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A trial is an uncomfortable state that tests patience, endurance, commitment, or faith

• Test: A procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something. Oxford Dictionary
• Test: The means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of anything is determined; a means of trial. Dictionary.com
• Test: A procedure for critical evaluation; a means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something. American Heritage Dictionary
• Test: A basis for evaluation or judgment.  American Heritage Dictionary
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• Trial: Test something to assess its suitability or performance. Oxford Dictionary
• Trial: The act of trying, testing, or putting to the proof.  Dictionary.com
• Trial: A state of pain or anguish that tests patience, endurance, or belief.   American Heritage Dictionary

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Life is a test…

• All life is a test one way or the other. John Henrik Clarke
• Life is a test and this world a place of trial. Winston Churchill
• We don’t know our hearts until life puts us to the test. Chris Cleave
• Every moment of your life is either a test or a celebration. David Deida
• Life is a gift… Life is a test… Life is temporary assignment. Rick Warren
• When life takes the wind out of your sails, it is to test you at the oars. Robert Breault
• The only journeys worth taking in life are those that test us to the very core. Justin Somper
• We meet all life’s greatest tests alone. Agnes Macphail
• I sometimes feel like life is just one big test to see how long we can survive. Jessica Sorensen
• When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Rick Warren
• Life is going to test you. But no matter how bad it may seem, we can always step up and beat it. Nathan Parsons
• Life’s a test, mistakes are lessons, but the gift of life is knowing that you have made a difference. Tupac Shakur
• You may flunk your exams in school and still make it in life, but if you flunk life’s exams, you’re sunk! Chris Oyakhilome
• Is life worth living? Aye, with the best of us, Heights of us, depths of us- Life is the test of us! Corinne Roosevelt Robinson
• We can choose to see life as a series of trials and tribulations, or we can choose to see life as an accumulation of treasures. Max De Pree
• Life is filled with tests, one after another, and if you don’t recognize them, you are certain to fail the most important ones. Brian Herbert
• If life is a punishment, one should wish for an end; if life is a test, one should wish it to be short. Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre
• The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God’s view of life: Life is a test, life is a trust, and life is a temporary assignment. Rick Warren
• This life has been a test. If it had been an actual life, you would have received actual instructions on where to go and what to do. Winnie Holzman
• Life is a test and this world a place of trial. Always the problems – or it may be the same problem – will be presented to every generation in different forms. Winston Churchill
• Life is a test and this world a place of trial. Always the problems – or it may be the same problem – will be presented to every generation in different forms. Winston Churchill
• Life consists of two days: one for you and one against you, so when it’s for you don’t be proud or reckless, and when it’s against you be patient, for both days are test for you. Ali ibn Abi Talib
• This life is a test-it is only a test. If it had been an actual life, you would have received further instructions on where to go and what to do. Remember, this life is only a test. Jack Kornfield
• Everything in life serves as a challenge and test to elevate us. Therefore it is right to be grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow through tackling this real life experience. Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
• We’re all going to have tests in our life… We never know when that test comes, but we know we have to be prepared for it. We’re all going to be tested. The dark energy is going to knock on all of our doors. Mike Tyson
• Life has a way of testing our anchors and tempting us to drift. Nevertheless, if our anchors are correctly placed in the rock of our Redeemer, they will hold—no matter the force of the wind, the strength of the tide, or the height of the waves. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
• Wisdom is looking at life from God’s point of view. You look at life’s difficulties and tests as God looks at them. You look at family life and child rearing as God looks at them. You interpret current events as God would interpret them. You see the truth even though all around you are deception and lies. Charles R. Swindoll
• Life is a test. It is only a test–meaning that’s all it is. Nothing more, but nothing less. It is a test of our convictions and priorities, our faith and faithfulness, our patience and resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires. It is a test to determine if we want to be part of the kingdom of God more than we want anything else. Sheri L. Dew
• Man’s earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, his soul upon things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical instincts and passions, or whether he will make as his life’s end and purpose the acquisition of spiritual qualities. David O. McKay

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…a series of tests…

• Life is a series of tests; but if you pass your tests, you look back upon them as good experiences. Peace Pilgrim
• Life is actually a series of tests. It’s a social test, a happiness test, a business success test. You’d like to get A’s in all of them. Donald Trump

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…an open-book test

• Life is not meant to be an open-book test. Alyson Noel
• Life is not a multiple choice test, it’s an open-book essay exam. Alan Blinder
• We all have life-defining moments. They are like open-book tests, but we don’t know we have been examined until it is over. John Bevere
• While life is meant to test, challenge, and strengthen us, if we are attempting to negotiate the twists and turns and ups and downs of mortality alone, we’re doing it all wrong. Mortality is a test, but it is an open book test. We have access not only to the divine text but to Him who authored it. Sheri L. Dew
• Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, “Is life a multiple choice test or is it a true or false test?” …Then a voice comes to me out of the dark and says, “We hate to tell you this but life is a thousand word essay. Charles M. Schulz
• Life is an ‘open-book’ exam, but the problem is that most of the students don’t have the ‘book’, or refuse to open it-a fact that ought to spur us on as Church members to share the gospel more widely so that life would be meaningful for more people. Neal A. Maxwell

