Hardship
“Hardship need not break us. It can build, refine and reveal. That is the work of providence, God’s good will working in us a glory that is abundantly above all we could ask or think.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“The power of God is always present to help aid those who have to bear any hardship for the sake of religion, to lighten their labors, and to strengthen their ardor.” (Eusebius of Caesarea)
“…we should also recognize that the act and attitude of thanksgiving is also related to struggle and hardship. The first Thanksgiving, which provided the origins of our national observance, followed an arduous and costly journey to this land by the Pilgrims...Their survival of these hardships through faith and hope led them in 1621 to offer thanksgiving to God for His amazing grace and providence. The official establishment of a national day of thanksgiving by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 was also related to great hardship and tragedy. For almost four years the nation had been engaged in a deadly civil war…President Lincoln called upon his fellow citizens “to offer thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God…and penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land.” (Archbishop Demetrios of America)
“Scripture teaches us that God led his people of Israel out of Egypt and into a forty-year journey of hardship in a lonely and forbidding wilderness. And yet, at the end of that journey, they were led from bondage to a glorious land that flowed with milk and honey. From down trodden slaves, He transformed them into a mighty nation envied by others. How wonderful it would be if we could each learn to trust God in those times when we too experience the dark passages that enter our lives…When we come to accept the providential care of God with childlike simplicity we soon discover that the barriers we encounter in our lives, can in retrospect, come to be numbered among our greatest blessings.” (Fr. Andrew Demotses)
“Those who have never truly suffered may not appreciate God as much as those who have matured under hardship. Those who have seen God work in times of distress have a deeper insight into His loving kindness. If you have experienced great trials, you have the potential for great praise.” (Life Application Study Bible Psalms 107:32)