Quotes from Alfred Ells

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 NIV

It is natural to worry about some things. Yet most of the things we worry about are things that will never happen or have already happened.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. 5

Faith sees best in the dark.

The first rule of resilience: allow your present crisis to refine you, not define you.

God lets you hang out on a limb till the very last second and then rescues you. It builds your trust. If He made it easy all the time, you would never trust Him when you really need to.

The path to God's favor always requires self-examination and a right heart before God.

first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:5).

We must make sure we confess our own sin and shortcomings before approaching our adversary with his.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NIV

can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble" (Phil. 4:13–14 ESV).

Adversity presents itself in many forms.… If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them. Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

It is essential to resist our natural tendencies to allow emotions to control actions.

We grow into our best selves not when we avoid our problems but rather when we embrace them and work through them to resolution.

Growing in resilience is the first important step in preparing for the issues you will face as a leader. Resilience will help you refine your calling as a leader and sustain leadership excellence.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:3

Leaders are like trees. They need the winds of adversity and the pressure and challenge presented by crisis to sharpen their leadership skills. Our stormy times and even failures can strengthen our inner beings and cause us to fully mature and thrive.

Unexpected adversity is often painful yet crucial to the later success of a leader.

Before God promotes us, he takes us through pain to purify our hearts, deepen our dependence on him, and impart spiritual wisdom.

Henry Ford went broke five times, was accused of having poor judgment, but ultimately transformed the automobile industry.

Michael Jordan initially failed to make his varsity high school basketball team but became one of the greatest athletes to ever play the sport.

It's often been said that the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9 ESV).

resilience this way: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.