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Life is a trial

• Come ye trials and challenges; come life’s big waves, for I am ready? Mas Oyama
• Much love much trial, but what an utter desert is life without love. Charles Darwin
• What is life worth without trials and tribulations which are the salt of life. Mahatma Gandhi
• All trials are trials for one’s life, just as all sentences are sentences of death. Oscar Wilde
• The trials of living and the pangs of disease make even the short span of life too long. Herodotus
• Every person in the world, including yourself, will encounter various trials throughout life. John C. Broger
• It is not the trials in your life that develop or destroy you, but rather your response to those hardships. Charles Stanley
• This life is full of trials and tribulations, so you have to capture humor whenever and wherever you can find it. Steven Callahan
• But peace, too, is a living thing and like all life it must wax and wane, accommodate, withstand trials, and undergo changes. Hermann Hesse
• Life itself is always a trial. In training, you must test and polish yourself in order to face the great challenges of life. Morihei Ueshiba
• The thought of the future life with its prerogatives and joys helps to make the trials of the present seem light and transient. Billy Graham
• Profound hearts, wise minds, take life as God makes it; it is a long trial, and unintelligible preparation for the unknown destiny. Victor Hugo
• We’d turn our lives into a terrible adventure. A true-life horror story with a happy ending. A trial we’d survive to talk about. Chuck Palahniuk
• Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior’s Atonement and his grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace. Quentin L. Cook
• The trials of life will not wait for us. They come at their own time, not caring much to inquire how ready we may be to meet them. James Anthony Froude
• There’s so many things that life is, and no matter how many breakthroughs, trials will exist and we’re going to get through it. Just be strong. Mary J. Blige
• One of the trials of life is that we do not usually receive immediately the full blessing for righteousness or the full cursing for wickedness. Ezra Taft Benson
• Give me the patience for the small things of life, courage for the great trials of life. Help me to do my best each day and then go to sleep knowing God is awake. Voltaire
• All the trials and tribulations have paid off. In life, you have setbacks…When you’re in your valley, that’s when you’re tested the most -not when you’re at your peak. Rashad Evans
• Life is only a dream: soon, we shall awaken. And what joy! The greater our sufferings, the more limitless our glory. Oh! do not let us waste the trial Jesus sends. Therese of Lisieux
• Adversity is simply part of earth life. From it we can grow and progress if we choose to. Yes, some trials come because of our own disobedience, but many trials are simply part of life. John Bytheway
• As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, ‘all things [will] work together for good to [us] that love God.’ James B. Martino
• Our life is what we make it. An insignificant game or a noble trial; a dream or a reality; a play of the senses worn out in selfish use, and flying “swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,” or an ascension of the soul, by daily duties and unfaltering faith, to more spiritual relations and to loftier toils. Edwin Hubbel Chapin

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The soul undergoes tests through a series of life times

• In many ways, Dante’s Divine Comedy was a dazzling depiction of the journey of the soul through Hell and Purgatory and its subsequent ascent through the heavens to Paradise is an allegory of the trials and tribulations of a soul as it undergoes many reincarnations in the world before achieving gnosis and escaping.  Adam Weishaupt

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The spiritual path is, by nature, always full of trials

• To remove warfare from a spiritual life is to render it unspiritual. Life in the spirit is a suffering way, filled with watching and laboring, burdened by weariness and trial, punctuated by heartbreak and conflict. It is a life utterly outpoured for the kingdom of God and lived in complete disregard for one’s personal happiness. Watchman Nee
• The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter. Paulo Coelho

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Experiences in life give the test first and the lesson later

• Experience gives us the tests first and the lessons later. Naomi Judd
• Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test before presenting the lesson. Vern Law
• Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward. Vern Law
• Life is like a confused teacher…first she gives the test and then teaches the lesson Drake
• Life is a cruel teacher. She loves to give you the test first and the lesson later. Daymond John
• The trouble with school is they give you the answer, then they give you the exam. That’s not life. Robert Kiyosaki
• In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson. Tom Bodett

