Eastern Sierra, CA
“The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”
Charles Spurgeon
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
"Were it not for tribulation I should not understand the Scriptures."
Martin Luther
Eastern Sierra, CA
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
“Suffering is not an obstacle to God's purpose but a means to achieving it. “
Sinclair Ferguson
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
Eastern Sierra, CA
"When we have sorrow or suffering, our question should not be, 'What have I done that God is punishing me for?' but, 'What is the mission of this messenger of God to me?'"
J.R. Miller
Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.
“Affliction promotes holiness: the more the diamond is cut the more it sparkles.”
Thomas Watson
Eastern Sierra, CA
Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted.
“Most of the grand truths of God have to be learned by trouble; they must be burned into us with the hot iron of affliction, otherwise we shall not truly receive them.”
Charles Spurgeon
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Eastern Sierra, CA
"Your suffering does not define you. His does."
Dane Ortlund
I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul
“There is no commentary that opens up the Bible so much as sickness and sorrow.”
J.C. Ryle
Yosemite National Park
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
“A life outside of Christ is both hard and frightening; a life in Christ has hard edges and dark valleys, but it is purposeful even when painful.”
Rosaria Butterfield
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Yosemite National Park
"When God breaks our lives to pieces, it is because they will do more for his glory and the world’s good broken and shattered than whole."
J.R. Miller
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
"Those who understand God’s sovereignty have joy even in the midst of suffering, a joy reflected on their very faces, for they see that their suffering is not without purpose."
R.C. Sproul
Yosemite National Park
This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.
“Affliction may be lasting, but it is not everlasting.”
Thomas Watson
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
Yosemite National Park
“In the hands of a loving God, sorrow and suffering become the doorways into the greatest and most indestructible joys.”
David Powlison
For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help, The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
"When we reach heaven, we may discover that the richest and deepest and most profitable experiences we had in this world, were those which were gained in the very roads from which we shrank back with dread."
Theodore Cuyler
Ice Detail- Yosemite National Park
"We think of suffering or feebleness as a misfortune. It is not altogether so, however, if it makes us dearer and brings us nearer to the heart of Christ."
J.R. Miller
"He never intended this world for our rest, and therefore never appointed us to take our ease in it. This travail is given to us to make us weary of the world and desirous of the remaining rest."
Matthew Henry
“The deeper into weakness and suffering and testing we go, the deeper Christ's solidarity with us. As we go down into pain and anguish, we are descending ever deeper into Christ's very heart, not away from it.”
Dane Ortlund
Yosemite National Park
“If you ask, 'why is this happening?' No light may come, but if you ask, 'how am I to glorify God now?' There will always be an answer.”
J.I. Packer
"God never built a Christian strong enough to carry today’s duties and tomorrow’s anxieties piled on top of them."
Theodore Cuyler
“Afflictions are light when compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us.”
A.W.Pink
Yosemite National Park
“Affliction brings out graces that cannot be seen in a time of health. It is the treading of the grapes that brings out the sweet juices of the vine; so it is affliction that draws forth submission, weanedness from the world, and complete rest in God. Use afflictions while you have them.”
Robert Murray McCheyne
"Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
C.S. Lewis
“I earnestly beg all sick believers to remember that they may honour God as much by patient suffering as they can by active work.”
J.C. Ryle
Yosemite National Park
“Afflictions add to the saints' glory. The more the diamond is cut, the more it sparkles; the heavier the saints' cross is, the heavier will be their crown.”
Thomas Watson
“There are some things good but not pleasant, as sorrow and affliction. Sin is pleasant, but unprofitable; and sorrow is profitable, but unpleasant. As waters are purest when they are in motion, so saints are generally holiest when in affliction.”
William Secker
"There is no work which God has made—the sun, moon, stars and all the world—in which so much of the glory of God appears as in a man who lives quietly in the midst of adversity."
Jeremiah Burroughs
Yosemite National Park
“In times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God.”
John Bunyan
"Christianity is not the removal of suffering, but the addition of grace to endure suffering triumphantly."
-Thomas Watson
“Providence is mysterious because God’s ways are above our human methods. Dark providences are often a smoldering groundwork laid for some excellent design that God is about to reveal.”
Stephen Charnock
