--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is when we are up against death, when…" description: "\"“It is when we are up against death, when we find ourselves in despair, that the God of cross is near to us. It is through suffering and despair that G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/andrew-root-38691_cross_it-is-when-we-are-up-against-death-when_587829.jpg" --- # It is when we are up against death, when we find ourselves… ![“It is when we are up against death, when we find ourselves in despair, that the God of cross is near to us. It is through suffering and despair that God is made known to us, for God is found on the cross.” quote by Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/andrew-root-38691_cross_it-is-when-we-are-up-against-death-when_587829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/andrew-root-38691_cross_it-is-when-we-are-up-against-death-when_587829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/andrew-root-38691_cross_it-is-when-we-are-up-against-death-when_587829.jpg) > ““It is when we are up against death, when we find ourselves in despair, that the God of cross is near to us. It is through suffering and despair that God is made known to us, for God is found on the cross.”” [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing death and despair reveals God's presence through suffering, especially symbolized by the cross. **In simple terms:** Suffering shows God's closeness. Key Takeaway Seek hope in hardship. Themes faith suffering hope Mood reflective solemn Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - grief counseling - hospital care - spiritual retreats Key Concepts theology spiritual resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you find meaning in pain? - What practices help you sense divine presence? A Different Perspective Suffering does not guarantee divine revelation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cross/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Despair God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-god-1170607/) [God Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-cross-1467494/) [Near Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/near-suffering-1399744/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-despair-923064/) ## Related quotes > [I always cause those who are near to me more suffering than pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delmore-schwartz/i-always-cause-those-who-are-near-to-me-more-suffering-than-pleasure/) [Delmore Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delmore-schwartz/) > [Life is a tragedy filled with suffering and despair and yet some people do manage to avoid jury duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/life-is-a-tragedy-filled-with-suffering-and-despair-and-yet-some/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“The suffering, the despair in this place, is like a wave. It rolls out of every bed, smashes against the moldy walls and swoop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-suffering-the-despair-in-this-place-is-like-a-wave-it-rolls-out/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [In the valley of suffering, despair and bitterness are brewed. But there also character is made. The valley of suffering is the vale of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/in-the-valley-of-suffering-despair-and-bitterness-are-brewed-but/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [You'll get through this. It won't be painless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/you-ll-get-through-this-it-won-t-be-painless-it-won-t-be-quick-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [I shall despair when I despair of myself, of God and humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-shall-despair-when-i-despair-of-myself-of-god-and-humanity/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Despair was their God; divine misery, exhaustion and death. God is nothing more than divine absurdity. God is an expression of human weakness. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-glac-r/despair-was-their-god-divine-misery-exhaustion-and-death-god-is/) [Rosie Glacér](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-glac-r/) > [“Oh, please, Mr. B thinks, not a human. Not another human. He is filled with despair. God's passion for humans always leads to catastrophe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/oh-please-mr-b-thinks-not-a-human-not-another-human-he-is-filled-with/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“Over against the successful, God sanctifies pain, lowliness, failure, poverty, loneliness, and despair in the cross of Christ. Not that all this has value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/over-against-the-successful-god-sanctifies-pain-lowliness-failure/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [The god on the cross is a curse on life, a signpost to seek redemption from life; Dionysus cut to pieces is a promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-god-on-the-cross-is-a-curse-on-life-a-signpost-to-seek-redemption/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The gifts of the Master are these: freedom, life, hope, new direction, transformation, and intimacy with God. If the cross was the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-james/the-gifts-of-the-master-are-these-freedom-life-hope-new-direction/) [Steven James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-james/) > [“Their Bibles had become an idol before God. That the cross, as a symbol, was an idol, even their own self-image was an idol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-d-richardson/their-bibles-had-become-an-idol-before-god-that-the-cross-as-a-symbol/) [Trevor D. Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-d-richardson/) > [The measure of all love is its giving. The measure of the love of God is the cross of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/the-measure-of-all-love-is-its-giving-the-measure-of-the-love-of-god/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [God put a cross between you and hell. If you want to go to hell, you will have to crawl over the cross of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/god-put-a-cross-between-you-and-hell-if-you-want-to-go-to-hell-you/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [The preachers commission is to declare the whole counsel of God; but the cross is the center of that counsel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/the-preachers-commission-is-to-declare-the-whole-counsel-of-god-but/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) ## More by Andrew Root > [“Theology starts with a crisis, the very crisis of reality itself. The crisis is the fact that you live, that you have a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/theology-starts-with-a-crisis-the-very-crisis-of-reality-itself-the/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) > [“The Anselmian call for "faith seeking understanding" may start and gather it's energy not in rational study of past theological points but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/the-anselmian-call-for-faith-seeking-understanding-may-start-and/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) > [“Grace is costly because it calls us through our person to the person of Jesus Christ. And when we follow the person of Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/grace-is-costly-because-it-calls-us-through-our-person-to-the-person/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) > [“But if faith is only for the future, there will be no faith, for like manna, faith saved spoils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/but-if-faith-is-only-for-the-future-there-will-be-no-faith-for-like/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) > [“The Church may have a building, but that is not its place. 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And it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/ministry-is-not-about-helping-these-kids-be-better-christians-it-is/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) > [“We are the relationships that make us; we have our being in and through relationships that place us into reality, and therefore we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/we-are-the-relationships-that-make-us-we-have-our-being-in-and/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) > [“Ministry, then, is not about "using" relationships to get individuals to accept a "third thing," whether that be conservative politics, moral behaviors or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/ministry-then-is-not-about-using-relationships-to-get-individuals-to/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) > [“In true relationships, the only point is to be together. Once there is another point, the relationship withers under the heat of expectations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-root/in-true-relationships-the-only-point-is-to-be-together-once-there-is/) [Andrew Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) [Explore all 11 Andrew Root quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-root/) ## More Cross quotes > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [I do enjoy intense, bloodthirsty action, but I like to blend and cross genres. I don't want to be too predictable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-marshall/i-do-enjoy-intense-bloodthirsty-action-but-i-like-to-blend-and-cross/) [Neil Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-marshall/) > [In the Christianity of Christendom the Cross has become something like the child’s hobby-horse and trumpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-christianity-of-christendom-the-cross-has-become-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know it's a film and all of that, and it's a Hollywood film, but it kind of feels like this sometimes, when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-marber/i-know-it-s-a-film-and-all-of-that-and-it-s-a-hollywood-film-but-it/) [Patrick Marber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-marber/) > [“You can always count on the promise of forever that He made when He died on that cross and rose again three days later.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naya-s/you-can-always-count-on-the-promise-of-forever-that-he-made-when-he/) [Naya S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naya-s/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/to-endure-the-cross-is-not-a-tragedy-it-is-the-suffering-which-is-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I am interested in bringing Africa to the foot of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/i-am-interested-in-bringing-africa-to-the-foot-of-the-cross/) [Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/) > [There is a very thin line dividing characterisation from impersonation. I've to make sure I don't cross over into mimicry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushant-singh-rajput/there-is-a-very-thin-line-dividing-characterisation-from/) [Sushant Singh Rajput](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushant-singh-rajput/) > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [Sin is the second most powerful force in the universe, for it sent Jesus to the cross. Only one force is greater-the love of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/sin-is-the-second-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe-for-it-sent/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“God has chosen to save the world through the cross, through the shameful and powerless death of the crucified Messiah. If that shocking event…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hays/god-has-chosen-to-save-the-world-through-the-cross-through-the/) [Richard Hays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hays/) > [God makes me play well. That is why I always make the sign of a cross when I walk out on to the pitch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-maradona/god-makes-me-play-well-that-is-why-i-always-make-the-sign-of-a-cross/) [Diego Maradona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-maradona/) > [Do you love the cross because it makes much of you? Or do you love it because it enables you to enjoy and eternity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/do-you-love-the-cross-because-it-makes-much-of-you-or-do-you-love-it/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“The point of trying to understand the cross better is not so that we can congratulate ourselves for having solved an intellectual crossword puzzle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-point-of-trying-to-understand-the-cross-better-is-not-so-that-we/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) [Browse all 986 Cross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cross/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is when we are up against death, when we find ourselves in despair, that the God of cross is near to us. 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