"When your faith is threatened and tested and stretched to the breaking point, the result is greater capacity to endure. God loves faith in future grace so much that he will test it to the breaking point so as to keep it pure and strong."
"God so values our wholehearted faith in future grace that he will, graciously, take away everything else in the world that we might be tempted to rely on - even life itself. His aim is that we grow deeper and stronger in our confidence that he himself will be all we need. He wants us to be able to say with the psalmist, 'Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever' (Psalm 73:25-26)."
"We learn through pain that God is faithful and that our faith is real. The people who are most unwavering in their hope are those who have been tested most deeply. The people who look most earnestly and steadfastly to the hope of glory are those who have had the comforts of this life stripped away through tribulations. These are the freest of all people. Their love cannot be daunted by threats or calamities."
"Through suffering God is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond death, and he is working out his infallible purposes to gather all the elect from the nations of the world and bring in the consummation of his kingdom. The critical point is this: the suffering that seems to threaten future grace is, in reality, grace upon grace. To know this, and to see how it can be so, will help you believe that when all around your sould gives way, the Lord is all your hope and stay."
-John Piper, Future Grace, "The Future Grace of Suffering"
Oh, Lord, let this be me.
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2 comments:
What a great post!!! I needed this reminder this morning! Thanks!
Wonderful blog.. just spent about an hour reading and every post was exactly what I needed. Convicted, encouraged, edified, repentant, refreshed! I've been compromising with sin (grey areas) much for the past few months and it has truly caused my relationships not only with god but everyone in my life to suffer.. your blog has encouraged me to go back to my first love with a child like faith seeking first the kingdom.. again thank you and god bless..
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