#affliction

God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, experience, hope and love often is to put him into the furnace of affliction. ↗

— Richard Cecil

#answering #christian #experience #furnace #god

Affliction's sons are brothers in distress; A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss! ↗

— Robert Burns

#bliss #brother #brothers #distress #exquisite

These words [of Romans 12:1-2] are overflowingly rich in consolation; for just then when afflictions come over us, we should be of good courage, because that is the good will of God. Therefore we should be greatly pleased when things happen to us which displease us. The "good" will of God creates good out of evil. The "acceptable" will of God moves us cheerfully to love such good. It makes this good acceptable to us, and causes us to agree with it, even if it is evil. The "perfect" will of God will eternally perfect and bring to a[n] end all who are glad. ↗

— Martin Luther

#luther #trials #courage

I am fully persuaded that thousands of our fellow-men might profit equally by a similar course to mine; but, constitutions not being all alike, a different course of treatment may be advisable for the removal of so tormenting an affliction. ↗

— William Banting

#affliction #alike #am #being #constitutions

Iron till it be thoroughly heated is incapable to be wrought; so God sees good to cast some men into the furnace of affliction, and then beats them on his anvil into what frame he pleases. ↗

— Anne Bradstreet

#anvil #beats #cast #frame #furnace

Affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it. ↗

— John Donne

#any #enough #hath #man #man hath

Conversion can also occur among those who already have the faith. Christians will become real Christians, with less façade and more foundation. Catastrophe will divide them from the world, force them to declare their basic loyalties; it will revive shepherds who shepherd rather than administrate, reverse the proportion of saints and scholars in favor of saints, create more reapers for the harvest, more pillars of fire for the lukewarm; it will make the rich see that real wealth is in the service of the needy; and, above all else, it will make the glory of Christ’s Cross shine out in a love of the brethren for one another as true and loyal sons of God. ↗

— Fulton J. Sheen

#hardship #suffering #faith

Pour not on the comforts you want, but upon the mercies you have. Look rather at God's ending in afflicting, than to the measure and degree of your affliction. ↗

— Christopher Love

#comforts #degree #ending #god #look

Our task, of course, is to transmute the anger that is affliction into the anger that is determination to bring about change. I think, in fact, that one could give that as a definition of revolution. ↗

— Barbara Deming

#affliction #anger #bring #change #could

Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober; not to make us sorry but wise. ↗

— H. G. Wells

#comes #make #sad #sober #sorry