Isaac of Nineveh Quotes

There are many trials in life which do not seem to come from unwisdom or folly; they are silver arrows shot from the bow of God, and fixed inextricably in the quivering heart - they are meant to be borne - they were not meant, like snow or water, to melt as soon as they strike; but the moment an ill can be patiently borne it is disarmed of its poison, though not of its pain.

However much we do to avoid them, we shall never lack crosses in this life if we are in the ranks of the Crucified.

Real faith is refined in the fires and storms of pain.

Trials make the promise sweet, Trials give new life to prayer; Trials bring me to His feet, Lay me low, and keep me there.

In the heroic effort of the handcart pioneers, we learn a great truth. All must pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. Yet this is part of the purging to become acquainted with God.

See your weakness as a reason to pray the more, it should not be the reason for sadness or to abandon your post.

Fiery trials make golden Christians.

It's in the difficult times that we're growing and you can't just rebuke everything hard. We've got to endure it and fight the good fight of faith and pass the test.

When everything goes wrong, what a joy to test your soul and see if it has endurance and courage. An invisible and all-powerful enemy - some call him God, others the Devil, seem to rush upon us to destroy us; but we are not destroyed.

Worshippers aren't made when they see the enemy on the run, put to flight. The truth is, worshippers of God are made during dark, stormy nights. And how we respond to our storms determines just what kind of worshippers we are.

Wave after wave of trial rolled over us; but at the end of the year some of us were constrained to confess, that we had learned more of the loving-kindness of the Lord than in any previous year of our lives.

Saints spring and thrive most internally, when they are most externally afflicted. Afflictions are the mother of virtue.

Trials are the soil in which faith flourishes.

My Brethren if thou endure thy trials well though shalt be exalted.

Satan, the Hinderer, may build a barrier about us, but he can never roof us in, so that we cannot look up.

The more afflictions you have been under, the more assistance you have had for this life of holiness.

The winds of tribulation, which blow out some men's candles of commitment, only fan the fires of faith of others.

Be patient. God is using today's difficulties to strengthen you for tomorrow. He is equipping you. The God who makes things grow will help you bear fruit.

Everyone’s a believer when things are going fine. The real faith is when one becomes patient with tribulations.

The devil is but a whetstone to sharpen the faith and patience of the saints.-

As a Christian, when your trial is getting hotter, you are getting closer to your breakthrough! Keep pressing!

God gives us the vision, then he takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience.

It is difficulties that show what men are. For the future, in case of any difficulty, remember that God, like a gymnastic trainer, has pitted you against a rough antagonist. For what end? That you may be an Olympic conqueror; and this cannot be without toil.

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.

Life asks not merely what you can do; it asks how much can you endure and not be spoiled.