God Cannot Sleep
By Palmer Chenchin
On one of the darkest nights of my life, I picked up a book I had received at a conference months earlier. I never imagined the impact it would have on me.
This book answered many of the deep questions I was wrestling with—especially why I was suffering again. I’ve faced pain many times before and have even struggled with thoughts of suicide. It’s incredible how deeply pain can push us to the brink of hopelessness. But this book helped me respond to my circumstances in a new way.
It’s my prayer that the following quotes from God Cannot Sleep will bring you encouragement—especially if you’re walking through pain or struggle right now.
Quotes
"Suffering, in all its various forms, is the point of contrast by which all good things are revealed."
"Ultimately, whether we go willingly through a struggle, life will lead us into places of darkness, suffering, and death. If you haven't figured it out before you arrive in those places, you'll find out what's worth clinging on to when you get there."
"All the pain I've felt, is deepening my faith, strengthening my marriage, and molding my character."
"What a mighty and creatively loving God we serve. He allows us to know great pain, so that we can know the greater pleasure of trading it in for purpose."
"I am convinced that God does His best work on dark canvas."
"The Wounded One is among us today. He sits with you on lonely days. He cries with you through dark nights."
"God uses the dark and difficult days to mature us spiritually in a way that won't happen on the days when the sun shines and the flowers bloom. So walk the broken roads; go down the dark paths. God is growing you."
"Leprosy's greatest curse is that it robs a person of the sensation of pain. Life without pain is horrifying. Dr. Paul Brand, who spent decades in India treating leprosy victims, explains that he found painlessness to be the single most destructive aspect of the disease."
"When you hit a place in life when you hear nothing else, it's then that you will hear God. Get out of the noise and the traffic and find a place of solace where God can speak. If life's pain seems unbearable today, then stop and listen. He wants to speak- but He won't shout."
"Where there is fear, God can replace it with faith. While fear shows a lack of confidence in God, a crisis is an opportunity for us to express faith in God's sustaining power."
"Your life is no accident. You are not here by happenstance. God put you here on purpose. He makes no mistakes. Your life has profound meaning. God sees in you what no one else has ever seen: You are the only you he made.... You are it!"