Trials are adverse circumstances that God introduces or allows in order to identify where we are spiritually and to prepare us for where He wants us to go.

The normal Christian Life is not supposed to be an exhausting wrestling match with a dead man, but is an abundant, joy-filled life with God, salted with an occasional season of strong resistance from our archenemy.

Many people's circumstances dictate their stances. They become powerless victims of other people's actions and attitudes. They wrongly believe that their physical situation is their condition. The truth is, you do not always have power over what happens to you, but you do have complete control over what happens in you.

we forget that there is no victory without a battle, no testimony without a test and no miracle without an impossible circumstance.

Trials are designed to help us determine who our master will be, whom we will trust, who our Lord will be and which kingdom we will put our faith in.

C. S. Lewis put it, "We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.

We should not try to "get rid" of a neurosis, but rather to experience what it means, what it has to teach, what its purpose is.

No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.

I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned.

You have to have faith that there is a reason you go through certain things. I can't say I'm glad to go through pain, but in a way one must, in order to gain courage and really feel joy.

Conflict reinforces our need for God, drives us to him, forces us to look at him more closely, and deepens our trust.

Conflict brings out the leader in us, transforms our lives from the mundane to the cosmic, and by God's grace forges us into more compassionate, selfless leaders.