From a mailing list:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Charles H. Spurgeon said, "Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well when they cannot be seen from the top of the mountain. So many things are learned in adversity which the prosperous man dreams not of."

Ovid wrote, "The road to triumph is built by adversity."

Walt Disney stated: "All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me.... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

John Adams agreed. He said, "People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity."

Patrick Henry believed that "adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man, is not that he has been exempted from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them."2

And as Stan Mitchell said, "The child of God cannot attain spiritual completeness without facing trials. The Africans have a saying: 'After the rain, come the flowers.'" And then Mitchell asks, "So how does your garden grow?"