We must always keep in mind all legitimate authority is from God, and is given for protection, provision, and peace.

True humility is absolute obedience and dependence on God. It puts Him first, others second, and ourselves third in all things.

God doesn't author hardship but uses it to strengthen us for greater conquests. He never leads us into a storm that He doesn't give us the power to overcome.

Physical growth is a function of time. No two-year-old child has ever been six feet tall. Intellectual growth is a function of learning. Spiritual growth is neither a function of time or learning, but it is a function of obedience.

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

I say that trials and tests locate a person. In other words they determine where you are spiritually. They reveal the true condition of your heart. How you react under pressure is how the real you reacts.

We don't want to merely obey God: we need to catch His heart. It is then we will glimpse the wisdom behind His directives, and not just see them as laws.