10 Aug | a.m

O Thou Whose tests are a healing medicine to such as are nigh unto Thee, Whose sword is the ardent desire of all them that love Thee, Whose dart is the dearest wish of those hearts that yearn after Thee, Whose decree is the sole hope of them that have recognized Thy truth!

- Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 220

My only joy in this swiftly-passing world was to tread the stony path of God and to endure hard tests and all material griefs. For otherwise, this earthly life would prove barren and vain, and better would be death.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 226

9 Aug | p.m

O SON OF BEING!

Seek a martyr's death in My path, content with My pleasure and thankful for that which I ordain, that thou mayest repose with Me beneath the canopy of majesty behind the tabernacle of glory.

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words

The labourer cuts up the earth with his plough, and from that earth comes the rich and plentiful harvest. The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest of spiritual virtues shown forth by him... The prayer of the prophets of God has always been, and still is: Oh God, I long to lay down my life in the path to Thee! I desire to shed my blood for Thee, and to make the supreme sacrifice.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 50

9 Aug | a.m

O SON OF MAN!

Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more.

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, no. 52

As to the second question: the tests and trials of God take place in this world, not in the world of the Kingdom.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 194

8 Aug | p.m

Know ye that trials and tribulations have, from time immemorial, been the lot of the chosen Ones of God and His beloved, and such of His servants as are detached from all else but Him… Such is God's method carried into effect of old, and such will it remain in the future. Blessed are the steadfastly enduring, they that are patient under ills and hardships, who lament not over anything that befalleth them, and who tread the path of resignation…

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 129

8 Aug | a.m

O SON OF BEING!

Seek a martyr's death in My path, content with My pleasure and thankful for that which I ordain, that thou mayest repose with Me beneath the canopy of majesty behind the tabernacle of glory.

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words

The labourer cuts up the earth with his plough, and from that earth comes the rich and plentiful harvest. The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest of spiritual virtues shown forth by him... The prayer of the prophets of God has always been, and still is: Oh God, I long to lay down my life in the path to Thee! I desire to shed my blood for Thee, and to make the supreme sacrifice.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 50

7 Aug | p.m

Meditate profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed unto you, that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and imperishable fragrance, and that you may acknowledge the truth that from time immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried, and will continue to try, His servants, so that light may be distinguished from darkness, truth from falsehood, right from wrong, guidance from error, happiness from misery, and roses from thorns. Even as He hath revealed: "Do men think when they say 'We believe' they shall be let alone and not be put to proof?"[Qur’án 29:2]

- Baha'u'llah, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 7

7 Aug | a.m

O SON OF MAN!

If adversity befall thee not in My path, how canst thou walk in the ways of them that are content with My pleasure? If trials afflict thee not in thy longing to meet Me, how wilt thou attain the light in thy love for My beauty?

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, no. 50

Every believer needs to remember that an essential characteristic of this physical world is that we are constantly faced with trials, tribulations, hardships and sufferings and that by overcoming them we achieve our moral and spiritual development; that we must seek to accomplish in the future what we may have failed to do in the past...

- From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, January 9, 1977

6 Aug | p.m

O SON OF MAN!

My calamity is My providence, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy. Hasten thereunto that thou mayest become an eternal light and an immortal spirit. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it.

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, no. 51

6 Aug | a.m

Yea, such things as throw consternation into the hearts of all men come to pass only that each soul may be tested by the touchstone of God, that the true may be known and distinguished from the false.

- Baha'u'llah, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 52

The necessity and the particularity of the assured and believing ones is to be firm in the Cause of God and withstand the hidden and evident tests.…Anybody can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, health, success, pleasure and joy; but if one will be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship and prevailing disease, it is the proof of nobility.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu’l-Bahá Section, p. 363

5 Aug | p.m

A single breeze of His affluence doth suffice to adorn all mankind with the robe of wealth; and one drop out of the ocean of His bountiful grace is enough to confer upon all beings the glory of everlasting life. But inasmuch as the divine Purpose hath decreed that the true should be known from the false, and the sun from the shadow, He hath, therefore, in every season sent down upon mankind the showers of tests from His realm of glory.

