes only at the cost of that which produces it. An unlit candle does no shining. Burning must come before shining. We cannot be of great use to others without cost to ourselves. Burning suggests suffering. We shrink from pain. We are apt to feel that we are doing the greatest good in the world when we are strong, and able for active duty, and when the heart and hands are full of kindly service. When we are called aside and can only suffer; when we are sick; when we are consumed with pain; when all our activities have been dropped, we feel that we are no longer of use, that we are not doing anything. But, if we are patient and submissive, it is almost certain that we are a greater blessing to the world in our time of suffering and pain than we were in the days when we thought we were doing the most of our work. We are burning no...

And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest. - Deut 15:18 An Israelitish master was to give his bondservant liberty in due time, and when he left his service he was to start him in life with a liberal portion. This was to be done heartily and cheerfully, and then the Lord promised to bless the generous act. The spirit of this precept, and, indeed, the whole law of Christ, binds us to treat people well. We ought to remember how the Lord has dealt with us, and that this renders it absolutely needful that we should deal graciously with others. It becomes those to be generous who are the children of a gracious God. How can we expect our great Master to bless us in our business if we oppress those who serve us? What a benediction is here set before the liberal mind! To be blessed in all that we do is to be blessed indeed. The Lord will send us this partly in prosperity, partly in content of mind, and partly in a sense of His favor, which is the best of all blessings....

They looked...and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud - Exod 16:10 Get into the habit of looking for the silver lining of the cloud and when you have found it, continue to look at it, rather than at the leaden gray in the middle. Do not yield to discouragement no matter how sorely pressed or beset you may be. A discouraged soul is helpless. He can neither resist the wiles of the enemy himself, while in this state, nor can he prevail in prayer for others. Flee from every symptom of this deadly foe as you would flee from a viper. And be not slow in turning your back on it, unless you want to bite the dust in bitter defeat. Search out God’s promises and say aloud of each one: “This promise is mine.” If you still experience a feeling of doubt and discouragement, pour out your heart to God and ask Him to rebuke the adversary who is so mercilessly nagging you. The very instant you whole-heartedly turn away from every symptom of distrust and discouragemen...

No matter your situation, there is always light at the end of a tunnel, after darkness is always a brighter day and all you need do is to keep your head up whenever you go through the dark times. Have the correct mindset because how you react to situations starts from the mind. I have heard and seen many people die out of self-destruction like drugs and alcoholism. Choose the right way to deal with your problems because difficulties in life are meant to shape you. Remember that no situation is permanent. What you may be going through right now too will come to pass. God may let you bend but he will never let you break. Whenever you feel like the world is becoming too much of a burden to you and life feels like it does not make sense, remember that God will never make you go through more than you can handle. No sorrow lasts forever. Sorrow may last for a night but joy comes in the morning. Keep moving forward, all is going to be alright eventually if you can keep on keepi...