Quotes About Adversity

You meant evil against me, Joseph told his brothers, using a Hebrew verb that traces its meaning to weave or plait. You wove evil, he was saying, but God rewove it together for good. God, the Master Weaver.

If the story of Joseph teaches us anything, it is this: we have a choice. We can wear our hurt or wear our hope. We can outfit ourselves in our misfortune, or we can clothe ourselves in God's providence. We can cave in to the pandemonium of

La buena vida no comienza cuando cambian las circunstancias, sino cuando cambia tu actitud hacia ellas.

If you see your troubles as nothing more than isolated hassles and hurts, you'll grow bitter and angry. Yet if you see your troubles as tests used by God for his glory and your maturity, then even the smallest of incidents takes on significance.

Los mejores esfuerzos del diablo por desalentarnos sucumben ante la determinación de Dios para moldearnos

Failure is a form of quicksand. Take immediate action or you'll be sucked under.

Jesus, this anxious, negative thought just wormed its way into my mind. Is it from you? Jesus, who speaks nothing but the truth, says, "No, get away from here, Satan.

How would that look on a résumé? Joseph Son of Jacob Graduate with honors from the University of Hard Knocks Director of Global Effort to Save Humanity Succeeded

But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don't be foolish or naive. But don't despair either. With God's help you will get through this.

Death, failure, betrayal, sickness, disappointment—they cannot take our joy, because they cannot take our Jesus.

And now without your boat you think you will sink. You're correct. You will, for a while. Waves will sweep over you. Fear will suck you under like a Pacific riptide. But take heart, says Paul. Take heart, says Christ: "In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world" (John 16:33 NCV).

If we sense we are victims of unseen, turbulent, random forces, we are troubled.

You cannot control the circumstances, but you can always control what you think of them.

Joseph's pit came in the form of a cistern. Maybe yours came in the form of a diagnosis, a foster home, or a traumatic injury. Joseph

Begin by thanking God for thumps. Every thump is a reminder that God is molding you (Hebrews 12:5–8). 2. Learn from each thump. Look upon each inconvenience as an opportunity to develop patience and persistence. 3. Be aware of "thump-slump" times. Know your pressure periods. Bolster yourself with extra prayer, and don't give up. Remember, no thump is disastrous. All thumps work for good if we are loving and obeying God.

Difficult days demand decisions of faith.

How we handle our tough times stay with us a long time. (P68)

Yet he never gave up. Bitterness never staked its claim. Anger never metastasized into hatred. His heart never hardened; his resolve never vanished. He not only survived; he thrived.

Down to Egypt. Just a few hours ago Joseph's life was looking up.

Life pulls us down.

It may seem that the calamity sucked your life out to sea, but it hasn't. You still have your destiny.

So did yours. Joseph's pit came in the form of a cistern. Maybe yours came in the form of a diagnosis, a foster home, or a traumatic injury. Joseph was thrown in a hole and despised. And you? Thrown in an unemployment line and forgotten. Thrown into a divorce and abandoned, into a bed and abused. The pit. A kind of death, waterless and austere. Some people never recover. Life is reduced to one quest: get out and never be hurt again. Not simply done. Pits have no easy exits.

When these pictures burst, the stars drew yet further apart. Black space opened. She got to her feet to fight better

We age not by years but by events and our emotional reactions to them.