Hope during suffering
I begin to flail if I dwell in the quicksand of swirling stress as I suffer. I can hardly breathe if I get sucked down into fear of what could happen in this fallen world. If I continually replay my losses and agonies in my thoughts, I’m mired in depths Read more…
Are you feeling beaten down by the evil of this fallen world? Are you weary of its suffering, a result of pervasive sin? Sister in Christ, I’ve been engulfed there lately. But Jesus is risen! Things are not as they seem to us. Our Lord has graciously reminded me of Read more…
Jesus Christ, In this holiest of weeks, focusing on what You’ve done for me, I seek healing beneath the cross of Jesus. I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come (Job 3:26 CSB). The words of Job echo mine as I suffer. But they Read more…
Made perfect. Jesus, You were “made perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10) even though You were already perfect! You were and are God, the One “for whom and by whom all things exist” (Heb. 2:10). Are You perfecting me through my suffering right now? Maybe thinking about Your suffering for me…will Read more…
Father, we sing: The Lord has promised good to me,his Word my hope secures. (“Amazing Grace,” Newton, J., 1779) But sometimes, in the years of suffering, our hearts grieve so much that we cry to You when we sing this. You promised good to me…but how can this suffering be Read more…
We ache for good news in medical challenges. We pray for good outcomes to the hardships our kids and grandkids are experiencing. We grieve when good things disappear. We live in a fallen and fearful world in which sin and resulting suffering affect everything. We need good news, don’t we? Read more…
Perhaps this is one of the deepest universal questions, driving us into cognitive dissonance when suffering lingers. When layers of grief and loss take us under, we can barely breathe. We feel like Job. But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came (Job Read more…
Lord, I want this pain to end on earth because it’s so difficult. Sometimes, it all makes me feel hopeless. You compassionately understand that feeling, giving us Job’s words to express it: “Where is my hope?” (Job 17:15). Just like when Job’s “plans and desires” were shattered, bringing despair (Job Read more…
Lord, I come to You in my suffering today, fighting the lie that believers don’t need to experience suffering on earth. When we “writhe in pain” daily (Job 15:20), this lie easily tempts us to discouragement, bitterness, and despair. Job fought this lie. But You tenderly tell Your suffering and Read more…
Heavenly Father, Like with Job in his suffering, the enemy continues his wearying lie, “Did God actually say?” (Genesis 3:1). Moments of doubt and fear can creep into our thoughts when we’re gripped in the lonely pain of suffering. “Doesn’t suffering mean that my faith has failed? That I have Read more…
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