"Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you."

                            -Jeremiah 5:25

The truth revealed to us in this verse is one that the world has yet to accept. Instead of realizing that sin does indeed withhold good things from us as the Scripture says, most people today have chosen to believe that righteousness, not sin, keeps good things from us. But according to the Bible this is not true. Solomon even tells us in Proverbs 28:10, "...the upright shall have good things in possession." We can clearly see from this verse that being upright does not keep us from good things.

"Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;"

                            -Hebrews 11:25 

The pleasures of sin, no matter how great they may be, are only for a season. They last only for a little while and then fade away, leaving nothing but sorrow and heartache in their place. On the other hand, however, fullness of joy is found in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11) - and only in the presence of God! The unspeakable joy (I Peter 1:8) that comes from knowing Christ doesn't ever have to fade! Even in the midst of trials and tribulations, we can still have the joy of the Lord in our hearts and minds.

"How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality."

                            -II Corinthians 8:2