Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

You must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool…

What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction, where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth.
~ G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, Orthodoxy

Nothing gives rest but the sincere search for truth.
~ Blaise Pascal

Psalm 131

Pride juggles with her toppling towers,
They strike the sun and cease,
But the firm feet of humility,
They grip the ground like trees.
~ G. K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse

But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God’s love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin to be sincere. His sincerity is based on confidence, not in his own illusions about himself, but in the endless, unfailing mercy of God.
~ Thomas Merton, 1915-1968, Trappist monk, theologian

If I crave happiness, I will receive misery. If I crave to be loved, I will receive rejection. If I crave significance, I will receive futility. If I crave control, I will receive chaos. If I crave reputation, I will receive humiliation. But if I long for God and His wisdom and mercy, I will receive God and wisdom and mercy. Along the way, sooner or later, I will also receive happiness, love, meaning, order, and glory.
~ David Powlison, from Seeing With New Eyes, 1949-2019, Teacher/Counselor

No soul can be really at rest until it has given up all dependence on everything else and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone. As long as our expectation is from other things, nothing but disappointment awaits us.
~ Hannah Whitall Smith, 1832-1911, Speaker in the Holiness movement

Waiting is difficult. It requires an attitude of humility and hope that few of us come by naturally. And so we must cultivate that perspective. If we are going to learn to wait, then we must … wait.
~ Ben Patterson, 1969- , Author/Campus Pastor

Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

You must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool…. I’m talking about a specific, extra type of integrity that is not lying, but bending over backwards to show how you’re maybe wrong.
~ Richard Feynman, 1918-1988, Theoretical Physicist

The problem we have with forgiveness does not have to do with forgetting the past. Rather, our problem with forgiveness is our strong resistance to viewing ourselves accurately.
~ Larry Barber, Counseling Psychology, article Forgiveness Gutenberg College

Psalm 130

Growth in grace is growth downward. It is the forming of a lower estimate of ourselves. It is a deepening realization of our nothingness. It is a heartfelt recognition that we are not worthy of the least of God’s mercies.
~ AW Pink, 1886-1952, English Bible Teacher

For too long, we have maintained a confidence in the power of God’s Word by pretending that things aren’t as bad as they are and that God’s call to love means something less than He intended. If we find the power to keep our relationships pleasant and our personal lives disciplined, then we congratulate ourselves for our maturity.
~ Lawrence J. Crabb, 1944-2021, from forward of Bold Love

But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God’s love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin to be sincere. His sincerity is based on confidence, not in his own illusions about himself, but in the endless, unfailing mercy of God.
~ Thomas Merton, 1915-1968, Trappist monk, theologian

If I crave happiness, I will receive misery. If I crave to be loved, I will receive rejection. If I crave significance, I will receive futility. If I crave control, I will receive chaos. If I crave reputation, I will receive humiliation. But if I long for God and His wisdom and mercy, I will receive God and wisdom and mercy. Along the way, sooner or later, I will also receive happiness, love, meaning, order, and glory.
~ David Powlison, from Seeing With New Eyes, 1949-2019, Teacher/Counselor