Category Archives: Trials and testings

The darker the night the brighter the stars shine.

Posted on August 12, 2018 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a sheet of paper I keep that someone once gave to me when I was going through a very tough time. I can’t remember who it was but I do remember them scribbling these words for me; “God’s promises … Continue reading →

Posted in Grief, Promise, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

It takes a great spirit to come through hardship

Posted on February 22, 2018 by vincentsmithauthor

Four centuries ago Martin Rinkert became the minister of his hometown parish in Eilenburg, Germany. A year later the Thirty Years War broke out and Eilenburg was caught in the middle. In the midst of it a massive plague swept … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Life, Life's journey, Life's lessons, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I doesn’t matter

Posted on November 30, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

Some years ago the Readers Digest reported the case of Angie and David whose house burned down. Angie’s first act was to hunt through the blackened ruins searching for any photo albums that had survived. She managed to find some … Continue reading →

Posted in Life's lessons, love, Materialism, Meaning in life, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Trouble is inevitable, but misery is optional

Posted on February 19, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

Abraham Lincoln is credited with the saying that ‘most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.’ Now, that may be an oversimplification, especially when we think of refugees fleeing from unimaginable horrors, or people … Continue reading →

Posted in Endurance, Faith, Faithfulness, God with us, God's faithfulness, God's love, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble | Leave a comment

White-knuckle sailing

Posted on February 19, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

For me, one of life’s great pleasures is sailing, and I always hope for a steady ten to fifteen knot wind. Five to ten knots of wind is pleasant, less than five knots is boring; but the one thing I … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, God's presence, Tested, Trials and testings, Troubles | Leave a comment

‘Remember in the darkness what you knew in the light.’

Posted on April 29, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

Many of us have had the experience of waking up in the early hours of the morning and finding ourselves overwhelmed with fear and negative thoughts. Those early hours are when our natural rhythms are at their lowest point in … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Fear, Feelings, God, God with us, God's faithfulness, God's love, Hope, Storms of life, Trials and testings | Leave a comment

Disappointed? Often! Discouraged? Sometimes! Defeated? Never!

Posted on April 29, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

Scott Peck’s famous book, The Road Less Traveled, opens with the words:’Life is difficult.’ He says we’ll never get on top of life until we accept this fundamental truth, but when we do accept it, the fact that life is … Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual growth, Spiritual Insight, Strength, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble, Tried, Troubles, Victory, Winners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What seems to be tragic may actually become an occasion for joy

Posted on March 29, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

Joe Wagner once attended an auction where a little girl’s champion lamb went up for sale. As the bids came in, the little girl, standing beside the lamb, began to cry. The higher the bids rose, the more she cried. … Continue reading →

Posted in Joy, Trials and testings, tribulation and trouble, Troubles | Leave a comment

Afflictions v Affections

Posted on November 11, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Malcolm Muggeridge, just before his death, said: ‘Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I … Continue reading →

Posted in Strength, Tested, Trials and testings, Tried, Troubles | Leave a comment

Sparrows don’t worry

Posted on June 18, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

A construction crew building a new road had to knock down trees as it progressed. Their supervisor noticed that one tree had a nest of young birds who couldn’t yet fly, so he marked it not to be bulldozed. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundant life, Anxiety, Divine Protection, Faith, God with us, God's faithfulness, Trials and testings, Troubles | Leave a comment