"God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work
to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know
it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.... I am a link in a chain,
a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall
do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth
in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and
serve Him in my calling.
Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever
I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve
Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow
may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of
some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may
prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away
my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make
my spirits sink, hide the future from me --still He knows what He is about."
John Henry Newman, Meditations and Devotions
"Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
John 8:43-44