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It is God who tests us

• God tests, but he does not tempt. Criss Jami
• God tests His people through hardship. John Piper
• Almighty God sends no trial without consolation. John Vianney
• God created men to test the souls of women. Robert A. Heinlein
• If God were not to test us, there would be no patience. John Calvin
• God never uses anyone greatly until He tests them deeply. Aiden Wilson Tozer
• Before every great opportunity God gave me a great trial. Martin Luther
• Every moment of my life I realize that God is putting me on my trial. Mahatma Gandhi
• Behind every trial and sorrow that He makes us shoulder, God has a reason. Khaled Hosseini
• Never forget that God tests his real friends more severely than the lukewarm ones. Kathryn Hulme
• Do not be surprised by your trials, since the Son of God has chosen them for our salvation. Vincent de Paul
• God will use your mess for good. We see a perfect mess; God sees a perfect chance to train, test , and teach. Max Lucado
• The instructor is always silent when the test is given… When God is silent in your life, you are being tested. Rick Warren
• God tests and proves us by the common occurrences of life. It is the little things which reveal the chapters of the heart. Ellen G. White
• Why should you worry whether God wants you to reach the heavenly home by way of the desert or by the fields, when by the one as well as by the other one arrives all the same at a Blessed Eternity? Keep far from you excessive preoccupation which arises from the trials which the good God wishes to visit upon you. Pio of Pietrelcina
• There are many trials in life which do not seem to come from unwisdom or folly; they are silver arrows shot from the bow of God, and fixed inextricably in the quivering heart – they are meant to be borne – they were not meant, like snow or water, to melt as soon as they strike; but the moment an ill can be patiently borne it is disarmed of its poison, though not of its pain. Henry Ward Beecher
• So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered Him and the commandments He gave us. And to endure well is to keep those commandments whatever the opposition, whatever the temptation, and whatever the tumult around us. Henry B. Eyring

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All of us, without exception, undergo trials

• Tests and trials are given to all of us. Robert D. Hales
• NO ONE is immune to the trials and tribulations of life. Martin Lawrence
• Life is tough, man. No one is spared from obstacles and trials, but there is such a beautiful plan for each of us. Just gotta let it happen. Taylor York
• We all face storms in life. Some are more difficult than others, but we all go through trials and tribulation. That’s why we have the gift of faith. Joyce Meyer
• I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end. Daphne du Maurier
• Life is a journey for us all. We all face trials. We all have ups and downs. All of us are human. But we are also the masters of our fate. We are the ones who decide how we are going to react to life. Elizabeth Smart
• No one is exempt from trials and tribulations. In fact, this is often what happens to people God loves very much, for it is part of God’s often mysterious and good plan for turning us into something great. Timothy Keller
• Daily there have to be many troubles and trials in every house, city, and country. No station in life is free of suffering and pain, both from your own, like your wife or children or household help or subjects, and from the outside, from your neighbors and all sorts of accidental trouble. Martin Luther
• Everybody in this life has their challenges and difficulties. That is part of our mortal test. The reason for some of these trials cannot be readily understood except on the basis of faith and hope because there is often a larger purpose which we do not always understand. Peace comes through hope. James E. Faust
• Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son. He already knows, and we have the opportunity to learn, that no matter how difficult our circumstances, all these things shall be for our experience, and our good. Robert D. Hales
• Everybody in this life has their challenges and difficulties. That is part of our mortal test. . . . Peace comes through hope. James E. Faust

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Knowing this, be less inclined to judge others

• We know nothing of the trials, sorrows and temptations of those around us, of pillows wet with sobs, of the life-tragedy that may be hidden behind a smile, of the secret cares, struggles, and worries that shorten life and leave their mark in hair prematurely whitened, and a character changed and almost recreated in a few days. Let us not dare to add to the burden of another the pain of our judgment. William George Jordan

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Our tests and trials come with blessings

• What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise. Oscar Wilde
• What if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise? Laura Story
• So in every test, let us say: “Thank you, my God, because this was needed for my salvation.” Elder Paisios of Mount Athos
• God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way. Aiden Wilson Tozer
• Trials make the promise sweet, Trials give new life to prayer; Trials bring me to His feet, Lay me low, and keep me there. William Cowper
• God is able to take the mess of our past and turn it into a message. He takes the trials and tests and turns them into a testimony. Christine Caine
• Every test, every trial, every heartache that’s been significant, I can turn it over and see how God has turned it into good no matter what. Charles Stanley
• The difficulties, hardships and trials of life, the obstacles… are positive blessings. They knit the muscles more firmly, and teach self-reliance. William Matthews
• The longer the trial to which God subjects you, the greater the goodness in comforting you during the time of trial and in the exaltation after the combat. Pio of Pietrelcina
• Our trials are supposed to turn us toward God, but we whine and complain and wish someone would turn down the fire so we could have our old life back the way it was. Lynn Austin
• God has ordained that our preaching become deeper and more winsome as we are broken, humbled, and made low and desperately dependent on grace by the trials of our lives. John Piper
• I believe Christians often perceive obedience to God as some test designed just to see if we’re really committed to Him. But what if it’s designed as God’s way of giving us what’s best for us? Craig Groeschel
• I am not in the least surprised that your impression of death becomes more lively, in proportion as age and infirmity bring it nearer. God makes use of this rough trial to undeceive us in respect to our courage, to make us feel our weakness, and to keep us in all humility in His hands. Francois Fenelon
• Concealed in every new situation we face is a spiritual lesson to be learned and a spiritual blessing for us if we learn that lesson. It is good to be tested. We grow and learn through passing tests. I look upon all my tests as good experiences. Before I was tested, I believed I would act in a loving or non-fearing way. After I was tested, I knew! Every test turned out to be an uplifting experience. And it is not important that the outcome be according to our wishes. Peace Pilgrim
• No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven. Orson F. Whitney

