Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without a passion.

The presence of hope in the invincible sovereignty of God drives out fear.

God wills to be displayed and known and loved and cherished and worshiped.

It is a fight from start to finish to be happy in God.

Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Without extended, concentrated prayer, the ministry of the Word withers. And when the ministry of the Word declines, faith (Rom. 10:17; Gal. 3:2, 5) and holiness (John 17:17) decline. Activity may continue, but life and power and fruitfulness fade away. Therefore, whatever opposes prayer opposes the whole work of ministry.

God's global aim in creation and redemption is not only the glory of his name, but also the gladness of the peoples.