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• "I have found that people in pain stop praying. Do you know why? Because they are uncomfortable with what they are feeling and struggling with. I think that is a huge mistake, and I think part of the problem is that we have this mentality that we have to pray perfectly, in control, and come to God with everything cleaned up. Listen! God knows you are a mess. He knows what’s going on in your soul. He’s heard every thought. Tell him you are hurting. Tell him that you are frustrated. Tell him that you are scared. Tell him what you want to do to those who’ve hurt you." Mark Vroegup, Pastor College Park Church, on Psalm 13
• "Pain should lead to prayer. That is the point of a lament. We don’t lament for lament sake. We are not sad just to be sad. Nor do you wait until you are no longer hurting, no longer under the press of hard circumstances, no longer struggling to cry out to God in prayer. Pain creates great prayer! The person in pain wants to know that God cares. It is one thing to be in pain. It is another thing for the pain to be pointless, random, and cruel. The cry here is for God to see, to know, and to care." Mark Vroegup, Pastor College Park Church, on Psalm 13.
• "When we encounter storms, Jesus asks us, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" Each storm is an invitation to trust Jesus, to remember his care" Rich Vincent
• "A sickness usually teaches a lot more than a sermon." Thomas Watson
• "The greatest opportunity to glorify God is when you are walking thru the fires of affliction and trials" - Bob O'Bannon
• "Perhaps the way your or I hold up under suffering may be instrumental in the conversion of someone who in turn brings up his family in the fear of the Lord, so that his daughter's son becomes the next Whitefiled, Spurgeon or Carey or Wilberforce. There comes a time when by rereading the Scriptures it dawns on us that God frequently utilizes small acts of faithfulness in the contect of deep misery to bring forth blessing we could not possibly have asked for, but would have been happy to suffer for it." DA Carson, How Long O Lord
• "Suffering so unbolts the door of the heart, that the Word hath easier entrance." Richard Baxter
• "Think of your worst moments, your sorrows, your losses, your sadness and then remember that here you are, able to remember them . . . you got through the worst day of your life . . . you got through the trauma, you got through the trial, you endured the temptation, you survived the bad relationship, you're making your way out of the dark . . . remember the bad things ... then look to see where you are." When we remember how difficult life used to be and how far we have come, we set up an explicit contrast in our mind, and this contrast is fertile ground for gratefulness." the Reverend Peter Gomes
• "Thanksgiving should characterize God's people at all times: "In everything, give thanks." What does it mean to give thanks in all things? One thing it surely does not mean is that we should be thankful for all things. The command is not "be thankful for all things," but "be thankful in all things." We are not expected to thank God for the horrors of life. There are legitimate behaviors, circumstances, and attitudes that should repulse us. Though we can't be thankful for all things, we can be thankful in the midst of all things. How can this be? Gratitude looks underneath the surface. Gratitude "is not simply a form of "positive thinking" or a technique of "happy-ology," but rather a deep and abiding recognition and acknowledgment that goodness exists under even the worst that life offers." Rich Vincent
• "God does not allow evil and suffering to continue because He does not love us, or is in some way detached and removed from us. God takes our suffering so seriously, that he took it upon himself on the cross." Tim Keller
• "The worse thing that can happen to any of us is to have a path that's made too smooth. One of the greatest blessings the Lord ever gave us was a cross." - Spurgeon
• "The beauty of the Gospel message is not that we shall not suffer, but rather that regardless of the level and intensity of our suffering, God is always there by our side, and will always give us the strength to stand and not fail. In fact I would go as far as to say that the most effective witness to the lost, is the life of a suffering Christian, that overflows with joy, peace and love, rather than bitterness and self-pity. " Heart Cry! Blog
• "All our infirmities, whatever they are, are just opportunities for God to display His gracious work in us." CH Spurgeon
• "Whenever you feel yourselves weak, do not say "I am weak", but seek the remedy - for it is God's Word...." John Calvin
• [In response to unanswered prayer] When God doesn't appear to hear our cries: God's name is a sure stronghold for all who flee to enter into it God has promised to hear us before we open our mouth The answer is - - God is responding in His own manner - - and His ways are above ours.... It is certain that before we call upon God He is willing and ready to help us because - - where comes the desire to pray? Does it not come from the Holy Spirit? For a man would never of his own mind resort to God. Even though God does not appear to hear our prayers - we must continue to call upon Him. We should never cease to pray - - in times of prosperity or in times of distress. We must wait patiently; for His promises are true; We will see in the end that He has not forgotten us, nor ceased to hear us. Consider this - if we are patient and able to continue to pray - - that, in and of itself, is a token that God has heard already and has given you this grace to continue to turn to Him.... John Calvin
