At some point, every suffering Christian is encouraged to “choose joy” and move beyond their pain. And how can any good Christian argue with such biblical advice? But, as my grief counselor often says . . .

“What else does the Bible say?”

“When pain almost strangles us and darkness is our closest friend, what should we do?”

“For years, I thought the best response was cheerful acceptance. Since God uses everything for our good and His glory, I felt the most God-honoring attitude was to appear joyful all the time. Even when I was confused and angry. Even when my heart was breaking. And especially when I was around people who didn’t know Christ.”

Vaneetha Rendall Risner has something worth consideration to share on this topic. Click on the source link below to see what else the Bible has to say about how to handle suffering.

Source: Lament: Beauty out of Bitterness – Vaneetha Rendall