The eagle ... can lock its wings and wait for the right wind. He waits for the updraft and never has to flap his wings, just soar. As as we wait on God He will help us use the adversities and strong winds to benefit us. The Bible says, 'They that wait upon the Lord ... shall mount up with wings as eagles' (Isaiah 40:31)

Success stories may be great motivational material for sales seminars, but we are not always successful.

Many a life has come forth from the furnace of affliction more beautiful and more useful than before.

When disappointment or tragedy or suffering strikes, we have a decision to make: Will we turn away from God, or will we turn toward Him? Which road will we take? One road leads to doubt, anger, bitterness, fear, hopelessness, and despair. The other leads to hope, comfort, peace, strength, and joy.

Becoming "new" in Christ is a wonderful beginning, but it isn't the end of pain or problems in our lives. It is the beginning of our facing up to them. Being a Christian involves a lifetime of hard work, dedicated study, and difficult decisions.

Affliction may be for our edification and Christian development.

In the last essay he wrote before he died, the great Christian writer C. S. Lewis said, "We have no right to happiness; only an obligation to do our duty." Sometimes our God-given duty will include suffering. When it does, ask God to teach you through it. Remember the psalmist's words I quoted above: "Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD.

Within the New Testament, there is no indication that Christians should expect to be healthy, wealthy, and successful in this present age.

Tell me why the gardener trims and prunes his rosebushes, sometimes cutting away productive branches, and I will tell you why God's people are afflicted. God's hand never slips.

There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is to simply try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had.

As life hits us head-on we can respond with resentment, resignation, acceptance, or welcome. We are the living examples of our responses.

One reason God allows times of difficulty and suffering to come into our lives is so that we will not take Him for granted but will remember in a deeper way His faithfulness to us and our dependence on Him.