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Our trials are part of our learning and growing

• God has to nearly kill us sometimes, to teach us lessons. John Muir
• God teaches the soul by pains and obstacles, not by ideas. Jean-Pierre de Caussade
• In life, the classroom is everywhere. The exam comes at the very end. Anna Quindlen
• God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way. C. S. Lewis
• You learn out of bitter experience, trial and error. Life teaches you that. As sincere as you all are, you can’t learn it all in school. George Cukor
• It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. Oswald Chambers
• There are two ways to respond to the trials and tribulations of our present and past . . . ‘Ain’t it awful?’ . . . or . . . ‘Good information!’ Our choice of responses will determine our experience of life. Bill Crawford
• God makes no mistakes. In all our trials and dramas there are lessons. Life is not a playground but a classroom. Our journey through life provides the course work and the tests needed for our education and development. Susan L. Taylor
• When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted friendship – when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us. Oswald Chambers
• By bravely enduring our trials, we learn humility, compassion for others, and a great reliance on God. We also learn that our happiness and progress depend much less upon what challenges life may bring and infinitely more on how we face and overcome those challenges. Lloyd D. Newell

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Our trials make us strong

• God does not take away trials or carry us over them, but strengthens us through them. Edward Bouverie Pusey
• Life’s trials are not easy. But in God’s will, each has a purpose. Often He uses them to enlarge you. Warren W. Wiersbe
• Every difficulty in life presents us with an opportunity to turn inward and to invoke our own submerged inner resources. The trials we endure can and should introduce us to our strengths. Epictetus
• These fiery trials are designed to make you stronger, but they have the potential to diminish or even destroy your trust in the Son of God and to weaken your resolve to keep your promises to Him. These trials are often camouflaged, making them difficult to identify. They take root in our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, our sensitivities, or in those things that matter most to us. A real but manageable test for one can be a fiery trial for another. Neil L. Andersen
• This is the amazing story of God’s grace. God saves us by His grace and transforms us more and more into the likeness of His Son by His grace. In all our trials and afflictions, He sustains and strengthens us by His grace. He calls us by grace to perform our own unique function within the Body of Christ. Then, again by grace, He gives to each of us the spiritual gifts necessary to fulfill our calling. As we serve Him, He makes that service acceptable to Himself by grace, and then rewards us a hundredfold by grace. Jerry Bridges
• The trials and tribulations in your life make you stronger. Taylor Swift

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Our trials drive us towards God

• Trials always change our relationship with God. Either they drive us to Him, or they drive us away from Him. The extent of our fear of Him and our awareness of His love for us determine in which direction we will move. Jerry Bridges
• All who in this world render true service to God or man receive a preparatory training in the school of sorrow. The weightier the trust and the higher the service, the closer is the test and the more severe the discipline. Ellen G. White
• We cannot escape what the prophets of God did not escape. If we bear it patiently and remain strong and united, Allah (God) says in the Qur’an that He loves those who are patient and steadfast under trial. We want to be those whom Allah (God) loves. Louis Farrakhan
• Trials should not surprise us, or cause us to doubt God’s faithfulness. Rather, we should actually be glad for them. God sends trials to strengthen our trust in him so that our faith will not fail. Our trials keep us trusting; they burn away our self confidence and drive us to our Savior. Edmund Clowney
• You may readily judge whether you are a child of God or a hypocrite by seeing in what direction your soul turns in seasons of severe trial. The hypocrite flies to the world and finds a sort of comfort there. But the child of God runs to his Father and expects consolation only from the Lord’s hand. Charles Spurgeon
• Every trial a man goes through, if he is faithful in that trial and does honor to God and his religion he has espoused, at the end of that trial or affliction that individual is nearer to God, nearer in regard to the increase of faith, wisdom, knowledge and power, and hence is more confident in calling upon the Lord for those things he desires. Lorenzo Snow

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Our trials show us who we are

• But I do believe that’s when you do your soul-searching. I think when you have these trials that life gives you, it is an opportunity to find out who you are. Not just who you are when everything’s great, but who are you when everything is taken away from you and you have nothing. Ellen DeGeneres

