We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth. —SUSAN TAYLOR

Albert Schweitzer, a century or more ago, used another strong image. Jesus, he said, was like a man convinced the wheel of history was going to turn in the opposite direction. He waited for this to happen, but it didn't. Then he threw himself upon the wheel, and it crushed him—but it did indeed start to turn in the other direction.

Hope" in this sense is not a feeling. It is a virtue. You have to practice it, like a difficult piece on the violin or a tricky shot at tennis. You practice the virtue of hope through worship and prayer, through invoking the One God, through reading and reimagining the scriptural story, and through consciously holding the unknown future within the unshakable divine promises. Saul had learned to do this. Paul the Apostle, much later, would have to learn the same lesson all over again.

Suffering and dying is the way by which the world is changed. This is how the revolution continues.

It seems that Peter is saying the goal of apologetics is not just to present better arguments but to exhibit a better character, especially when suffering hostility and opposition.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

I never lose, I either win or learn

Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.