Does God know how hard this is? Does He know how things are going to turn out? What if things get worse? Does He know my pain and the aching of my heart? Does He know my “what if” thoughts? To God my earnest voice I raise, to God my Read more…
The news is horrific, isn’t it? Suffering abounds. We’re in agony for many whose daily existence is threatened. We find ourselves praying, “God, please help me as I suffer. Please help our world and Your people.” Who are we praying to, beloved in Christ? Maybe today we need to remember Read more…
Is this world’s ugly invading your thoughts and emotions lately? Is it hard to see any light right now? When darkness and ugly infiltrate our thoughts in suffering, we grasp for light and beauty. Sometimes the pain in this world becomes so big in our suffering, that we’re desperate to Read more…
God’s songs in Scripture drip with honest emotion. So we know He understands our emotional needs when we suffer; He gives us words to pray when our hearts run dry. In our pain and suffering, He even gives us moments of praise, interspersed within those tearful songs in His Word. Read more…
Are you walking through a time of “unanswered prayer?” Does it seem like a lifetime of waiting for something? Are you experiencing discouragement and loss? I wrote this last week, not knowing that I would be suddenly walking in “the valley of the shadow of death” a few days later. Read more…
What if this suffering means my faith isn’t strong enough? What if God doesn’t actually love me? The enemy loves to dagger these questions into our thoughts. Just as in the Genesis 3 garden, the tempter wants us to forget the gospel, doubt God’s love for us because pain is Read more…
As this New Year begins, are you begging God for rescue from a new-hard season? If you’re like me, as I pray for rescue, I also must look back, rehearsing His past rescue when my circumstances overwhelm. I first need to remember that He’s already rescued and delivered us! So, Read more…
Are you walking in a new-hard season as the New Year approaches? Is this Christmas song lyric your own context right now? In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long Read more…
As God’s people waited for Messiah after Malachi’s prophecies, they heard no new words from God…for about 400 years. They thought God’s blessing would come after they’d restored the temple, but it didn’t come for many generations. Had He abandoned them into darkness? Were their prayers falling on deaf ears? Read more…
Is this a Thanksgiving through tears for you? One of deep loss and pain? Our tears are in the tender care of the One who also wept in His loss. Beloved in Christ, our thanks-giving tears are offerings of trust to the One who understands. In the United States, this Read more…
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