“It is a melancholy fact, that constant temporal prosperity, as a general rule, is injurious to a believer’s soul. We cannot stand it. Sickness, and losses, and crosses, and anxieties, and disappointments seem absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful, and spiritual-minded.”
~ J.C. Ryle
Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle, “Growth”, [Wheaton: Crossway, 2002], 201.