Wisdom-Trek / Creating a LegacyWelcome to Day 1330 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to WisdomThe Bliss of Suffering – Wisdom UnpluggedWisdom - the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1330 of our Trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little bit of additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget:


Today’s quote is from  Leo Tolstoy, and it is:   A person who lives a spiritual life cannot help but see that suffering brings him closer to God. Seen in this light, suffering loses its bitter side and becomes bliss.


The Bliss of SufferingFirst, at least as believers, we must realize that all life is spiritual life. There is no sacred and secular life, as if they were diametrically opposed. There is one life that we live which is a spiritual life. We, as humans, are created to be imagers of God in all that we do. We do have free will to choose. We can choose to be thankful for every circumstance of life, even when it entails suffering.  One of the purposes of suffering and hardship in life is to purify us and bring us closer to God who created us. Because of this, our perspective of hardships and suffering will change from one of discouragement, to one of bliss and thankfulness. If suffering and hardships refine us to be a better imager of God, to build His kingdom, and to bring honor and glory to His name, then we should be blissful for being chosen for such a privileged task.One who would understand and be able to empathize with us, was also a leader in the 1st-century church. He happened to be Jesus’s brother and knew Jesus from childhood. James did not believe in Jesus until after His death, burial, and resurrection, but he wrote a letter to the early church about this subject. James 1:2-4 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A2-4&version=NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.


So I also encourage you…consider it an opportunity for great joy, which is bliss.


That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged quote. If you would like free access to my database of over 11,000 inspirational quotes, the link is available on the main page of Wisdom-Trek.com. Just as you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.' If you would like to listen to any of our past 1329 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.


Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.


As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:


Live Abundantly (Fully)


Love Unconditionally


Listen Intentionally


Learn Continuously


Lend to others Generously


Lead with Integrity


Leave a Living Legacy Each Day


I am Guthrie...