--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have withstood the power of convictions…" description: "\"I have withstood the power of convictions a long time; and therefore I fear I shall be finally left of God.\" — David Brainerd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/david-brainerd-8963_conviction_i-have-withstood-the-power-of-conviction_643945.jpg" --- # I have withstood the power of convictions a long time; and… ![“I have withstood the power of convictions a long time; and therefore I fear I shall be finally left of God.” quote by David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/david-brainerd-8963_conviction_i-have-withstood-the-power-of-conviction_643945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/david-brainerd-8963_conviction_i-have-withstood-the-power-of-conviction_643945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/david-brainerd-8963_conviction_i-have-withstood-the-power-of-conviction_643945.jpg) > “I have withstood the power of convictions a long time; and therefore I fear I shall be finally left of God.” [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Strong convictions can distance one from divine comfort and cause fear. **In simple terms:** Strong beliefs may cause fear of losing God. Key Takeaway Balance conviction with humility. Themes faith conviction fear spirituality Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal crises - religious doubt - ethical decisions - leadership dilemmas Key Concepts theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do your convictions isolate you? - How can you stay grounded spiritually? 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Don't get me wrong, I have convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-katsuyama/i-am-a-fairly-go-with-the-flow-guy-don-t-get-me-wrong-i-have/) [Brad Katsuyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-katsuyama/) > [Be true to your own highest convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/be-true-to-your-own-highest-convictions/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [My problem is I'm a man of no convictions - at least, I think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/my-problem-is-i-m-a-man-of-no-convictions-at-least-i-think-i-am/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I don't think my religious convictions should be held against me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-don-t-think-my-religious-convictions-should-be-held-against-me/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [Personal convictions are not politics. Personal convictions, if they become the subject of a group conviction, they become a cult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/personal-convictions-are-not-politics-personal-convictions-if-they/) [Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/) > [What God lacks is convictions- stability of character. He ought to be a Presbyterian or a Catholic or something- not try to be everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/what-god-lacks-is-convictions-stability-of-character-he-ought-to-be-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Your fixed convictions concerning the things that really matter mold your destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmet-fox/your-fixed-convictions-concerning-the-things-that-really-matter-mold/) [Emmet Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmet-fox/) > [What are the moral convictions most fondly held by barbarous and semi-barbarous people? They are the convictions that authority is the soundest basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/what-are-the-moral-convictions-most-fondly-held-by-barbarous-and-semi/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I don't think that my particular religious convictions should be held against me in this campaign any more than the Prime Minister's lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-don-t-think-that-my-particular-religious-convictions-should-be-held/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [The men who succeed best in public life are those who take the risk of standing by their own convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-men-who-succeed-best-in-public-life-are-those-who-take-the-risk/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The convictions that leaders have formed before reaching high office are the intellectual capital they will consume as long as they continue in office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/the-convictions-that-leaders-have-formed-before-reaching-high-office/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) ## More by David Brainerd > [If you hope for happiness in the world, hope for it from God, and not from the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/if-you-hope-for-happiness-in-the-world-hope-for-it-from-god-and-not/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [Again, Be careful to make a good improvement of precious time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/again-be-careful-to-make-a-good-improvement-of-precious-time/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [I bless God for this retirement: I never was more thankful for any thing than I have been of late for the necessity I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/i-bless-god-for-this-retirement-i-never-was-more-thankful-for-any/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [I hardly ever so longed to live to God and to be altigether devoted to Him. i want to wear out my life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/i-hardly-ever-so-longed-to-live-to-god-and-to-be-altigether-devoted/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [“Friday, April 2. In the afternoon I felt, in secret prayer, much resigned, calm, and serene. What are all the storms of this lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/friday-april-2-in-the-afternoon-i-felt-in-secret-prayer-much-resigned/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [I board with a poor Scotchman: his wife can talk scarce any English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/i-board-with-a-poor-scotchman-his-wife-can-talk-scarce-any-english/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [Oh, how precious is time, and how it pains me to see it slide away, while I do so little to any good purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/oh-how-precious-is-time-and-how-it-pains-me-to-see-it-slide-away/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [A few of the sublimest geniuses of Rome and Athens had some faint discoveries of the spiritual nature of the human soul, and formed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/a-few-of-the-sublimest-geniuses-of-rome-and-athens-had-some-faint/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [In prayer I was exceedingly enlarged, and my soul was as much drawn out as I ever remember it to have been in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/in-prayer-i-was-exceedingly-enlarged-and-my-soul-was-as-much-drawn/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [As the most extravagant errors were received among the established articles of their faith, so the most infamous vices obtained in their practice, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/as-the-most-extravagant-errors-were-received-among-the-established/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [God designs that those whom He sanctifies...shall tarry awhile in this present evil world, that their own experience of temptations may teach them how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/god-designs-that-those-whom-he-sanctifies-shall-tarry-awhile-in-this/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [Further, Take heed that you faithfully perform the business you have to do in the world, from a regard to the commands of God;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/further-take-heed-that-you-faithfully-perform-the-business-you-have/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [“There is a God in heaven who overrules all things for the best; and this is the comfort of my soul. . .How blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/there-is-a-god-in-heaven-who-overrules-all-things-for-the-best-and/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [First, Resolve upon, and daily endeavour to practise, a life of seriousness and strict sobriety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/first-resolve-upon-and-daily-endeavour-to-practise-a-life-of/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [The whole world appears to me like a huge vacuum, a vast empty space, whence nothing desirable, or at least satisfactory, can possibly be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/the-whole-world-appears-to-me-like-a-huge-vacuum-a-vast-empty-space/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) [Explore all 76 David Brainerd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) ## More Conviction quotes > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [“Desert are you, deluge are you, in a crowd of fakes, only truth is you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/desert-are-you-deluge-are-you-in-a-crowd-of-fakes-only-truth-is-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [ Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the \[American\] nation was going to go on growing-in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-there-ran-a-profound-unvoiced/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [If you know the differences between an oak and a poplar, a spruce and a pine, down to the needles... you are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/if-you-know-the-differences-between-an-oak-and-a-poplar-a-spruce-and/) [T. Allen Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-allen-lawson/) > [We need the conviction to be able to think for ourselves and to take action outof our own sense of responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/we-need-the-conviction-to-be-able-to-think-for-ourselves-and-to-take/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [We embark unhesitatingly on the path, in a direction that is absolutely right and urgent, supported by everyone, in the knowledge that this path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehudi-menuhin/we-embark-unhesitatingly-on-the-path-in-a-direction-that-is/) [Yehudi Menuhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehudi-menuhin/) [Browse all 2,157 Conviction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have withstood the power of convictions a long time; and therefore I fear I shall be finally left of God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Brainerd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/i-have-withstood-the-power-of-convictions-a-long-time-and-therefore-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conviction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/i-have-withstood-the-power-of-convictions-a-long-time-and-therefore-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/david-brainerd-8963_conviction_i-have-withstood-the-power-of-conviction_643945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/david-brainerd-8963_conviction_i-have-withstood-the-power-of-conviction_643945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/david-brainerd-8963_conviction_i-have-withstood-the-power-of-conviction_643945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have withstood the power of convictions a long time; and therefore I fear I shall be finally left of God.” — David Brainerd", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Brainerd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have withstood the power of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/i-have-withstood-the-power-of-convictions-a-long-time-and-therefore-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/i-have-withstood-the-power-of-convictions-a-long-time-and-therefore-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```