Category Archives: trials

Posted on

Francois Fenelon on God’s Purposes During Prolonged Trials

“God orders a series of events that detach us gradually from the world first, and finally from the self also. The operation is painful, but our corruption makes it needful. If the flesh were healthy, the surgeon would not need to probe it. He uses the knife only in proportion to the depth of the […]

Posted on

The 3 Ways Jonathan Edwards Believes Trials Benefit Believers

In 1746, Jonathan Edwards wrote A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections. He wrote it in the midst of the First Great Awakening, attempting to explain the nature of true Christian conversion. At the beginning of the book, Edwards provides three benefits that trials bring to “true religion.” They are below: