Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4 (ESV)C.S. Lewis,: *The Problem of Pain* (1940)
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. No doubt pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul."
A.W. Tozer,: *The Root of the Righteous* (1955)
"The enemy uses those things that are innocent and harmless in themselves to dull our spiritual senses and render us impervious to the gentle pressure of God's will. But God sometimes uses the very opposite -- sharp, bitter experiences that cut through the fog and bring us face to face with the essentials. It is not that God sends the trial; it is that God uses what the world, the flesh, and the devil send, and transmutes it into gold."
Gregory of Nyssa,: *The Life of Moses* (c. 390 AD), Book II, §235
"For it is a very difficult task to keep the soul unsubmerged in the midst of life's affairs, as though on some unsteady surface, with regard to the uncertainty of events. But the one who trains himself in perseverance, as in some athletic contest, learns to stand firm and unmoved against every assault of circumstance -- not because the blows do not land, but because the soul has been tempered by what it endures."
John of the Cross,: *The Ascent of Mount Carmel* (c. 1580), Book I, Ch. 13
"The endurance of darkness, aridity, and emptiness is the means by which God purges the soul's attachments. Most turn back here, seeking consolation rather than the Consoler. But the one who perseveres without the support of sweet feelings, continuing in the practice of virtue for God's sake alone, finds that the night itself becomes the light -- not because the darkness is removed, but because the soul learns to see in it. This is the narrow gate that few find, not because it is hidden, but because it is unappealing."
If the trial you're in right now is producing something in you that couldn't be produced any other way, what would that be -- and do you want it enough to stop asking for the trial to end?
Epictetus,: *Discourses* I.6 (c. 108 AD)
"Difficulties are the things that show what a person is. So whenever you meet with a difficulty, remember that God, like a wrestling coach, has matched you with a rough young opponent. 'For what purpose?' you ask. So that you may become an Olympic victor -- and that doesn't happen without sweat. To my way of thinking, no one has had a better difficulty than the one you have now, if only you are willing to use it as an athlete uses a training partner."
St. Clair, Michigan: -- Mist, 52°F, Humidity: 94%, Wind: →10mph