• [In response to unanswered prayer] "It is natural for us to become impatient and even discouraged if God's help is delayed - especially when we pray earnestly and faithfully. But instead of abounding hope, we should remember that God is faithful too. He may simply be trying our patience or calling us to the discipline of prayer." John Calvin
• [In response to unanswered prayer] - "Although God, who from His very nature is merciful, may withdraw Himself and cease for a time to manifest His power, yet He cannot deny Himself. That is to say, He cannot divest Himself of the feeling of mercy which is natural to Him and which can no more cease than His eternal existence can. Although the goodness of God may sometimes be hidden, it can never be extinguished." John Calvin
• "Christ does not say that the blind man (John 9:1-11 ) and his parents were free from all blame; but he declares that we ought not to seek the cause of blindness in sin. Consequently, when the causes of afflictions are concealed, we ought to restrain curiosity, so that we may neither dishonor God, nor be malicious towards other people." John Calvin
• "God's anger is the effect of his holiness and is expressed in his punishment of sin." John Calvin
• Peter Kreeft said - - "God came to the earth to deliberately "put himself on the hook" for human suffering through his life and eventual death on the cross."
• A plan of action:
  • Expect suffering. Realize that in a fallen world suffering is the abnormal normality (see 1 Pet. 2:12-14).
  • Realize that God in control; nothing can happen unless He allows it. We should be humble before Him (see Ex. 4:11; Job 40:2; Provide. 6:4; Isa. 45:7; Jer. 49:19; Amos 3:6; Rom. 9:20-23).
  • Understand that though God is sovereign and man is responsible for his actions, suffering is a product of the Fall (see II Sam. 12:11; 16:21,22; Acts 4:27,28; Rev. 13:2,7,8).
  • Accept the reality that God allows suffering for good and necessary reasons: to prepare us to comfort others (see II Cor. 1:4-6); to teach us to trust in Him and not in ourselves (see 1:9; 4:7,16, 18; 12:1-10); to turn our hearts toward heaven (see 5:1-4); to develop maturity (see James 1:1-12); to discipline us for sinful behavior (see I Cor. 11:30); and to judge wickedness (see Ps. 37:12,13).
  • Remember that God has entered into our suffering to redeem us from it. He did this through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Rom. 8:18-23).
  • Remember that we do not yet see clearly. We must trust God until answers to suffering are made clear (see Job 13:15; I Cor. 13:12).
  • Remember that this life is nothing when compared with eternity. What is a lifetime of suffering in comparison with an eternity of heaven? (see Rom. 8:18).
• But it is on the Cross that we see the ultimate wonder. On the cross we sufferers finally see, to our shock that God now knows too what it is to lose a loved one in an unjust attack. And so you see what this means? John Stott puts it this way. John Stott wrote: “I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the Cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? Do you see what this means? Yes, we don’t know the reason God allows evil and suffering to continue, but we know what the reason isn’t, what it can’t be. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us! It can’t be that he doesn’t care. God so loved us and hates suffering that he was willing to come down and get involved in it.” Tim Keller - Sept 11 sermon
• "Look! The power of God and the life of his Son are manifested in your weakness. Look! The life of Jesus is flowing through your suffering into the lives of other people. Look! God sustains you in your afflictions and will not let you be destroyed. Look! Your afflictions will not have the last word; you will rise from the dead with Jesus and with the church of God and live in joy for ever and ever. Look! Your afflictions are momentary. They are only for now, not for the age to come. Look! Your afflictions are light. Compared to the pleasures of what is coming they are as nothing. Look! These afflictions are producing for you an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.... John Piper
• "It's taken me years to recognize God's voice: those whispered words of encouragement when I'm down; that sudden sense of caution when I'm ready to launch a testy zinger at someone; those much-needed directions at the street corners of my life; tender words of love when I least deserve them; even humor at odd moments. Why is it so surprising that the Living Word, the Author of Life, wants his children to know his thoughts? I've found God sends us his messages in a variety of ways. Here are four ways to hear his voice. (Virelle Kidder - From an article "God's Talking to You" - Today's Christian Woman magazine) (as provided by Al George)
  • 1. God's life-changing Word
  • 2. God's breathtaking world
  • 3. God's voice through others' mouths
  • 4. God's quiet whispers
• "Though my natural instinct is to wish for a life free from pain, trouble, and adversity, I am learning to welcome anything that makes me conscious of my need for Him. If prayer is birthed out of desperation, then anything that makes me desperate for God is a blessing." Nancy Leigh DeMoss, A Place of Quiet Rest
