August 1, 2008

take heart

photo by Erin Doyle

"We are pressed on every side by troubles,

but we are not crushed.

We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.

We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

Through suffering,

our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus

so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies."

- 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NLT

"I answer that suffering is not good in itself.

What is good in any painful experience is,

for the sufferer,

his submission to the will of God."

- C. S. Lewis

(The Problem of Pain)

"I have told you these things,

so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world."

- John 16:33 NIV