Quotes on Hope
"Do not begin to measure your safety by your comfort - but measure it by the eternal Word of God, which you have beleived and which you know to be true.” CH Spurgeon
"If our joy is derived from the hope of a future life, then patience will grow up in adversities; for no kind of sorrow will be able to overwhelm this joy." John Calvin
"The death and resurrection of Christ means: expiation and destruction of sin / freedom from condemnation / satisfaction of God's justice for the forgiveness of sin / victory over death / attainment of righteousness / the hope of a blessed immortality." John Calvin
"We should ask God - - to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak and raise it up when it is overthrown. " John Calvin
"The biblical view of resurrection means that every horrible thing that ever happened will not only be undone and repaired but will in someway make the eventual glory and joy even greater....." Tim Keller
"They say of some temporal suffering, no future bliss can make up for it, not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory." C.S. Lewis
"No matter how deep our darkness -- -- He is deeper still." Corrie Ten-Boom
"I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the cross......In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statute of Buddha - - his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agony of the world. But each time, after awhile, I have had to turn away. And in imagination, I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross -- nails through his hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me ! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross, which symbolizes divine suffering. The cross of Christ is God's only self justification in such a world as ours." John Stott
"The enemy troops are in front of us, in our back, to the right and to the left - - We are totally surrounded ! This time, the enemy cannot escape !" American army officer in WWII
"In any discussion of disappointment with God, heaven is the last word, the most important word of all. Only heaven will solve the problem of God's hiddenness. For the first time, human beings will be ale to look upon God face to face." Phillip Yancey
"Only the suffering God can help." Dietrich Bonhoffer scribbled that note in a Nazi prison camp
"God never closes a door without opening a window." (He always gives us something better when He takes something away.) Joni Earecskon Tada
"Wounded people who have been broken by suffering and sickness ask for only one thing: a heart that loves and commits itself to them; a heart full of hope for them." Jean Vanier
"The greatest book in my library is the book of affliction." Martin Luther
"God will never waste a sorrow." Kimber Kauffman, pastor College Park Baptist Church, Indpls, IN
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as he did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that he will make all things right if I surrender to his will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next." Reinhold Niebuhr
"At the supreme moment of His dying, Jesus so identified Himself with men and the depths of their predicament and agony that no man can now sink so low that God has not gone lower." Os Guiness
Suffering here means glory there. You cannot begin to understand suffering from this side of eternity, Kimber Kauffman, pastor College Park Baptist Church, Indpls, IN
"Now, while a man can pray, he is never far from light. The man who can pray has the clue in his hand by which to escape from the labyrinth of affliction. A man must have true and eternal life within him while he can continue still to pray; and while there is such life, there is assured hope." Charles Spurgeon on Psalm 88
"How in the world does suffering ultimately produce hope? The answer is really very simple. As we lean on the Lord in faith during our suffering, we learn that He is faithful to His promises to be with us and to sustain us and to comfort and strengthen us. That, in turn, motivates us to have even greater faith in the promises He has made about the life to come - our hope that we will be resurrected and glorified and will live forever with our Heavenly Father." Dr. David Reagan
"When I was on my feet, big boisterous pleasures provided only fleeting satisfaction. In a wheelchair, satisfaction settles in as I sit under an oak tree on a windy day and delight in the rustle of the leaves or sit by a fire and enjoy the soothing strains of a symphony. These smaller, less noisy pleasures are rich because, unlike the fun on my feet, these things yield patience, endurance, and a spirit of gratitude, all of which fits me further for eternity. It is this yieldedness that gains you the most here on earth." Joni Eareckson Tada
"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." Jim Elliot
"The fact that disabled people hang in there does something for Christians. It's not about being an inspiration for others, it more than that.... it's a mystery. God somehow strengthens others by their faithfulness. They may feel like a burden to others, but God thinks the opposite. He thinks its necessary for others to take care of the disabled... they do more for one's spiritual well being than can be imagined. What's more is that it's all being credited to the disabled person's account, per Phillipians 1:25-26. If the disabled person is alone and does not meet others, they must endure for the purpose of teaching the unseen powers, the rulers, and authorities in the heavenly realms about the powerful and all sustaining Lord (Eph 3:10)." Joni Eareckson Tada
"What gain has been made compared to the little that has been lost! You will have lost the 'creature' and gained the 'Creator'. You will have lost your nothingness in order to gain all things. You will be boundless, for you have inherited God! Your capacity to experience His life will grow just a little more. Everything you once had, and lost, will be returned to you in God." Madame Guyon
He that commits suicide to get out of trouble leaps into the gulf to escape from the water, drowns himself to keep from getting wet, leaps into the fire because he is scorched." Charles Spurgeon
Seven things To Do from Joshua Wooden - father of legendary basketball coach John Wooden:
Be true to yourself
Help Others
Make each day your masterpiece
Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible
Make friendship a fine art
Build a shelter (of faith) against a rainy day
Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day
