Out of pain and problems have come the sweetest songs, the most poignant poems, the most gripping stories.

Your salvation depends on what [Christ] has done for you, not on what you do for Him. It isn't your hold on God that saves you. It's His hold on you.

Suffering is part of the human condition, and it comes to us all. The key is how we react to it, either turning away from God in anger and bitterness or growing closer to Him in trust and confidence.

The most devastating effect of sin is that by it, we are blinded to it.

There comes a moment when we all must realize that life is short, and in the end the only thing that really counts is not how others see us, but how God sees us.

Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched by pain tend to be shallow in their perspectives on life. Suffering, on the other hand, tends to plow up the surface of our lives to uncover the depths that provide greater strength of purpose and accomplishment. Only deeply plowed earth can yield bountiful harvests.

It was not the people or the Roman soldiers who put Jesus on the cross - it was your sins and my sins that made it necessary for Him to volunteer His death.