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Our trials shape us into who we are

• The tests of life are not to break you but to make you. Norman Vincent Peale
• The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials. Confucius
• Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. Rick Warren
• We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things. Henry Ward Beecher
• Keep doing the right. God is building character in you, and you are passing that test. Remember, the greater the struggle, the greater the reward. Joel Osteen
• Strong moral character results from consistent correct choices in the trials and testing of life. Your faith can guide you to those correct choices. Richard G. Scott
• The word of God steadies me. He says your trials and tribulations make you who you are. So you can see my whole story in the way I endured and overcame some testing experiences. Evander Holyfield
• Every single experience, every single thing that’s happened in my life, struggle, obstacle, trials and tribulations, I think they’ve all molded me to become the character and the person who I am. Apolo Ohno
• The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man’s business but build up his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing to the inner man. Maltbie Davenport Babcock
• Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test… You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies. Rick Warren
• When you go through difficult times, make sure you pass the test. Don’t be stubborn and hardheaded. Recognize that God is refining you, knocking off some of your rough edges. Stand strong and fight the good fight of faith. God has called each of us to be champions; you are destined to win. If you will work with God and keep a good attitude, then no matter what comes against you, the bible says that all things – not just the good things in life, but all things – work together for your good. Joel Osteen

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Our trials open us to love

• So, in life we have a one question final exam – and it’s not the kind of exam you can cram for at the very end. One of the main reasons we’re alive is to expand our capacity to love. Marci Shimoff
• In the many trials of life, when we feel abandoned and when sorrow, sin, disappointment, failure, and weakness make us less than we should ever be, there can come the healing salve of the unreserved love in the grace of God. It is a love that lifts and blesses. It is a love that sustains a new beginning on a higher level and thereby continues “from grace to grace.” James E. Faust

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Our trials sensitize us to others

• God’s purpose in increasing our trials is to sensitize us to people we never would have been able to relate to otherwise. Joni Eareckson Tada

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Our trials can lead to greatness

• Through the trials and tribulations of life come the openness to receive greatness. Michelle Cruz

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Our trials come to awaken us

• Your trials did not come to punish you, but to awaken you – to make you realise that you are a part of Spirit and that just behind the sparks of your life is the Flame of Infinity. Paramahansa Yogananda
• If God gives you an abundant harvest of trials, it is a sign of great holiness which He desires you to attain. Do you want to become a great saint? Ask God to send you many sufferings. The flame of Divine Love never rises higher than when fed with the wood of the Cross, which the infinite charity of the Savior used to finish His sacrifice. All the pleasures of the world are nothing compared with the sweetness found in the gall and vinegar offered to Jesus Christ. That is, hard and painful things endured for Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ. Ignatius of Loyola

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Our trials are what makes life interesting

• Having to try and going through the trials and tribulations to actually overcome, to get there to win, to triumph, that’s what makes life interesting. Tavis Smiley

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Given these blessings, give thanks for your tests and trials

• You can’t get around pain and opposition, but you can try to be joyful in the trial, and thank yourself for the trial, and thank God for the strength to get through it. Mary J. Blige
• Bodily and spiritual affliction are the surest sign of Divine predilection. Gratitude for suffering is a precious jewel for our heavenly crown… Man should always firmly believe that God sends just that trial which is most beneficial for him. Gertrude the Great

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Life is a test of endurance and perseverance

• When everything goes wrong, what a joy to test your soul and see if it has endurance and courage! An invisible and all-powerful enemy—some call him God, others the Devil, seem to rush upon us to destroy us; but we are not destroyed. Nikos Kazantzakis
• The devil put before me that I could not endure the trials of the religious life, because of my delicate nurture. I defended myself against him by alleging the trials which Christ endured, and that it was not much for me to suffer something for His sake; besides, He would help me to bear it. Teresa of Avila
• Your first task is to be dissatisfied with yourself, fight sin, and transform yourself into something better. Your second task is to put up with the trials and temptations of this world that will be brought on by the change in your life and to persevere to the very end in the midst of these things. Saint Augustine
• Endurance is a much better test of character than any single act of heroism, however noble. John Lubbock
• When everything goes wrong, what a joy to test your soul and see if it has endurance and courage! An invisible and all-powerful enemy—some call him God, others the Devil, seem to rush upon us to destroy us; but we are not destroyed. Nikos Kazantzakis
• The trials and pressures of life–and how we face them–often define us. Confronted by adversity, many people give up while others rise up. How do those who succeed do it? They persevere. They find the benefit to them personally that comes from any trial. And they recognize that the best thing about adversity is coming out on the other side of it. There is a sweetness to overcoming your troubles and finding something good in the process, however small it may be. Giving up when adversity threatens can make a person bitter. Persevering through adversity makes one better. John C. Maxwell

