Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life-gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.
Oswald ChambersRead
Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character has to be cleared in our own minds. Faith in its actual working out has to go through spells of unsyllabled isolation. Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life. Much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Faith is tested through challenges that clarify our understanding of God's character rather than just our trust in Him.
In this quote, Oswald Chambers emphasizes that true faith is subjected to trials that serve to deepen our understanding of Godβs nature, rather than simply questioning our ability to believe. He differentiates between the ordinary difficulties of life and the specific challenges that test our faith, suggesting that these trials are essential for spiritual growth and clarity in our relationship with God.
Themes
FaithTrustGodTrialsCharacterSpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
During a sermon reflecting on the challenges of faith and understanding God's nature.
More from Oswald Chambers
All quotes βNever make the blunder of trying to forecast the way God is going to answer your prayer.
Oswald ChambersRead
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God.
Oswald ChambersRead
When we preach the love of God there is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals not first the love of God but the intense, blazing holiness of God, with His love at the center of that holiness.
Oswald ChambersRead
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration.
Oswald ChambersRead
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion.
Oswald ChambersRead
Similar quotes
We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
J. C. RyleRead
Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be... a prudent insurance policy.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
And although I see few results, future missionaries will see conversions following every sermon. May they not forget the pioneers who worked in the thick gloom with few rays to cheer, except such as flow from faith in the precious promises of God's Word.
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Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ.
Martin LutherRead
Our Faith must be tested. God builds no ships but what He sends to sea.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
Saving faith is the faith of God's elect; the special gift of God to them, wrought in them by his Spirit.
Thomas BostonRead