So it will be that no matter what kind of cross is placed upon us, we will steadily maintain endurance even through the narrowest straits of the soul.

At one level, the message of the book of Ruth is that the life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but they do get there.

Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It's what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven!

Everything that happens to me can help me along in my Christian life.

Life is a razor, you are always in hot water or a scrape.

Life is a pill which none of us can bear to swallow without gilding.

Life is hard, but death is even harder.

I so connected to symbolically being able to turn lead into gold. My grandmother used to say, "Life give you a lemon, you go ahead and make lemonade." To me, that's alchemy.

Life is a test and this world a place of trial.

Jesus always interpreted hardship in light of the end of the story, and at the end of the story we will be without shame.

Through our struggles and pain, we are being offered perseverance, the character of God. Hardships are intended to give us a spiritual makeover, "that we may share in his holiness" (Heb. 12:10). Therefore, when God encourages us to persevere, he is not stumbling for encouraging words. He is teaching us how to look like him.

If pleasures are greatest in anticipation, just remember that this is also true of trouble.