Don’t Always Avoid Pain

Don’t Always Avoid Pain – “So, why should we seek to face pains in our lives rather than avoiding them?”

Narrow

Narrow – “With each passing year, I see more clearly that suffering is actually God’s favor–a gift meant to prune and refine. Suffering is his finest chisel born from saving love, a painful instrument he wields judiciously.”

Which Jesus Do You See in Your Suffering?

Which Jesus Do You See in Your Suffering? – “As with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, our Savior refuses to sit back and watch us suffer alone. Christ became man to identify, suffer, and walk with his people before saving us, forever binding himself to us intimately.”

9 Lessons God Teaches Us Through Sickness

9 Lessons God Teaches Us Through Sickness – These are “9 Lessons from God Concerning Sickness” from J. C. Ryle with commentary from Randy Alcorn.

 

Run. Retaliate. Repress.

Run. Retaliate. Repress. – “Run. Retaliate. Repress. Three temptations in times of suffering and trouble.”

 

Burdened Excessively and Despairing of Life

Burdened Excessively and Despairing of Life – “Through the unshakable Hope available in Christ Jesus we have an invitation to be comforted and delivered through every affliction by the living God who promises to uphold his children with His righteous right hand.”

Why It Doesn’t Matter What Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh Was

Why It Doesn’t Matter What Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh Was – “Paul saw two ways forward. The Lord could (1) remove the thorn, and Paul could get on with life and ministry; or (2) leave the thorn, and Paul would be forever crippled and slowed in life and ministry. The Lord responded with yet a third option: leave the thorn, but give Paul grace.”

Grace Will Order All Your Pain

Grace Will Order All Your Pain – “Grace does not prevent pain, but orders, and arranges, and measures out our pain.”

Maturity requires suffering

Maturity requires suffering – “If you want to mature, you’re going to have to suffer. Actually, that’s not quite right. You are going to suffer, that’s the nature of life under the sun. Some of that will be petty, some of it will be serious, and (heaven-forfend) some of it will be so psychologically scarring that you’ll be getting over it for a long time.”

The Last Thing Sufferers Need to Hear

The Last Thing Sufferers Need to Hear – “God would rather us wholeheartedly grapple with his sovereignty than merely cauterize our wound and affix a theological affirmation on top.”

Psalms for Men Who Are Struggling

Psalms for Men Who Are Struggling – “Here were these compositions that were supposed to be so worshipful, but the Psalmists just spent too much time complaining about how hard life was. Now that I’m in my 40s, the Psalms resonate with me because in my frustration with the difficulties of life, I’ve said many of the things they say.”

Encircled, Enclosed, Squeezed In

Encircled, Enclosed, Squeezed In – “We don’t always feel that the Lord is near. When life is hard, when grief is deep, when loss is the biggest thing in the room, we quickly wonder where God is.”

Suffering Is “Light and Momentary” Even When It Seems Otherwise

Suffering Is “Light and Momentary” Even When It Seems Otherwise – “By the power of your Spirit, help us steward our suffering, grow in our compassion for others, and experience daily renewal in the Gospel.” 

Comforting Lies About Suffering: How the Prosperity Gospel Hurts People

Comforting Lies About Suffering: How the Prosperity Gospel Hurts People – “Based on Jesus’s exchange with Peter, I see three ways the prosperity gospel gets suffering wrong.”

Gifts Forged in Grief

Gifts Forged in Grief – This is a beautiful reflection, and a reminder that even grief is not wasted with God.

Living Well Among Thorns: Finding Strength in Physical Weakness

Living Well Among Thorns: Finding Strength in Physical Weakness – “No one gets used to it. Pain demands our attention. Time slows to a crawl, particularly in the middle of the night, when we’re begging God for the relief of sleep. We feel alone and isolated. No one else can enter the prison that our bodies have become.”

Truth to Cling to When Nothing Makes Sense

Truth to Cling to When Nothing Makes Sense – “But how do we anchor ourselves in a God we can’t understand?”

Our Infertility and God’s Foreknowledge

Our Infertility and God’s Foreknowledge – “We will never know the future, but that does not mean the future is unknown. We might not have access to the answers, but the Bible confirms that God knows everything. He knows everything about the past; he knows everything in the present; he knows everything that will happen in the future. In other words, God has foreknowledge.”

 

We Are Not Dying Out; We Are Hastening on to a More Glorious Life

We Are Not Dying Out; We Are Hastening on to a More Glorious Life – Here is a reflection on Spurgeon’s writing from a fellow sufferer.

I Learned to Accept God’s Plan for My Life

I Learned to Accept God’s Plan for My Life  – This short article is filled with deep truth.