• "This is God's universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in the world." John Piper
• "The cross is not primarily a burden (although it is that indeed); it is first of all an instrument of death. Jesus demands of those who follow Him that they must lay their lives on the line; they must be ready to suffer as Jesus suffered. They must be willing to literally lose their lives." George Eldon Ladd The Last Things (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans: 1978) 64
• "If there is no God, then our life is not qualitatively different from that of a dog. I know that’s harsh, but it’s true. As the ancient writer of Ecclesiastes put it: 'The fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All come from the dust and all return to the dust' (Eccles 3:19-20). In this book, which reads more like a piece of modern existentialist literature than a book of the Bible, the writer shows the futility of pleasure, wealth, education, political fame, and honor in a life doomed to end in death. His verdict? 'Vanity of vanities! All is vanity' (1:2). If life ends at the grave, then we have no ultimate purpose for living." Dr. William lane Craig
• "God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment ot him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in time of sorrow, increase faith and strengthen character." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "Because we are so inclined to put our own comfort and advantage first and avoid adversity...our most merciful Father comforts us by this teaching: that he promotes our salvation by inflicting the cross upon us." John Calvin
• "The evil and suffering in this world are greater than any of us can comprehend. But evil and suffering are not ultimate. God is. Satan, the great lover of evil and suffering, is not sovereign. God is.
  • “He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35)
  • He declares “the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:10)
  • “Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” (Lamentations 3:37-38; see Amos 3:6)
  • “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21; see 16:9)
  • “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:33) .. Therefore, “if God is for us, who can be against us? . . .Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:31-37). John Piper
• "This is why Christ’s healings are a sign of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God and its final victory over all disease and all the works of Satan. It is right and good to pray for healing. Christ has purchased it in the death of his Son, with all the other blessings of grace, for all his children (Isaiah 53:5). But he has not promised that we get the whole inheritance in this life. And he decides how much. We pray and we trust his answer. If you ask your Father for bread, he will not give you him a stone? If you ask him for a fish, he will not give you a serpent (see Matthew 7:9-10). It may not be bread. And it may not be a fish. But it will be good for you. That is what he promises (Romans 8:28)." John Piper
• "There are 2 ways Satan assaults the glory of God in their lives: pleasure and pain...he uses pain to make us feel that God is powerless and hostile ......and he uses pleasure to make us feel that God is unnecessary.........(from the parable of the sower of the seed - - "the pleasures of the world choke the word of God")...Do you have pleasure or pain in your life today??? Satan is after you and God is after you...........Gods purpose for pleasure is gratitude, and God's purpose for pain is trusting in him in spite of it, so that he shines and is more valuable to you than what you lost. God's and Satan's design in pain and pleasure is opposite! ......and life is war........when things are going well and when things are going badly......which is the harder war? when things are bad - its harder physically......when things are going well - its harder in terms of spiritual vitality.........far more kids are destroyed by pleasure than pain.....Jon Piper - commentary on the Book of Job
• "Bonhoeffer's emphasis on suffering is directly connected to the suffering of Christ. The church is called to bear the whole burden of Christ, especially as it pertains to suffering, or it must collapse under the weight of the burden. Christ has suffered, says Bonhoeffer, but His suffering is efficacious for the remission of sins. We may also suffer, but our suffering is not for redemptive purposes. We suffer, says Bonhoeffer, not only because it is the church's lot, but so that the world may see us suffering and understand that there is a way that men can bear the burdens of life, and that way is through Christ alone." Todd Kappelman on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship
• “The fact of suffering undoubtedly constitutes the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith, and has been in every generation. Its distribution and degree appear to be entirely random and therefore unfair. Sensitive spirits ask if it can possibly be reconciled with God’s justice and love.” John Stott
• "All sunshine reuslts in a desert." Kimber Kauffmann, pastor of College Park Church
• "In accepting what God wills for us do we find our peace." Dante
• "Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in his works unless his omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil." Augustine
• "day by day, hour by hour/ Pain drips upon the heart/as, against our will, and even in our own despite/comes wisdom from the awful grace of God." Aeschylus, ancient Greek philosopher
