31 Days Toward Trusting God Quotes

“Perseverance is the quality of character that enables one to pursue a goal in spite of obstacles and difficulties. It’s one thing to simply bear up under adversity. This in itself is commendable. But the Christian life is meant to be active, not passive. We’re called to diligently pursue God’s will. He calls us to do more than simply bear the load of adversity; He calls us to persevere (to press forward) in the face of it. He wants all Christians to finish well. He wants us to “run with endurance” (Hebrews 12:1). Each of us has been given a race to run, a will of God to do. Along the way, all of us encounter innumerable obstacles and occasions for discouragement. God wants us to persist in doing His will whatever those obstacles might be. How can we do it? Both Paul and James gave the same answer. Paul said, “Suffering produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3, NIV); James added, “The testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:3). We see here a mutually enhancing effect. Adversity produces perseverance, and perseverance enables us to meet adversity. A good analogy is found in weight training. Lifting weights develops muscle, and the more one’s muscles are developed, the heavier the weight one can lift. Though perseverance is developed in the crucible of adversity, it is energized by faith. Again, consider the analogy of weight training. Although the weights on a bar provide the resistance needed to develop muscle, they do not provide the energy. That must come from within the athlete’s body. In the case of adversity, the energy must come from God through faith. It is His strength, not ours, that enables us to persevere, and we lay hold of His strength through faith. It has often been observed that the Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon. Even those metaphors fail to adequately express reality. The Christian life could better be described as an obstacle course of marathon length. Think of a race course just over twenty-six miles in length. Add to it walls to climb over, streams to forge, hedges to jump across, and an endless variety of other unexpected obstacles. That is the Christian life, and it has prompted the observation that few Christians finish well. But God wants all Christians to finish well. He wants us to run with perseverance, persistently doing His will whatever the obstacles. William Carey, often called the father of modern missions, is a famous example of one who persevered. Despite a succession of unbelievable obstacles (including an unsympathetic wife who later became insane), he translated all or parts of the Bible into forty languages and dialects of India. His sister is equally an example of one who persevered; almost totally paralyzed and bedridden, she lay on her bed in London and prayed for all the details and struggles of her brother’s work in far-off India. Few people can identify with William Carey’s perseverance in either the obstacles he faced or the amazing tasks he accomplished. But we should identify with the perseverance of Carey’s sister, who persevered in doing God’s will as an invalid. She could not do much (as we tend to think of it), but she persevered in doing what she could. And because she persevered in prayer, her brother was strengthened and enabled to persevere in his missionary labors in India. Carey’s sister did more than bear cheerfully her paralysis; she persevered in doing the will of God in spite of it. Sandwiched between strong calls for perseverance at Hebrews 10:36 and 12:1 is the well-known chapter on faith, Hebrews 11. This motivational chapter is calling us to persevere by faith, as we’re shown example after example of people who persevered in doing God’s will by trusting Him. It’s by faith that we’re called to persevere—doing God’s will despite the obstacles and discouragements, and always in His strength and His alone.”
― Jerry Bridges, 31 Days toward Trusting God

“If any adversity coming across our path were not beneficial, God would not allow it or send it: “He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone” (Lamentations 3:33, NIV). God does not delight in our suffering. He brings only that which is necessary, but He does not shrink from that which will help us grow.”
― Jerry Bridges, 31 Days toward Trusting God

“George MacDonald: “I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of. For to have been thought about—born in God’s thoughts—and then made by God is the dearest, grandest, most precious thing in all thinking.”
― Jerry Bridges, 31 Days toward Trusting God