What are you afraid of? Let God act. Abandon yourself to Him. You will suffer, but you will suffer with love, peace and consolation. You will fight, but you can carry off the victory, and God Himself, after having fought with you, will crown you with His own hand. You will weep, but your tears will be sweet, and God Himself will come with satisfaction to dry them. You will not be free any longer to give yourself up to your tyrannic passions, but you will sacrifice your liberty freely, and you will enter into a new liberty unknown to the world, in which you will do nothing except for love.
Adversity
Rev. Richard J. Fairchild
Practically everyone has known the taste of Palm Sunday, the sweetness of success and popularity, and nearly all of us have tasted the bitterness of Good Friday, of failure and rejection. What saves us from an endless round of ups and downs, what frees us from the tyranny of events over which we have no control is our commitment to press forward in obedience to God -it is trust in God’s love to bring about Easter morning, – knowing that the meaning of life is to be found in the knowledge and love of God,- and in sharing that knowledge and love with those who accompany us on the way.
Henri J.M. Nouwen
When Jesus speaks about the world, he is very realistic. He speaks about wars and revolutions, earthquakes, plagues and famines, persecution and imprisonment, betrayal, hatred and assassinations. There is no suggestion at all that these signs of the world’s darkness will ever be absent. But still, God’s joy can be ours in the midst of it all. It is the joy of belonging to the household of God whose love is stronger than death and who empowers us to be in the world while already belonging to the kingdom of joy.
Sally McClung
I read about a man who had a weather vane on his barn that said “God is love.” When asked why it said that, he told them that it was a reminder to him. “No matter which way the wind blows, God is love.” How simple, but how profound – and how true! No matter what “weather” comes our way – God is love. God is faithful. God is sufficient. God is with us. God is good. God is working in our lives to accomplish His plans and purposes. Whatever way the wind blows in our lives – God is there with whatever we need. And He’s still working miracles!
Winnie Banov
When facing life’s troubles, Paul lists three instructions:
1) Be joyful in hope.
2) Be patient in affliction.
3) Be faithful in prayer.
While counter-intuitive to the natural man, this reaction is natural for the believer. It comes by the incredible privilege of having a daily relationship with Christ. No matter what we are facing, when He is our treasure, we find the grace that is needed bubbling up in our souls. Instead of passive hopelessness, we find ourselves active and secured by an enduring, steadfast, unshakeable, supernatural, blood-bought strength. Instead of retreating, we’re able to pray and release God’s love, power, and answers for ourselves and for those around us.
Henry Ward Beecher
The little troubles and worries of life may be as stumbling blocks in our way, or we may make them stepping-stones to a nobler character and to Heaven. Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things.
Anne Bradstreet
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
Billy Graham
No matter what the climate is, what the troubles are, what the difficulties are, there is joy for the child of God, because joy is produced supernaturally by the Holy Spirit in us.
Steven Furtick
We don’t get stronger in faith by avoiding our fears. What’s true about our physical bodies is also true about our spirits: the only way to get stronger is to work out. And we only overcome the paralysis of fear as we take our next step in faith. We initiate the conversation; we make the contribution; we show up for the meeting; we obey God in the small thing. And the momentum of each step pushes against the force field of fear, weakening its power to control us.
Dana Arcuri
When life gets hectic and you feel overwhelmed, take a moment to focus on the people and things you are most grateful for. When you have an attitude of gratitude, frustrating troubles will fall by the wayside.