• "If there is no God, why is there so much good? If there is a God, why is there so much evil?" Augustine
• "Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to; or he cannot and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, and does not want to, he is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how comes evil in the world? Epicurus, philosopher
• "The fact of suffering undoubtedly constitutes the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith, and has been in every generation. Its distribution and degree appear to be entirely random and therefore unfair. Sensitive spirits ask if it can possibly be reconciled with God's justice and love." John Stott, theologian
• "To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances. To seek him is the greatest of all achievements. To find him is the greatest human achievement." Raphael Simon
• "Our expectations of becoming paragons of piety, great contemplatives, attaining higher stages of consciousness--all subtly aimed at carrying us beyond the daily troubles of ordinary life--are not the way into the kingdom. Rather the kingdom consists in finding God in our disappointments, failures, problems, and even in our inability to rid ourselves of our vices." Thomas Keating
• "Christ bore our sins on the Christ, not our sickness. The healing of sickness is not guaranteed by the atonement, but is provided for in the atonement." Hank Haanegraff
• "The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering, but a supernatural use for it." (A. J. Conyer, "The Eclipse of Heaven, 67)
• "A sick bed teaches more than any sermon." Thomas Watson
• Have you ever asked, "If Jesus is real and truly loves me, why does He not change my present circumstances?" If this descrbes your present attitude, perhaps you need to change your thinking and choose to take the comfort of the promise He gives (for instance in 1 Peter) to those who suffer for righteousness sake. If you will choose to trust God in your situation, God promises to turn suffering into blessing and to bring surprising fruit from it. Bible Study Fellowship Notes - Book of Matthew - Lesson 14
• "God has some blessing and purpose in mind for your pain. He has a design for your life - a design for your ministry - - your pain is meant to be a blessing to somebody" - John Piper
• "one of the most childlike things about God is he does things again and again and again - - with joy - - - and one of those things is the sun comes up........every day - without fail......and with joy......Chesterson
• "Remember - you're on trial in this life - - not God" John Piper
• "All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace." Thomas Kempis
• "All wisdom can be found in the cross of Christ." Kimber Kaufmann
• "Americans are so "rights" driven....I HAVE RIGHTS!......and we transfer it to God as if He owes us anything......little piece of news for you.........God owes you nothing.....Your life is a gift.....you have it on loan from God......you are trustees of every breath you take, every movement of a healthy muscle.....you are a trustee while you have it......and you will not have it much longer.....and you don't deserve to have it at all......and if God takes it, He is doing you no wrong!........." John Piper
• "There are 2 ways Satan assaults the glory of God in their lives: pleasure and pain...he uses pain to make us feel that God is powerless and hostile ......and he uses pleasure to make us feel that God is unnecessary.........(from the parable of the sower of the seed - - "the pleasures of the world choke the word of God")...Do you have pleasure or pain in your life today??? Satan is after you and God is after you...........Gods purpose for pleasure is gratitude, and God's purpose for pain is trusting in him in spite of it so that he shines and is more valuable to you than what you lost. God's and Satan's design in pain and pleasure is opposite! ......and life is war........when things are going well and when things are going badly......which is the harder war? when things are bad - its harder physically......when things are going well - its harder in terms of spiritual vitality.........far more kids are destroyed by pleasure than pain.....Piper would rather have a dead kid who believes than a live kid who does not........" John Piper
• "Christ's priorities of what he wants for you is so different than your priorities, that if you don't begin to get your mind saturated with Jesus' way of thinking, then you won't be able to make sense out of the pain in your life. You tend to get angrier and angrier - because your priorities are, "if he loved me then....."and you provide a list of all your demands and its not his list, it's not the way Jesus thinks, because what he values is hearts that are so enamored with him that that shines more clearly when everything we were leaning on is gone." John Piper

• "When is the devil being beaten? Well, not when we feel great and confident, when it looks like wonderful things are happening, when the ministry is going well. (And I speak to all of us, because we are all in the ministry. We all have an area of responsibility given to us by God.) No. The devil is being defeated when we are feeling attacked and under the gun, when we feel weak and helpless and do not know what to do, when we are not sure how to respond, when in our perplexities and sense of weakness we come before the Lord and plead with him for strength to go on one more day, and for grace to help us stand." (Ray Stedman, Ecstasy and the Agony Sermon)

