The Suffering of Self-Denial and Self-Sacrifice

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The power of suffering in serving the Lord provides amazing blessings to those who understand and embrace the truth that suffering pain can produce greater strength, understanding, and wisdom for those who walk by faith and not by sight.  Recently, there was a saying that has been frequently used regarding the pain and hardship that humans often experience on a daily basis.  The statement was, “Choose Your Hard!”  What is meant by this statement is this, in our daily choices in what to do and say there will be consequences for these actions.  A simple example would be related to choosing to be disciplined or undisciplined in maintaining our physical fitness at healthy levels.  In choosing to be disciplined in daily movement and exercise activities there will be the more immediate “Hard” of physical aches and pains, the time it takes to do a daily exercise program and possibly the financial cost to do such programs.  On the other hand, there is a different, more challenging, and costly kind of “Hard” if you choose to be undisciplined by not exercising daily.  This “Hard” includes atrophy of muscles, restricted movement, sluggishness, lack of motivation, and possibly costly healthcare challenges.