- Baha'u'llah, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 53

5 Aug | a.m

O SON OF BEING!

Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, no. 55

Tests are benefits from God, for which we should thank Him. Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance, they are sent to us by the Divine Mercy for our own perfecting.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 50

17 June | p.m

It behoveth us, therefore, to make the utmost endeavor, that, by God's invisible assistance, these dark veils, these clouds of Heaven-sent trials, may not hinder us from beholding the beauty of His shining Countenance, and that we may recognize Him only by His own Self.

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 27

Besides all this, prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu’l-Bahá Section, p. 368

17 June | a.m

O Thou Whose tests are a healing medicine to such as are nigh unto Thee, Whose sword is the ardent desire of all them that love Thee, Whose dart is the dearest wish of those hearts that yearn after Thee, Whose decree is the sole hope of them that have recognized Thy truth!

- Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 220

My only joy in this swiftly-passing world was to tread the stony path of God and to endure hard tests and all material griefs. For otherwise, this earthly life would prove barren and vain, and better would be death.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 226

16 June | p.m

But for the tribulations which are sustained in Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be recognized; and were it not for the trials which are borne for love of Thee, how could the station of such as yearn for Thee be revealed?

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 94

O thou maid-servant of God! Become thou not extinguished by the winds of tests, but rather become ignited and be more happy, for then thou wilt become a tried believer.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of Abdu’l-Bahá v3, p. 591

16 June | a.m

O SON OF MAN!

Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more.

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, no. 52

As to the second question: the tests and trials of God take place in this world, not in the world of the Kingdom.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 194

15 June | p.m

Know ye that trials and tribulations have, from time immemorial, been the lot of the chosen Ones of God and His beloved, and such of His servants as are detached from all else but Him… Such is God's method carried into effect of old, and such will it remain in the future. Blessed are the steadfastly enduring, they that are patient under ills and hardships, who lament not over anything that befalleth them, and who tread the path of resignation…

 

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 129

15 June | a.m

O SON OF BEING!

Seek a martyr's death in My path, content with My pleasure and thankful for that which I ordain, that thou mayest repose with Me beneath the canopy of majesty behind the tabernacle of glory.

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words

The labourer cuts up the earth with his plough, and from that earth comes the rich and plentiful harvest. The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest of spiritual virtues shown forth by him... The prayer of the prophets of God has always been, and still is: Oh God, I long to lay down my life in the path to Thee! I desire to shed my blood for Thee, and to make the supreme sacrifice.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 50

14 June | p.m

Meditate profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed unto you, that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and imperishable fragrance, and that you may acknowledge the truth that from time immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried, and will continue to try, His servants, so that light may be distinguished from darkness, truth from falsehood, right from wrong, guidance from error, happiness from misery, and roses from thorns. Even as He hath revealed: "Do men think when they say 'We believe' they shall be let alone and not be put to proof?"[Qur’án 29:2]

 

- Baha'u'llah, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 7

14 June | a.m

O SON OF MAN!

If adversity befall thee not in My path, how canst thou walk in the ways of them that are content with My pleasure? If trials afflict thee not in thy longing to meet Me, how wilt thou attain the light in thy love for My beauty?

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, no. 50

Every believer needs to remember that an essential characteristic of this physical world is that we are constantly faced with trials, tribulations, hardships and sufferings and that by overcoming them we achieve our moral and spiritual development; that we must seek to accomplish in the future what we may have failed to do in the past...

- From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, January 9, 1977

13 June | a.m

Yea, such things as throw consternation into the hearts of all men come to pass only that each soul may be tested by the touchstone of God, that the true may be known and distinguished from the false.

- Baha'u'llah, The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 52

The necessity and the particularity of the assured and believing ones is to be firm in the Cause of God and withstand the hidden and evident tests.…Anybody can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, health, success, pleasure and joy; but if one will be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship and prevailing disease, it is the proof of nobility.

- Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu’l-Bahá Section, p. 363