• "God uses our trials to prepare us for greater blessings." Charles Stanley
• "When God puts a burden upon you He puts His own arms underneath." Charles Spurgeon
• "God's purpose in increasing our trials is to sensitize us to people we never would have been able to relate to otherwise." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "God deliberately chooses weak, suffering and unlikely candidates to get His work done, so that in the end, the glory goes to God and not to the person." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "Suffering drives us to our knees in weakness, where God wants us, so that His strength is most obvious, not ours." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "It is by those who suffered that the world has been advanced." Leo Tolstoy
• "God cannot use mightily the man whom he has not wounded deeply." AW Tozer
• "In times of trouble say, First: He brought me here ; it is by His will I am in this strait place: In that I will rest. Next: He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child. Then: He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow. Last: In His good time He can bring me out again - how and when He knows. Say: I am here (1) by God's appointment (2) in His keeping (3) under His training (4) for His time." Andrew Murray
• "Although our suffering is real and although our pain abides, we know that this is the way that God in His magnificient sovreignty has chosen to save the world." RC Sproul, Reason to Believe
• "Suffering, with dignity, may enable you to mark more lives for Christ than anything else you say or do for Christ." Bill Hybels, Pastor - Willow Creek Church
• "The most important thing about you is what comes to your mind when you think of God.", AW Tozer
• "The final crown of glory in this world is martrydom, and the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.", Unknown
• "It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud (sorrows and suffering) he brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child - a relationship between God and our own souls and where people are but shadows. Is our relationship to God becoming more simple than it ever has been?", Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
• "Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consquences as they come, without any complaint, in spite of what God sends your way. After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you," Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
• "When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, or sickness - when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us." , Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
• "God's way is always the way of suffering." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
• "Not everyone can be trusted with suffering. Not everyone can endure a fiery ordeal. So the Master scrutinizes the jewels and carefully selects those which can bear the refining, the branches which can stand the knife. It is given for some to preach, for others to work, and for still others to suffer." Joni Eareckson Tada, Glorious Intruder
• "Don't shake your head when you see a mom or dad with a Downs Syndrome child and say, No way could I face that. Most likely you couldn't. Which is precisely why God hasn't asked you to. Instead , take time to seriously consider how you will remain joyful within your own particular, unique, individual situaion. Accept your circumstances as a gift from His hand. Dare to thank Him for them." Joni Eareckson Tada, Glorious Intruder
• "Sometimes God seems so quiet! However, when we see the way He works in lives imprisoned by walls or circumstances, when we hear how faith can shine through uncertainty, we begin to catch a glimpse of the fruit of patience that can grow out of the experience of suffering." Billy Graham
• "Nothing can happen to you outside the parameters of the sovereign hands of God. The question Christians need to ask is not how can I get away from suffering but the key is why did my loving heavenly Father allow this? A wrong response to pain, trouble, suffering, sorrow and failure is a lack of trust in God's sovereignty over every area of your life. Understand the goal of suffering is to make us more Christlike." Kimber Kauffman, pastor College Park Baptist Church, Indpls, IN

• - He received nothing he wanted and everything he needed. His prayers were answered!
  • He asked for strength.............................................God gave him difficulties to make him strong
  • He asked for wisdom.............................................God gave him problems to learn to solve
  • He asked for prosperity.........................................God gave him a brain and a brawn to work
  • He asked for courage............................................God gave him dangers to overcome
  • He asked for love.................................................God gave him troubled people to help
  • He asked for favors..............................................God gave him opportunities
• "This is God's universal purpose for all Christian suffering - more contentment in God and less satisfaction with self." John Piper
• "Who is the wealthiest? He who is content with the least. Socrates
• "God loves His people so much that He will never waste a sorrow or a pain, but, unfortunately, we can." Kimber Kauffman
• "God loves brokeness and weak people. He will share his power, not his glory." Kimber Kauffman.
