Gloria

“Indeed is it not the case that in this matter of sanctification our tendency is always to start with ourselves, instead of starting with God? I have got this sin that is worrying me and always getting me down, this sin that defeats me, and my tendency is to say, 'What can be done about this sin, this problem of mine. How can I get rid of this thing? How can I get peace?' I start with myself and my problem, and as certainly as I do that when I am considering this doctrine of sanctification, I am sure, in some shape or form, to end by regarding God as merely an agency who is there to help me solve my problems. And this is a totally unscriptural approach to the almighty ever blessed God.”
― Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“Never do anything which you know perfectly well is going to be the means of temptation to you. If you know that certain things, which may not be bad in and of themselves, generally get you down and you are a worse person afterwards than you were before, do not do them; never, as it were, provide yourself with the occasion to sin.”
― Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“By the grace of God, I discovered that struggle could become a skill builder, pain could become a motivator, and confusion could serve as a clarifier.”
― Michele Rigby Assad, Breaking Cover: My Secret Life in the CIA and What It Taught Me about What's Worth Fighting For

“I was out alone and as I walked, I thought of my wretchedness. Temporal trouble and sorrow seemed as if it would crush me, and spiritually I felt utterly destitute, and then a wicked, angry feeling arose, as if something said, 'What do you gain by seeking the Lord?' and I mentally answered, 'Nothing but misery.' Just then some lines came into my mind which a friend had sent me:
'He has come down in mercy,
And spoilt my earth-built nest,
Ans given me grief and conflict,
For happiness and rest.
Tis well! The joy was worthless,
It flowed not from His love,
The peace was all delusive,
It came not from above.”
― B. A. Ramsbottom