Seasons of Sorrow Quotes

“Though I will be scarred by Nick’s death, I will not be defined by it. Though it will always be part of my story, it will never become my identity. I will be forever thankful that God gave me a son and never resentful that he called him home. My joy in having loved Nick will be greater than my grief in having lost him. I will not waver in my faith, nor abandon my hope, nor revoke my love. I will not charge God with wrong.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“God’s goodness does not vary with our circumstances but is fully present and on display in our worst moments as well as our best, in our most lamentable experiences as well as our most joyful.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“I would not summon Nick back to this world if I could, for that would be to rob him of the greatest of all gains and to force him to experience so much loss.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“...one of the hardest parts of my loss is that all my feelings of love remain, but there's no way to express them.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“God’s goodness means that everything God is and everything God does is worthy of approval, for he himself is the very standard of goodness. Those things that are good are those things that God deems good, that God deems fitting, that God deems appropriate. For something to be good is for it to meet the approval of God, and for something to meet the approval of God is for it to be good.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“God’s sovereignty is a sweeping doctrine that touches every aspect of life across every moment of creation and every corner of the universe. There is no moment, no spot, no deed, no death, that falls outside of it.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“The father instinct that was so strong within me went from abundant to empty. And so while I miss Nick so very deeply, I also miss the part of my life and identity that was wrapped up in being his dad, in being father to a son. His death has left more than one kind of void.
...some losses are not only losses of a person but also of an identity. We don't only grieve the person who is gone, but also the part of our identity that has departed with them.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“Ultimately, if there is to be comfort, it will not be grounded in the hope that nothing bad will happen to me or to the people I love, but in the perfect God whose perfect character is displayed in his perfect will.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“To say, “Thy will be done,” is to say, “Thy goodness be shown.” It’s to seek out evidence of God’s goodness even in the hardest of his providences. It’s to worship him, even with a broken heart.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

“goodness is not an occasional attribute of God, not an infrequent disposition, but a constant one. It was meant to remind us that God’s goodness does not vary with our circumstances but is fully present and on display in our worst moments as well as our best, in our most lamentable experiences as well as our most joyful.”
― Tim Challies, Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God