Don’t bear trouble, use it. Take whatever happens – justice and injustice, pleasure and pain, compliment and criticism – take it up into the purpose of your life and make something out of it. Turn it into testimony. Don’t explain evil, exploit evil; make it serve you. Just as the Lotus flower reaches down and takes up the mud and mire into the purposes of its life and produces the lotus flower out of them, so you are to take whatever happens and make something out of it.

— E. Stanley Jones (1884–1973), Missionar

Topics: Hope & Confidence, Suffering & the Question of God, Courage & Strength

Occasions: Encouragement, For Reflection

E. Stanley Jones

Eli Stanley Jones (1884–1973) war ein US-amerikanischer methodistischer Theologe, Missionar und Autor, der den Großteil seines Lebens in Indien wirkte. Bekannt wurde er durch die christliche Ashram-Bewegung sowie seinen Ansatz, das Evangelium von westlich-kolonialen Prägungen zu lösen, weshalb ihm theologische Kritiker Synkretismus vorwarfen. Für heutige Bibelleser steht sein Werk für eine christuszentrierte Spiritualität, die persönliche Nachfolge mit sozialer Verantwortung, Dialog und Gewaltfreiheit verbindet.

All quotes by E. Stanley Jones (7)

More on this topic

By gentle powers wonderfully sheltered, we quietly await what e'er may come. God is with us at evening and in morning, and most assuredly on each new day.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

For those who love God, he turns everything into good, even their wrong turns and mistakes God lets become good for them.

Augustine of Hippo

God helps at the latest, just in time.

Arno Backhaus

God always finishes what He starts.

John MacArthur

Commit your ways and whatever grieves your heart to the most faithful care of him who governs heaven! He who gives paths, course, and way to clouds, air, and winds will also find a way for your foot to walk.

Paul Gerhardt

That the birds of worry and grief fly over your head, you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair — that you can prevent.

Martin Luther

When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become.

Henri Nouwen

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

All quotes · lumen.bible