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Life is a test of patience

• What is patience but an equanimity which enables you to rise superior to the trials of life. William Osler
• The people who test your patience are a blessing.. Without them, you can’t practice patience. Nouman Ali Khan
• Allah tests our patience and our fortitude. He tests out strength of faith. be patient and there will endless rewards for you. Leila Aboulela
• If God were not to test us, there would be no patience. John Calvin
• It almost seems as though this roiling world is conspiring to test our patience at every turn. In fact, it is. With this in mind, we would be wise to look on our imperfect environment as a teacher rather than an antagonist. It constantly shows us that we need to be patient on an ongoing basis, not just every now and then, if we´re going to realize true inner peace, happiness, and fulfillment. Surya Das
• I know one of the reasons God gave me kids was to test my patience. Faith Hill

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Life is a test of faith

• When you are faced with a test of faith, stay within the safety and security of the household of God. There is always a place for you here. No trial is so large we can’t overcome it together. Neil L. Andersen
• Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith; they also give us opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in Him, even when facing the apparent denial of our request. Charles Spurgeon
• …Faith forged in the furnace of trials and tears is marked by trust and testimony. Only God can count the sacrifice; only God can measure the sorrow; only God can know the hearts of those who serve Him. Thomas S. Monson
• In His infinite wisdom, God allows trials in order to develop perseverance in us and to cause us to fix our hopes on the glory that is yet to be revealed… Our faith and perseverance can grow only under the pain of trial. Jerry Bridges
• The test of faith is whether I can make space for difference. Can I recognize God’s image in someone who is not in my image, who language, faith, ideal, are different from mine? If I cannot, then I have made God in my image instead of allowing him to remake me in his. Jonathan Sacks
• God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hands as a means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith. George Muller
• Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God-trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us. Oswald Chambers
• God never promised that we wouldn’t have challenges. In fact, He said just the opposite. His word says, ‘Be truly glad!…these trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure…’ so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of His return. Joel Osteen
• God allows us to dace difficulties so that our faith will be stretched and refined. The trials we face provide an excellent opportunity for us to declare our dependence on God and not on ourselves. The way we win the battle with discouragement is by humbling ourselves before God and telling Him that we need Him. There is only one way to do this, and it is through prayer. Charles Stanley
• 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. Oswald Chambers

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Life is a test of our obedience

• The greatest test of life is obedience to God. Ezra Taft Benson
• The great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life. Henry B. Eyring
• The acid test of our love for God is obedience to His Word. The greatest ability is dependability. The test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Trust God as if it all depends upon Him, and work as if it all depends upon you. Bob Jones, Sr.
• So, the great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. And the tragedy of life is to fail in that test and so fail to qualify to return in glory to our heavenly home. Henry B. Eyring
• We cannot understand the meaning of many trials; God does not explain them. To explain a trial would be to destroy its object, which is that of calling forth simple faith and implicit obedience. If we knew why the Lord sent us this or that trial, it would thereby cease to be a trial either of faith or of patience. Alfred Edersheim
• I believe Christians often perceive obedience to God as some test designed just to see if we’re really committed to Him. But what if it’s designed as God’s way of giving us what’s best for us? Craig Groeschel
• The acid test of our love for God is obedience to His Word. Bob Jones, Sr.
• Obedience is the only reality. It is faith visible, faith acting, and faith manifest. It is the test of real discipleship among the Lord’s people. C. Ryle

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Life is a test of courage

• When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny. Paulo Coelho
• The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart. Robert Green Ingersoll
• Often the test of courage is not to die but to live. Vittorio Alfieri
• Physical courage is a great test. Oriana Fallaci
• The true test of courage is to be afraid and to go ahead and do it anyway – to be scared, is to have your knees knocking, but to walk on in there anyway. Oprah Winfrey
• When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny. Paulo Coelho
• The real acid test of courage is to be just your honest self when everybody is trying to be like somebody else. Andrew Jenson
• Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men. Seneca the Younger
• To live with fear and not be afraid is the final test of maturity. Ed Weeks
• The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority. Ralph Washington Sockman
• The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart. Robert Green Ingersoll
• You don’t get very far in life without having to be brave an awful lot. Because we all have our frightening moments and difficult trials and we don’t have much of a choice but to get through ’em, and it takes a lot of bravery to do that. The most important thing about bravery is this – It’s not about not being scared – it’s about being scared and doing it anyway – that’s bravery. Ysabella Brave

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Life is a test to see if we can withstand temptation

