Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
-- James 1:2-5 (ESV)
John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle of James:
He did not say "when you fall into" but "when you meet" -- as though one were to meet an enemy in battle, and instead of turning his back, should stand his ground and gain the victory. For the contest is not against flesh and blood, but against the trial itself, and the victory is won not by avoiding it but by enduring it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship:
The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book X:
Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee. Grant what thou dost command, and command what thou dost will. For it is not that we are worthy to ask anything of ourselves, but that thy grace works in us what thou dost require.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, Ch. 1:
He who would learn true wisdom must humble himself and bear the yoke of obedience and discipline from his youth. It is no small matter to lose what is great for the sake of what is small. What has the man gained who has lost himself? He who seeks anything beyond Jesus will find nothing but sorrow and confusion.
What trial are you interpreting as punishment that might be the very instrument God is using to finish you?
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, V.18:
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. Fire tests gold; suffering tests the strong man. If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
St. Clair, MI: -- Light drizzle, 67°F, humidity 93%, winds SW 7 mph. Sunrise 6:22 AM, sunset 8:51 PM. Waning crescent.