With over 50 years in the business, Dolly Parton is still one of country music’s leading ladies. She is not only an icon, but also a legend and a brand. She’s made 80 albums, had 25 number one singles, and published more than 3,000 of her own songs, including “I Will Always Love You,” made even more famous by Whitney Houston in the movie “The Bodyguard.” She’s also had success in acting with films like “Nine to Five” and “Steel Magnolias” in addition to an incredible business empire, including the entertainment park called Dollywood located in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. But what’s even more impressive than all her talent and accolades is her faith. Parton is a woman of God and isn’t afraid to talk about it. She has gained countless faith lessons throughout the years that she holds close to her heart. Here are six quotes on faith that we can learn from:
God Has a Plan For Us
“God has His plans and His reasons. Sometimes we are supposed to go through things so that we learn lessons.”
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Parton’s quote reminds us that God has a special plan for our life, even if we don’t know what that plan is in this very moment.
If you are interested in knowing God’s plan for your life, then you must learn to walk with God. You need to develop a relationship with Him. You must seek to know Him and not just seek to know about Him. You will cultivate that relationship best by spending time in His Word, taking time for prayer, and taking every opportunity to grow closer to Him. When you seek these disciplines in your life, God will begin the first steps to revealing His plan for you.
Thank God For Your Failures
“I thank God for my failures. Maybe not at the time but after some reflection. I never feel like a failure just because of something I tried has failed.”
It’s important that we trust God. This quote from Parton reminds us how God uses everything in our lives, including our failures, to draw us closer to Him. Where we are weak, He is strong. God doesn’t want failure to just teach us a lesson. He wants failure to teach us to be dependent on Him. God uses failures in our life in order to help us grow. Don’t waste your suffering, for it will be the making of your faith.
God is Inside Us
“People just overshoot trying to find God. They’re going outside and trying everything. They don’t realize that it’s right inside themselves.”
The Bible tells us, “The LORD your God is with you. He’ll fight for you. He’ll help you win the battle over your enemies” (Deuteronomy 20:4). The thought that God is inside them is often connected with prayer. Prayer is the lifting up of the heart and mind to God, and it entails, sometimes explicitly being in the presence of God. This may at times be noticed by attending to God inside yourself. But God is also everywhere. He is Spirit and does not need any material support. On the contrary, every material thing needs Him for its continued existence.
There Are Some Things Money Can’t Buy
“You can be rich in spirit, kindness, love and all those things that you can’t put a dollar sign on.”
“There are some things money can’t buy.” We’ve all heard it so many times that the meaning is sometimes lost, but the saying is true. Parton’s quote reminds us how precious the gifts from God are.
True kindness is Spirit-produced (Galatians 5:22). It’s a supernaturally generous orientation of our hearts towards people, even when they don’t deserve it and don’t love us in return. God Himself is kind in this way. We imitate God’s kindness, therefore, by loving our enemies. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35). Our kindness reflects the heart of God.
Proverbs 18:14 tells us that a strong spirit is what sustains us in any kind of trouble. A strong spirit is confident, established, unmovable and ready for anything. It is steady under pressure, full of joy and peace and it never quits.
Real love, biblically speaking is the willing sacrifice of self for the good of the beloved. God designed people to find great joy in receiving this kind of love and also in giving it to others.
Let God Do His Work
“I always ask God to work through me and let me be a light of some kind and help in this world, so I always pray for that. And I always want to do good.”
Learning to let go and let God in our lives is the best thing we can do for ourselves. If we believe, as it says in Colossians 1:17 that God “is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together,” then we can trust and know that He’s got everything under control. Parton’s quote reminds us to let go and let God. He knows what’s best.
Act on Faith
“I don’t think you ever really know what all you’re doing, so you have to act on faith.”
Throughout our lives, our faith will be tested and there’s probably a good chance that at some point this year, you will be facing a very difficult circumstance. You may be up against what seems too hard to do, or maybe even impossible. But in spite of all that you may face, the same God who parted the Jordan for Israel cares just as deeply about you and me. If you are ever confused about your life or direction, we can remember Parton’s wise words: act on faith.
In a Larry King interview, Parton commented on faith saying, “I grew up in a very religious background. I trust God, I love God and I love the thoughts of it. Even if there was no God, I’d prefer to believe it, because I prefer to believe in something greater than we are.” Parton always uses her work and her words to glorify God, and her actions mirror her words. We can learn a great deal from these lessons.