• God never tempts any man. That is Satan’s business. Billy Graham
• The devil tempts that he may ruin; God tests that he may crown. Ambrose
• Satan always tempts the pure – the others are already his. Fulton J. Sheen
• But Satan now is wiser than of yore, and tempts by making rich, not making poor. Alexander Pope
• Temptation and testing (or a trial) are two sides of the same coin. Satan uses an occasion or a person to tempt us to fall; God uses the same to try us and make us stronger. Ruth Graham
• Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things- he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. Oswald Chambers
• This is the most dangerous trial of all, when there is no trial and every thing goes well; for then a man is tempted to forget God, to become too bold and to misuse times of prosperity. Martin Luther
• Every person in the world, including yourself, will encounter various trials throughout life. Satan seeks to defeat you by tempting you to trust your own wisdom, to live according to your self-centered feelings, and to gratify the desires of your flesh. In contrast, God’s will is for you to be an overwhelming conqueror in all of these tests for His honor and glory. John C. Broger

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Life is a test of commitment…

• God will test you because He wants you to mature. He wants you to develop a walk with Him that is not based on your fluctuating emotions, but on your commitment to Him as you learn to walk by faith. Greg Laurie
• Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon. Paulo Coelho

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…to see how we cope with discouragement

• I think a big test we all face in life on a regular basis is that discouragement test. Life’s not always fair, but I believe if you keep doing the right thing, God will get you to where you are. Joel Osteen

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Life is a test of love

• The litmus test of our love for God is our love of neighbor. Brennan Manning
• A test of your love for God is to examine your love for others. Henry Blackaby

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Life is a test of character

• The true test of a person’s character is how they treat the people in life that they don’t need. Lee Corso

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Life is a test of compassion

• The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life. Dalai Lama
• Compassion is the litmus test and culminating touchstone of a spirituality of Earth. James Conlon
• The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life. Dalai Lama

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Life is a test of attitude

• Keep a good attitude and do the right thing even when it’s hard. When you do that you are passing the test. And God promises you your marked moments are on their way. Joel Osteen

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Life is a test of faith

• The great test of faith is to wait on God. . . not expecting to push a button and get whatever we want now. Aiden Wilson Tozer
• The ultimate test of faith is not how loudly you praise God in happy times but how deeply you trust him in dark times. Rick Warren
• A demon, in a way, is a test of your faith. Because if you’re doing God’s work, there’s no reason for any demon to do anything to you. Troy Polamalu
• Suffering can serve us. Suffering tests our trust in God’s promises. And we have a great interest in knowing the truth about our trust in Him. Mark Dever
• What God asks of men, said [Billy] Graham, is faith. His invisibility is the truest test of that faith. To know who sees him, God makes himself unseen. Laura Hillenbrand
• God brings tests into your life because your faith in Him–your belief that He is in control and that He is good–can be proved only in times when life is hard. James MacDonald
• It’s easy to have faith when everything is going great. The real test of faith is when you’re facing something that only your faith in God will get you through. Geoffrey Canada

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Life is a test to see if we are true to our values

• Be calm and strong and patient. Meet failure and disappointment with courage. Rise superior to the trials of life, and never give in to hopelessness or despair. In danger, in adversity, cling to your principles and ideals. William Osler

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Life is a moral test

• Business is the real test of the moral life. Ted Malloch
• Morality [or ethics] is not a subject; it is a life put to the test in dozens of moments. Paul Tillich
• The great test of life is … not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage. Henry B. Eyring

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Some believe our trials test if we are worthy of heaven

• …the human soul is cleansed of sin, becoming worthy of ascent to Heaven. Dante Alighieri
• Our little time of suffering is not worthy of our first night’s welcome home to Heaven. Samuel Rutherford
• The sole purpose of life is to gain merit for life in eternity. Saint Augustine
• No one is worthy of a good home here or in heaven that is not willing to be in peril for a good cause. John Mason Brown
• You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God. John Taylor
• Finally consider the so-called “purpose” the God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam has planned for us: to struggle through a miserable brief spell on a stage designed as a testing ground for eternity, obey and worship this huge invisible entity known as “God”, and prove to it that we are good enough to get into the real show which only starts when we’re dead. Is that a worthy purpose for a life? What on earth would be “God”‘s purpose in setting up such a show, creating little puppets and seeing whether they’re good enough and burning the ones that aren’t for all eternity? Paul Harrison

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More of life’s tests

• To be true to oneself is the hardest test of life. Sri Chinmoy
• Suffering is how we test our love especially our love for God. Gregory David Roberts
• We all have to stand by our life’s work as the true test of what we have done for the world. Matthew Lesko
• The ultimate test of our spirituality is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. C. S. Lewis
• The greatest test of Christianity is the wear and tear of daily life; it is like the shining of silver: the more it is rubbed the brighter it grows. Oswald Chambers

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When we are on trial, God is in our corner

• God will not be absent when His people are on trial; he will stand in court as their advocate, to plead on their behalf. Charles Spurgeon

