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Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Home Quotation Tim Keller on joy in suffering

Tim Keller on joy in suffering

Posted on March 14, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment


Keller Walking with GodThe grief and sorrow drive you more into God. It is just as when it gets colder outside, the temperature kicks the furnace higher though the thermostat. Similarly, the sorrow and the grief drive you into God and show you the resources you never had. Yes, feel the grief. There is a tendency for us to say, “I am afraid of the grief, I am afraid of the sorrow. I don’t want to feel that way. I want to rejoice in the Lord.” But look at Jesus. He was perfect, right? And yet he goes around crying all the time. He is always weeping, a man of sorrows. Do you know why? Because he is perfect. Because when you are not all absorbed in yourself, you can feel the sadness of the world. And therefore, what you actually have is that the joy of the Lord happens inside the sorrow. It doesn’t come after the sorrow. It doesn’t come after the uncontrollable weeping. The weeping drives you into the joy, it enhances the joy, and then the joy enables you to actually feel your grief without its sinking you. In other words, you are finally emotionally healthy.

Tim Keller in Walking with God through Pain and Suffering


Filed Under: Quotation Tagged With: joy, Keller, suffering, Tim Keller

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

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