“God doesn’t owe you an explanation or reason for everything he asks you to do. Understanding can wait, but obedience can’t. Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions. In fact, you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding.”
―
Rick Warren
“Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you. Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.”
―
Rick Warren
“His plan involves far more than the few decades you will spend on this planet. It’s more than “the opportunity of a lifetime”; God offers you an opportunity beyond your lifetime. The Bible says, “[God’s] plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally.”
―
Rick Warren
“A second barrier to total surrender is our pride. We don’t want to admit that we’re just creatures and not in charge of everything. It is the oldest temptation: “You’ll be like God!”11 That desire — to have complete control — is the cause of so much stress in our lives. Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s, is really a struggle with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we are going to win that struggle.”
―
Rick Warren
“This poem by Russell Kelfer sums it up: You are who you are for a reason. You’re part of an intricate plan. You’re a precious and perfect unique design, Called God’s special woman or man. You look like you look for a reason. Our God made no mistake. He knit you together within the womb, You’re just what he wanted to make. The parents you had were the ones he chose, And no matter how you may feel, They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind, And they bear the Master’s seal. No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so; But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into his likeness you’d grow. You are who you are for a reason, You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod. You are who you are, beloved, Because there is a God!”
―
Rick Warren
“CHOOSE TO TRUST GOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE You cannot control everything that happens to you. In fact, most of what happens around you is completely out of your control. But you do have control over two important factors: You control your response, and you control how much you choose to trust God, regardless of your circumstances.”
―
Rick Warren
“In all my travels, I've never seen a country's population more determined to forgive, and to build and succeed than in Rwanda.”
―
Rick Warren
“It’s not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.”
―
Rick Warren
“Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past is past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it, and then let it go.”
―
Rick Warren
“Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven!”
―
Rick Warren
“But God’s presence in your life has nothing to do with your feelings. Your emotions are susceptible to all kinds of influences, so they are often unreliable. Sometimes the worst advice you can get is “Do what you feel.” Often what we feel is neither real nor right. Your emotional state can be the result of memories, hormones, medicines, food, lack of sleep, tension, or fears. Whenever I start to feel anxious about a situation, I remind myself that fear is often False Evidence Appearing Real.”
―
Rick Warren
“Passion drives perfection. The highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit.”
―
Rick Warren
“You can't grow strong without resistance.”
―
Rick Warren
“La manera más fácil de entender el propósito de un invento es preguntarle al inventor. Lo mismo ocurre cuando quieres saber la razón de tu vida: pregúntale a Dios.”
―
Rick Warren
“Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day.”
―
Rick Warren
