So God brings into our Christian lives repeated disappointments and trials and losses, not because he wants to grieve us and weary us, but because these are necessary lessons teaching us to treasure Christ above ourselves. By taking our eyes off Christ, our own spiritual inclinations become hazardous to us. We turn inward for sufficiency, we pursue broken cisterns of worldly joy, legalistic obedience, and self-sufficiency. The very things we pursue, if we were to get them, would be like pouring boiling water over our own heads.30
