THE FRUIT OF SUFFERING

THE FRUIT OF SUFFERING
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 by CASSANDRA ARMSTRONG

Categories: devotional / GUEST AUTHORS / TUESDAY'S TREASURE

PLEASE WELCOME

CASSANDRA ARMSTRONG

TUESDAY’S TREASURE

In the midst of trials and grief, the ability to understand the joy of the Lord can be incredibly difficult.

When I was in an exquisitely dark place in my life, I sat down and began writing out my thoughts. I hadn’t written or journaled like this since I was a young girl. Writing was a passion that slowly dimmed as life buffed away my innocence and revealed the realities of the fallen world that we live in.

As I re-embraced this ink-tipped gift, the effects of life’s traumas grew new connections to the impacts of God’s fruit in my life.

The branches of spiritual growth began to soar above me as the words of grief highlighted the goodness that God had transformed before me.

The loss of my daughter stirred my soul to begin to climb branches of gratitude for the children I do have. The experience of watching my other daughter suffer from leukemia influenced a new peace in understanding her endurance through the Lord.

As the words stamped themselves upon the paper, I found solace in my mother’s losing battle with cancer, which now reframed her words of wisdom as an echo to produce good fruits in my life as a mother and a spouse.

Her example in life was no longer how she died, but rather, how she lived as a follower of Jesus.

In Romans 5:3-4 (ESV) Paul writes,

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

Paul’s words serve as a reminder that the burdens we endure are not singular to our personal existence but are the gifts the Lord has allowed to ripen our fruits.

In 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 (ESV), Paul writes,

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”

What a beautiful consideration; this “eternal weight of glory.” The grief that makes our minds believe there is no hope for happiness ever again after a change, loss, or regret has occurred does not realize that the earthly sadness or pause in happiness does not compare to the eternal joy that we are promised.

When Jesus was on the cross, he told the thief hanging next to Him that he would be with Him in paradise. In Greek, the word written and borrowed from the Persians was “paradeisos,” a Greek word borrowed from Persian, meaning “a place of natural perfection,” as described in the Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words.

The pain we feel on this earth with loss feels unnatural because we cannot possibly understand perfection here, but the gravity of the infinite promise of natural perfection cradles us from true despair.

Grief allows us to understand the love we are blessed enough to have in the gifts, people, and promises the Lord bestows upon us.

In a simplistic willingness to surrender the sadness, the fruits will flourish in the parts of our lives we remained blind to in the worldview we built with ourselves in the place where God belongs.

Citation:

Title: Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words
Editors: Eugene H. Merrill, Mark F. Rooker, Michael A. Grisanti
Publisher: Broadman & Holman Publishers
Publication Date: 2000
Entry: “Paradise (παρ?δεισος / paradeisos)”

ABOUT CASSANDRA ARMSTRONG

Cassandra Armstrong is a Christian writer, blogger, and podcaster who writes about faith, grief, leadership, and the quiet work of growth through life’s hardest seasons. She is a leadership scholar and doctoral student, as well as a U.S. Navy veteran and co-owner of a cybersecurity technology company. Cassandra is a wife, mother, and hockey and gymnastics mom, living and homesteading in the mountains of Maine, where she raises Highland cows, mini-pigs, and chickens. Her writing blends theological reflection, lived experience, and academic insight, inviting readers to sit honestly with sorrow while remaining anchored in hope.

Website: https://cassandraarmstrongbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551282488961
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instarmstrongram
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@writercass

ABOUT GROWTH IN THE GRIEF

Grief changes us, but it does not have to destroy us.

In Growth in the Grief, Cassandra Armstrong invites readers into an honest, faith-centered journey through loss, sorrow, and the questions that follow deep pain. Written from lived experience, this book does not offer quick fixes or shallow comfort. Instead, it gently guides readers to recognize how God can bring growth, endurance, and hope even in seasons marked by heartbreak.

Through reflective insights, spiritual encouragement, and compassionate truth, Growth in the Grief reminds readers that suffering is not wasted in the hands of our faithful God. Whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one, a season of life, or a version of yourself that no longer exists, this book offers space to breathe, grieve, and grow, one step at a time.

Purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF6HPNX2

Signed Copies: www.pynelis.com

NOTE FROM LINDA WOOD RONDEAU, BLOG OWNER

Perhaps share in the comments to Cassandra how God has helped you through grief.

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