Quotes from Bishop TD Jakes

A pearl of great price is our pain wrapped in God's perfection.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).

Crushing requires purification. Do you know anyone who would purify something they do not intend to use? Your crushing cannot be the end, because God would never purify you if He didn't intend to use you.

Ultimately everything God has ever said will come to pass. When we suffer loss like Eve did, we cannot allow past circumstances to abort future opportunity. If you have experienced loss in your life, God has a way of restoring things you thought you would never see again.

Imagine if the electric chair or gas chamber had people kneeling around it with no thought of the horrific purpose it once held! But in effect, this is exactly what happened with the cross. No other religion in history has ever used an emblem of horror for its enduring brand. Whether we want to or not, all of us must pick up some kind of cross and follow Jesus into suffering.

Destiny is the push of our instincts to the pull of our purpose. That push-pull is what keeps the sun, moon, and stars from crashing. It causes the seasons to change from planting to growing to harvest to dormancy. If that divine push-pull, known as gravity, accurately sets the galaxies and the seasons in motion, will the same principle—the push of instinct and the pull of purpose—not set your life in the right motion?

Israel's wandering in the wilderness wasn't just because [God] was angry with them. His continuous moving with them in the wilderness was because He wanted time to get out of them what their years of being slaves had put in them. And the best way to show anyone who you really are is to constantly be in their presence.

As a parent, you are called to carry the loads of your children that are too heavy for them, and you even want to carry the lighter

The value of your Creator should cause you to reconsider your own worth and value.

You, His fruit, having descended into the depths like Christ after being crushed, experienced the Inner Court fermentation. Now, however, that grape no longer exists. Something else has taken its place. The grape is now wine, having risen with new life in a new form like Christ. As a result, the veil that has always stood between the Vintner and the grapes no longer exists between the King and His wine.

If you're not living your destiny as you journey, you won't be able to live it after you reach your destination. Destiny is not only a destination, a goal, a dream, a purpose; it is an inner process of becoming all you were meant to be. You are educated before you get the degree.

they reach the altar. You are the supervisor before you get the title. If you're not supervisor material, you still won't be one even after you get the job. If you're not good husband or wife material, you still won't be one even after you say "I do." Your mind is already where you were called to be while you await the actual fulfillment. As