Trusting God Even When Life Hurts:
"That which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good."
"Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him... So God's honor takes precedence over our feelings. We honor God by choosing to trust Him when we don't understand what He is doing or why He has allowed some adverse circumstance to occur."
"But it is His will, His agenda for our lives, that God will guard, protect, and advance. We must learn to live by His agenda if we are to trust Him."
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Looking back over my notes... chapter eight is amazingly packed!:
"The wisdom of God is displayed when He brings good to us and glory to Himself out of confusion and calamity rather than our of pleasant times."
"He knows infallibly with infinite wisdom what combination of good and bad circumstances will bring us more and more into sharing His holiness."
"We simply cannot search out the reasons behind His decisions or trace out the ways by which He brings those decisions to pass."
"If we are to honor God by trusting Him, and if we are to find peace for ourselves, we must come to the place where we can honestly say, 'God, I do not have to understand. I will just trust you.' "
"It is not only an irreverent act to question God's wisdom, it is also spiritually debilitating. We do not only besmirch God's glory, we also deprive ourselves of the comfort and peace that comes by simply trusting Him without requiring an explanation. An unreserved trust of God, when we don't understand what is happening or why, is the only road to peace and comfort & joy."
"God in His infinite wisdom knows exactly what adversity we need to grow more and more into the likeness of His Son. He not only knows what we need but when we need it and how best to bring it to pass in out lives. He is the perfect teacher or coach. His discipline is always exactly suited for our needs. He never overtrains by allowing too much adversity into our lives."
chapter nine:
"We are meant to feel the pain of adversity, but we must resist allowing that pain to cause us to lapse into hard thoughts about God. We must seek to let the truth of God (His sovereignty, wisdom, and love as they are revealed in the Scriptures) rule our minds."