• "I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work and my God." Helen Keller
• "God wants us to lay our burdens on Him and rest in His love. It's His responsibility to work out the purpose and plan in our hardships. Only our refusal to trust Him....can hinder His purposes in our lives." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "God always gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him." Unknown
• "You have no strength but what God gives and you can have all the strength that God can give." Andrew Murray
• "When God is about to do something great, He starts with a difficulty. When He is about to do something truly magnificent, He starts with an impossibility." Armin Gesswein
• "God's promises are like the stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine." David Nicholas
• "Only good things come from God's hands. He never gives you more than you can bear. Every burden prepares you for eternity." Basilea Schlink
• "God's great design in all His works is the manifestation of His own glory. Any aim less than this were unworthy of Himself. But how shall the glory of God be manifested to such fallen creatures as we are? Man's eye is not single, he has ever a side glance towards his own honor, has too high an estimate of his own powers, and so is not qualified to behold the glory of the Lord. It is clear then, that self must stand out of the way, that there may be room for God to be exalted; and this is the reason why He often brings His people into difficulties, that being made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be fitted to behold the majesty of God when He comes forth to work their deliverance. He whose life is one even and smooth path, will see but little of the glory of the Lord, for he has few occasions filled with the revelation of God. They who navigate little tempests; but they who "do business in great waters," these see His "woders in the deep." Among the huge Atlantic waves of bereavement, poverty, temptation, and reproach, we learn the power of Jehovah, because we feel the littleness of man. Thank God, then, if you have been led by a rough road; it is this which has given you your experience of God's greatness and lovingkindness. Your troubles have enriched you with a wealth of knowledge to be gained by no other means; your trials have been the cleft of the rock in which Jehovah has set you, as He did His servant Moses, that you might behold His glory as it passed by. Praise God that you have not been left to the darkness and ignorance which continued prosperity might have involved, but that in the great fight of affliction, you have been capacitated for the outshinings of His glory in His wonderful dealings with you." CS Lewis
• "Child of God, never forget this; all that you are suffering of any sort or kind, comes to you from the divine hand." Charles Spurgeon
• "If you strike a dog he will snap at the staff which hurts him, as if it were to blame. How doggish we sometimes are, when God is smiting us, we are smiting at His rod." Charles Spurgeon
• "As long as I trace my pain to accident, my bereavement to mistake, my loss to another's wrong, my discomfort to an enemy, and so on, I am of the earth, earthly...but when I rise to my God and see His hand at work, I grow calm. "Cast thy burden on the Lord" is a precept which it will be easy to practice, when you see that the burden originally came from God. Charles Spurgeon
• "The cry of the earth's anguish went up unto God, 'Lord, take away pain, the shadow that darkens the world Thou hast made, the close-coiling chain that strangles the heart, the burden that weighs on the wings that would soar. Lord, take away pain from the world Thou hast made that it love thee the more.' Then answered the Lord to the world He made, 'Shall I take away pain? and with it the power of the soul to endure made strong by the strain? Shall I take away pity that knits heart to heart and sacrifice high? Will ye lose all your heroes who lift from the flame white brows to the sky? Shall I take away love that redeems with a price and smiles through the loss. Can ye spare from the lives that would climb unto mine The Christ on His Cross?" James Stewart
• "There is nothing -- No circumstance, No trouble, No testing that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ. Right through to me if it has come that far. It has come with great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment - but as I refuse to panic, as I lift my eyes up to Him and accept it as come from His throne for some great blessing of purpose of blessing to my heart. No sorrow will disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to fret, for I shall rest in the Joy of what my Lord is - that is the rest of Victory." Unknown - on I Cor 15:57
• "The sovereignty of God is the one impregnable rock to which the suffering human heart must cling. The circumstances surronding our lives are no accident: they may be the work of evil, but that evil is held firmly within the mighty hand of our sovereign God." Margaret Clarkson
• "There is absolutely no room whatsoever for fear or anxiety in the life of a believer…It's sin - - period ! I experienced it many times and have been driven to my knees each time; and each time I became anxious and turned it over to the Lord, He revealed to me that my fear was either: 1- A lack of trust that God could handle something or 2- A fear on my part that I wouldn't want what God had in mind! Prayer resolves both issues. In prayer, we focus on God and remember that He IS able, and we get our will in line with His, because in our hearts, that's what His children want - to do His work…."Diana Brown (my dear friend)

• God never promises that the righteous will not suffer. But what He does promise regarding suffering is something glorious. He promises that He will walk through the suffering with us and give us the grace and strength to deal with it victoriously. In Psalm 23 He says: "I will walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death." In Isaiah 43 He says: "I will pass with you through the high waters and will walk with you through the fire."' - Dr. David Reagan
• "God's plan is:
• • for all christians to suffer
  • very specific to each person - every trial in a Christian's life is ordained from eternity past, custom made for that believer's eternal good. Nothing happens by accident, not even tragedy!
