My life goal is to see the world's one billion people with disabilities embraced and encouraged by the church.
Joni Eareckson TadaRead
God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to Him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in time of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character.
Interpretation
Suffering serves a purpose in our spiritual growth and strengthens our connection to God and others.
This quote emphasizes that suffering, though painful, plays a crucial role in our spiritual development and relationship with God. It suggests that challenges help us confront our sins, increase our faith, and cultivate virtues like gratitude and discernment, ultimately leading us closer to Christ and forging deeper bonds with fellow believers.
In practice
In a sermon on overcoming adversity, this quote can highlight the importance of suffering in spiritual growth.
My life goal is to see the world's one billion people with disabilities embraced and encouraged by the church.
Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desparate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.
...we will stand amazed to see the topside of the tapestry and how God beautifully embroidered each circumstance into a pattern for our good and His glory.
My wheelchair was the key to seeing all this happen—especially since God’s power always shows up best in weakness. So here I sit … glad that I have not been healed on the outside, but glad that I have been healed on the inside. Healed from my own self-centered wants and wishes.
If you truly believe in the value of life, you care about all of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society.
God deliberately chooses weak, suffering and unlikely candidates to get His work done, so that in the end, the glory goes to God and not to the person.
It would have been sad for me to spend my life just trying to superimpose stuff on people rather than trying to encourage them to look within themselves for what's of value.
It's not enough to do your best; you must know what to do & then do your best.
Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
Most novices picture themselves as masters - and are content with the picture. This is why there are so few masters.
Every death is like the burning of a library.
Be obscure clearly! Be wild of tongue in a way we can understand.
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