The following is part of a series exploring quotations attributed to C.S. Lewis that are questionable for one reason or another. My book (THE MISQUOTABLE C.S. LEWIS, releasing in May, 2018) collects material presented so far and will contain expressions not yet posted here (plus existing online material is updated in the book). That book will contain 75 quotations, so there are many quotes not yet posted (over 30). With so much material left, I hope to post a new quote each week.
There is an “at a glance” page (CLICK HERE) to quickly see what has been posted so far in this series, which also includes a list of the other quotes I’ve identified as questionable. Also, if you haven’t already, consider reading the INTRODUCTION to this series to gain an understanding of the three main categories.
“Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties.”
This expression is seen all over social media with Lewis’s name on it, so it must be true! No doubt you can tell from the above graphic that these words are not from Lewis. Fortunately, you won’t find him falsely associated with this saying in very many books from what I could gather from searching Google Books. However, just because Lewis didn’t write it doesn’t take away from the meaningfulness of the words, only that you shouldn’t falsely credit him with something he didn’t write. I personally enjoy this expression, as it is a great reminder that even though life will have challenges, we don’t have to lose heart. In fact, John 16:33 tells us we can have peace despite our troubles because Jesus has “overcome the world.”
How am I so confident that Lewis didn’t penned this quotation? In addition to it not being in his published writings, I discovered that with a minor change in the wording the actual source is most likely from a book edited by Arthur James Russell that first came out in the 1930’s. In God Calling, for a devotional from January 8th you find this: “Life with Me is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties.”
When Lewis’s name was associated with the revised expression is not known. Reasons for someone confusing Lewis with what Russell edited might be because the following: Russell was from England, his book was published there and Russell is associated with “the Oxford Group.” While Lewis was not ever involved in that group, some might confuse him with it because he did teach at Oxford University.
The next article is:
Related Articles:
Exploring C.S. Lewis Misquotes and Misconceptions (6-part podcast series)
What Lewis NEVER Wrote (Podcast)
Not Quite Lewis – Podcast Version
Not Quite Lewis – Questionable Lewisian Quotations (Conf. Paper)
Updated 2/11/2018