  • to save us from our sins - our ultimate focus should not be on pain, tragedy and broken hearts. God's ultimate focus is to teach us to hate sin, grow up spiritually and love him - not to be comfortable.
  • that every sorrow will one day be the best possible thing that could ever happen to us". Steven Estes
• "The longer the teabag sits in the cup, the stronger the tea. The more God's word saturates our minds, the clearer our grasp on whats important to him and the stronger our prayers." Steven Estes
• "God's plans are being accomplished despite, yes, even through, tragedies. And they are tragedies. He considers them so. He loathes the wickedness, misery and destruction itself - but he has determined to steer what he hates to accomplish what he loves. If God didn't control evil, the result would be evil uncontrolled." Steven Estes
• "Evil can only raise its head where God deliberately backs away - - always for reasons that are specific, wise and good, but often hidden during this present life." Steven Estes
• {God speaking} "So, you want to sin? Go ahead! but I'll make sure you sin in a way that ultimately furthers my ends even while you're shaking your fist in my face." This is why we can accept trouble as ultimately from God even when the most dreadful people deliver them." Steven Estes [The Lord plants thoughts into people's minds without violating their wills. They are always good thoughts as "God will never tempt us" James 1:13. Rather, God already sees the evil in our hearts and minds and steers it to his good purposes and not merely Satans' awful purposes.]
• "What about the widow who seldom, if ever, ventures outside her apartment? The prisoner in isolation? Loneliness mixed with affliction is a dangerous potion. Yet, are we ever truly alone? People may not be noticing, but the spiritual world is. Angels, along with powers and principalities in the heavenly realms, are watching, listening and learning. Angels - even demons - are intensely interested in the thoughts and affections of every human being. The life of th most insignificant man is a battlefield on which the mightiest forces of the universe conerge in warfare - this elevates the status of the lowliest and least person on earth. There are reasons for our sufferings; for us, for others, for the glory of God, and for the heavenly hosts." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "The hands and feet of God are strengthened when the body includes someone who is suffering." Joni Eareckson Tada [Comment on I Cor 12:24-26]
• "God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to Him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in time of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "He ruthlessly perfects who He royally elects." Unknown
• "Jesus delights in identifying with us in our suffering. When the apostle Paul was on the road to Damascus, the risen Lord said, "Why are you persecuting me? (Acts 9:4) He considers our sufferings His sufferings." Joni Eareckson Tada
• "God is preparing us to live forever - - He probably won't do this through a peaceful and comfortable life here on earth."
• "Why do we dread adversity when we know that facing it is the only way to become stronger, smarter, better? John Wooden
• "A leader is trained through suffering. However, the way in which a person acts during the suffering qualifies or disqualifies him for leadership." Bible Study Fellowship notes
• "We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which he does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him - - to literally "cast your burden", which he has given you, "on the Lord". If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence. Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with the burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Don't caste it {your burden} aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship." Oswald Chambers
• Are you seeking great things for yourself, instead of seeking to be a great person? God wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give you. Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you..."(Mat 7:7). Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether. "Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" (Mat 6:8). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him." Oswald Chambers
• "We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us." Oswald Chambers
• It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body. And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say "Lord, I am delighted to obey you in this." Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him. You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit. You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self pity. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God's sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adeuately sufficient to "supply all your needs". (Phil 4:19). Oswald Chambers
• "God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter . First Peter 4:12 says, "Beloved, do not think it is strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing has happened to you...." Rise to the occasion - - do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body. May God not find compalints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality - - a readiness to face anything He sends our way. The only proper gola of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father; and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and pored out wine with which to feed and nourish others." Oswald Chambers
• "God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn't ask, "Do you want to go through the loss of a loved one, this difficulty or this defeat? No, he allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault finding and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy." Oswald Chambers
• "Suffering is infinitely preferable to sinning. The Lord may therefore send us sorrow to keep us from iniquity." Charles Spurgeon

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