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Focus on God, not the trial

• Trust in the Lord is the only true antidote to fear. Focusing on God rather than the trial will keep us from sinking in fear. However, learning to face our fears does not mean we will never have another anxious moment. Faith does not lie in trusting God to stop the storm, but in trusting Him to enable us to walk through the storm. When trouble occurs, He will give us the ability to cope with it. Jill Briscoe

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Trust God during times of trial

• Don’t murmur and rebel in your hour of adversity. Trust in God in every trial. T. B. Joshua
• When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head. Charles Spurgeon
• Deep, contended joy comes from a place of complete security and confidence [in God] – even in the midst of trial. Charles R. Swindoll
• When I am completely united to You, there will be no more sorrow or trials; entirely full of You, my life will be complete. Saint Augustine
• No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, God will never desert us, He never has, and He never will. George Q. Cannon
• If we are faithful to God in little things, we shall gain experience and strength that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of life. Hudson Taylor
• The deepest level of worship is praising God inspite of pain, trusting Him during a trial, surrendering while suffering, and loving Him when He seems distant. Rick Warren
• By His trials, God means to purify us, to take away all our self-confidence, and our trust in each other, and bring us into implicit, humble trust in Himself. Horace Bushnell
• No matter how difficult the trial… we can take comfort in knowing that others before us have borne life’s most grievous trials and tragedies by looking to heaven. M. Russell Ballard
• When our trials come, when we feel pain and suffering, when our tears flow again, it is our joy and comfort to lift our faces heavenward and to go on, standing on the promises of God. W. A. Criswell
• We can’t anticipate and provide for life’s trials, but the Lord can and does. The Lord wants us to thirst not after a quick fix to our problems but after the life-altering refreshment of His provision. Priscilla Shirer
• God is waiting to be put to the test by His people in prayer. He delights in being put to the test on His promises. It is His highest pleasure to answer prayer, to prove the reliability of His promises. Edward McKendree Bounds
• Through tears and trials, through fears and sorrows, through the heartache and loneliness of losing loved ones, there is assurance that life is everlasting. Our Lord and Savior is the living witness that such is so. Thomas S. Monson
• The most important lesson that I have learned is to trust God in every circumstance. Lots of times we go through different trials and following God’s plan seems like it doesn’t make any sense at all. God is always in control and he will never leave us. Allyson Felix
• The world is like a courtroom, with God as our judge. We are called upon to fulfill our covenant with God, who asked, “Am I not your Lord?” To which we answered, “Yea.” And since here on earth we are on trial, our every word and action form the witness to and the evidence of that agreement. Rumi
• You may be going through a trial so overwhelming that it’s borderline unbearable. You want to see the end of the tunnel. Which is only natural, because once we see that little speck of light, we feel we can make it through to the finish. But God’s tunnels are often twisting, too complex and dark to see the light for many days. In such settings He says, “In that dark, twisting, seemingly endless period of time, trust Me. Stop running scared! Stop fearing!” Charles R. Swindoll

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Let God help you through your trials

• Voice your position in God and you will be surrounded by all the resources of God in the time of trial. Smith Wigglesworth
• Trials can be hard, if you don’t know God. Al Green
• So if God should place me in serious perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; in places of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength? No fear that HIs resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me. Hudson Taylor
• The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified. Thomas S. Monson
• Though situations and circumstances arise which sometimes test our faith and patience, the Lord can be trusted to see us through. Roderick L. Evans

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Bare your trials beautifully

• Our business in life is not to get ahead of others but to get ahead of ourselves; to break our own records; to outstrip our yesterdays by our todays; to bear our trials more beautifully than we ever dreamed we could; to give as we never have given; to do our work with more force and a finer finish than ever. This is the true idea: to get ahead of ourselves. Carl Holmes

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Remain calm during your trials

• Those who are unconquered in spirit are the real successes in life. If you can so train or condition your mind that you are content regardless of what you have or do not have, and if you can stand the challenge of all your trials and remain calm-that is true happiness. Paramahansa Yogananda

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See trials as challenges

• There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is simply to try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of obtaining a larger measure of divine grace. A. B. Simpson

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Realise trials are temporary

• Your trial is temporary, but God’s Love is permanent. Bo Sanchez
• At this moment, God is watching your life and at some point in this trial, He will say enough. You don’t need to falter. James MacDonald

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Face your trials head-on

• Self-acceptance comes from meeting life’s challenges vigorously. Don’t numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory. Goswami Kriyananda

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Respond to trials consciously

• Every shrink knows that it’s not the event itself but how you respond to it that tells the story. Take ten assorted individuals, expose them all to the same life trial, and they will each suffuse it with exquisite personal detail and meaning. A.S.A. Harrison

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Share in the trials of others

• True happiness comes only through sharing in the trials and successes of other persons and of our community. Hence it is essential that any true conception of happiness contain the promise of full commitment to the life of the society. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi

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