“I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contented condition, when suddenly a stab of pain threatens serious disease, or a newspaper headline threatens us all with destruction. “At first I am overwhelmed, and all my little happiness look like broken toys. And perhaps, by God’s grace, I succeed, and for a day or two become a creature consciously dependent on God and drawing its strength from the right sources. But the moment the threat is withdrawn, my whole nature leaps back to the toys. “Thus the terrible necessity of tribulation is only too clear. God has had me for but 48 hours and then only by dint of taking everything else away from me. Let Him but sheathe the sword for a minute, and I behave like a puppy when the hated bath is over — I shake myself as dry as I can and race off to reacquire my comfortable dirtiness in the nearest flower bed. “And that is why tribulation cannot cease until God sees us remade.”

Source: From The Problem of Pain; quoted in Daily Walk, May 16/17, 1992

“The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.”

(Charles Spurgeon, Commenting and Commentaries, NY: Sheldon, 1876, p. 62)

“All of us at times find ourselves and our futures seemingly in the hands of other people. Their decisions or their actions determine whether we get a good grade or a poor one, whether we are promoted or fired, whether our careers blossom or fold. I am not overlooking our own responsibility in these situations, but all of us know that even when we have, so to speak, done our best, we are still dependent upon the favor or frown of that teacher or boss or commanding officer. We are, from a human point of view, often at the mercy of other people and their decisions or actions…

Can we trust God that He can and will work in the heart of that individual to bring about His plan for us? Or consider the instance when someone is out to harm us, to ruin our reputation, or jeopardize our career: Can we trust God to intervene in the heart of that person so that he does not carry out his evil intent? According to the Bible, the answer in both instances is yes. We can trust God.”

Source: Jerry Bridges – “Trusting God”

When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it ‘sings,’ it’s ready. If it ‘thuds,’ it’s placed back in the oven. The character of a person is also checked by thumping.

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.

A child is an island of curiosity surrounded by a sea of question marks.

-Anonymous