Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
– Winston Churchill –
A great faith is like the anchor or cable of a ship that holds it steady in the midst of storms. A Christian who is steeled with this heroic faith is settled in the mysteries of religion. The Spirit of God has so firmly printed heavenly truths upon his heart that you may we well remove the sun out of the firmament as remove him from those holy principles he has absorbed. Behold here, a pillar in the temple of God (Rev. 3:12).
– Thomas Watson –
from The Lords Supper, 70
When a Christian can walk in the midst of fiery trials, without his garments being singed, and has comfort and joy in the midst of everything (when like Paul in the stocks he can sing, which wrought upon the jailor) it will convince men, when they see the power of grace in the midst of afflictions. When they can behave themselves in a gracious and holy manner in such afflictions as would make others roar: Oh, this is the glory of a Christian.
– Jeremiah Burroughs –
from The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 1648
Dry wells send us to the fountain.
– Samuel Rutherford –
from The Loveliness of Christ
Suffering saints are living seed. Oh, that God might help us to such faith, that when we come to suffer in life, or to expire in death, we may so glorify God that others may believe in him! May we preach sermons by our faith which shall be better than sermons in words.
– Charles Spurgeon –
from his sermon The Trial Of Your Faith – December, 1888
Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister’s library.
– Charles Spurgeon –
Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called “the rejoicing of hope.” (Hebrews 3:6)
– William Gurnall –
If you are not doing the thing that lies nearest, because God as engineered it, when the crisis comes instead of being revealed as fit, you will be revealed as unfit. Crisis always reveal character.
– Oswald Chambers –
The idea that everything would happen exactly as it does regardless of whether we pray or not is a specter that haunts the minds of many who sincerely profess belief in God. It makes prayer psychologically impossible, replacing it with dead ritual at best
– David Brainerd –