John Townsend Quotes

“When things are darkest, God shines his light the brightest.”

“I’m reminded that, often, God allows us to wrestle for long periods of time as we reach out for him.”

“At one of the most painful times of his life, Jesus prayed three times without any noticeable response from God (Matthew 26:39–44). It is as if God is helping us to truly own our pleas, wishes, and desires—to want them deeply, from the heart, rather than casually or offhandedly.”

“Your first small step must be followed by another, and another, until you realize that God has indeed made a way for you to know him personally.”

“The more you act on your faith in God, the more you will see his way for you.”

“One of the most powerful, though difficult, lessons we all need to learn on our spiritual pilgrimage is that even when bad things happen and we do not understand why, we can trust God to be present and working on our behalf.”

“Own your faults and weaknesses”

“You will never benefit from your faith in God until you step on the bridge and start walking across.”

“Just as you would exercise faith in a doctor by following his advice to get well physically, by following God’s instructions you can get well emotionally and spiritually.”

“Trying to get through life on your own limited strength, knowledge, and resources leads to futility and a loss of hope. But in God’s economy, getting to the end of yourself is the beginning of hope.”

“The person who cares about the problem owns the problem.”

“Fortunately, in God’s economy, getting to the end of ourselves is the beginning of hope. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit” (Matthew 5:3)—meaning that when we realize we have no more resources, we’re ready to ask God for help.”

“What does ‘work out your salvation’ mean? It means that now that God has delivered and saved us, we are to take responsibility to live a life that reflects him and his ways: daily dependence on God, trust, love, honesty, and all the things that are of him. And while we are doing that, he is doing miraculous, divine things to achieve his ends.”

“When we put our faith and trust in God, we’ve done the one thing that a human can do to accomplish superhuman things. We have reached past human strength and knowledge. We’ve touched infinite strength and infinite knowledge.”

“The main obstacle to finding God’s way through the crises and gaps of life is failing to believe a way exists.”

“Trust is both an attitude and an action. ”

“One of the biggest oxymorons is the term ‘self-made’ man or woman. No man or woman ever ‘made’ him- or herself. The psalmist understood this when he wrote, ‘It is [God] who has made us, and not we ourselves’ (Psalm 100:3, NKJV). I also love what he goes on to say at the end of the verse: ‘We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.‘”

“The ultimate answer, then, to the problem of pain is a person. It’s God himself.”

“When your back is up against the wall and you pray and seek his help, God will make a way through the trial.”

“When God makes a way for you through your trials, it is an active, not passive, process.”