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Stories of inspirational faith can be used by God powerfully in the dark and dreary seasons of life. Have you ever felt utterly discouraged? The I want to stay in my sweat pants, eating ice cream and binge-watching Hulu forever seasons?
You know, those times where nothing seems to be going right and you are out of answers. Have you ever wondered where is God when you feel so miserable?
In times of great discouragement or disappointment, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The feelings of helplessness and discouragement can threaten to overwhelm you. However, there is hope! God in his infinite wisdom did not design us to journey alone through life. We were meant to live in community with others.
One way we can do that is to remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness even in the midst of unbeatable odds. It is these stories of faith that bolster our sagging spirits. Throughout the Bible, stories played a powerful role in the encouragement and instruction of future generations by proclaiming who God is and what he has done.
I see quotes as mini-stories of God’s power at work in the lives of men and women of faith. Today, I have compiled a list of my favorite quotes and scriptures specifically for discouraging seasons. I would encourage you to use the exercise below to allow God to speak to you through their words of hope.
When we read articles with bullet points it can be extremely easy to want to speed through the article. But I would challenge you to engage, by inviting God to speak to you through the words of godly men and women by reading slowly and reflectively. Their inspirational faith can serve as a catalyst for our own spiritual growth if we can slow down long enough to listen.
Inspirational Faith Exercise:
a. Pray and invite God to speak to you through the quotes below.
b. Read through the quotes slowly and notice any phrase or quote that jumps out at you.
c. Bring that phrase or quote to the Lord in prayer. Ask him to speak to you through those words.
d. Read through the phrase or quote again slowly. Then sit in silence allowing elbow room for the Holy Spirit to speak to you.
If this is your first time sitting in silence, I would highly recommend setting a timer for two-three minutes. It keeps you from constantly checking the time. 🙂
e. Close your time in prayer by thanking God for his presence.
f. Journal any thoughts, feelings or impressions you experienced during this exercise.
Here are 13 Inspirational Faith Quotes from great men and women of faith that if read reflectively can serve as a catalyst to a deeper walk with God even in times of discouragement.
13 Inspirational Faith Quotes
1. “Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles it empties today of its strength.” Corrie Ten Boom
2. “If you want to get warm you move near the fire. If you want joy, peace, eternal life, you must get close to what has them.” C.S. Lewis
3. “O God, when my faith gets overladen with dust, blow it clean with the wind of your Spirit. When my habits of obedience get stiff and rusty, anoint them with the oil of your Spirit. Restore the enthusiasm of my first love for you.” Eugene H. Peterson
4. “When I trust deeply that today God is truly with me and holds me safe in a divine embrace, guiding every one of my steps I can let go of my anxious need to know how tomorrow will look, or what will happen next month or next year. I can be fully where I am and pay attention to the many signs of God’s love within me and around me.” Henri Nouwen
5. “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.” Hebrews 11:1
6. “Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us and see the beauty in ordinary things.”-Thomas Merton
7. “The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.” Dallas Willard
8. “Hope is willing to leave unanswered questions unanswered and unknown futures unknown. Hope makes you see God’s guiding hand not only in the gentle and pleasant moments but also in the shadows of disappointment and darkness.” Henri Nouwen
9. “One way to define spiritual life is getting so tired and fed up with yourself you go on to something better, which is following Jesus.”-Eugene H. Peterson
10. God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.” Lamentations 3:24
11. “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” Corrie Ten Boom
12. “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” C.S. Lewis
13. “But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.” Luke 17:6
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Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
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Thanks Alexis..I passed by your website and read your articles – thanks for being such a great blessing – keep shining – stay strong the world needs more hope and strength – dont give up even if you are the only one raising up the lantern.