A Narrative of Hope in the Darkness of Tragedy
The sovereignty of God is not some debatable proposition; it is the assurance that your child’s death is not a meaningless accident.
Articles on Trials and Suffering
287 results found
Is It Possible to Suffer Well?
It takes discipline to carry pain with you while not letting it asphyxiate you. It will not crush you if you believe Christ is in it.
My Suffering Savior Taught Me to Sing
My suffering Savior has taught me to always choose a song—a song that fortifies my faith against discouragement and breathes hope into my heart.
What the Church Today Needs to Hear from the Book of Revelation
This message to patiently endure persecution for Christ is a message our church needs today. And if where we are right now means we don’t need it today, maybe we will tomorrow.
Podcast: Paralysis, Heartache, and Hymns of Hope (Joni Eareckson Tada)
Joni Eareckson Tada talks about how she has wrestled with the truth of God’s sovereignty over her life through the years and how she hangs on to the hope of heaven each and every day.
4 Questions about Our Suffering
Why are we to rejoice in our suffering? Why do we suffer in the ways that we do, and why do some suffer much more than others? Why doesn’t God usually answer our prayers for him to end our suffering?
Viewing the Christian Story through the Lens of Our Suffering
Suffering disrupts our lives, seeming to violate the way life should be. This can make us desperate to know why we are suffering.
11 Passages to Read When You Feel Lonely
Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Blessed: Revelation’s Message to Persecuted Believers with Karen Ellis (Episode 9)
Nancy Guthrie talks with Karen Ellis about what it looks like for believers to patiently endure persecution.
Jesus Is Not Ashamed of Those Who Are Hurting and Hopeless
Be amazed at the power of Christ to transform a helpless man; but also, marvel at the love of Christ that claims rebels like this as his own.
When You Don't Even Realize How Discouraged You Are
The truth is, most of us don’t like the look of discouragement. It feels embarrassing. But when we avoid areas of our own insufficiency, we also avoid finding the help we so desperately need.
Podcast: Positive Thinking ≠ Lasting Encouragement (Lindsey Carlson)
Lindsey Carlson talks about the discouragement we all face and where to turn for true encouragement that won’t let us down.
All the Very Best Stories Lead Us to Hope in the Darkness
Stories, it seems, can remind our kids that in Christ, morning will always come, no matter how deep the darkness.
Spiritual warfare made the Puritans what they were. They accepted conflict as their calling, seeing themselves as their Lord’s soldier-pilgrims.
Podcast: Why Are We Apathetic about What Really Matters? (Uche Anizor)
Uche Anizor discusses seven deadly causes of spiritual apathy that we should all be on the lookout for and how to take steps back toward God when we realize we’re not doing well.
Is Doubt the Backstory Behind Your Apathy?
While I am consoled somewhat by the fact that doubts are normal and potentially formative, they still feel like what Lewis calls an emotional “blitz” on my belief.
Passionate about the Trivial and Apathetic about the Vital
The paradox of apathy is that, for the spiritually apathetic, there is an inverse relationship between the greatness of a truth and our emotional and practical response to it.
Podcast: How to Lament after Two Years of Loss (Mark Vroegop)
Mark Vroegop considers what it looks like to lament the COVID-19 pandemic—and how that lament can help us heal, both individually and as churches.
An Open Letter to the Christian Disheartened by Ongoing Temptation
D. A. Carson, John D. Woodbridge
That you are experiencing rounds of temptation is not as unusual as you might suppose. From the inception of the church believers have found this pilgrim way to be strewn with multiple temptations.
Hope in the Midst of Languishing
Spiritual growth in seasons of languishing is more about persevering through the struggle for belief than it is about arriving at a settled conclusion.
An Open Letter to Women Straining under the Burden of Expectations
Are you worn down by the weight of the countless roles and expectations in your life? Are you feeling the pressure of doing more and striving harder to please the people around you?
Podcast: Are We in a Loneliness Epidemic? (Lydia Brownback)
Lydia Brownback talks about her experience of the pandemic and how Christians can rally together and support one another in the wake of two years of social isolation, masks, and lockdowns.
10 Passages to Read in the Face of Global Conflict
God is our refuge and strength. Read these passages for comfort and to help guide prayer during times of worldwide strife, conflict, and war.
The Book of Job Is a Book of Joy
“Joy” is probably the last word most of us would use to describe the book of Job. What could be less joyful than the nightmare of Job’s suffering?
To Cry Is Human, but to Lament Is Christian
Every human being has the same opening story. Life begins with tears. It’s simply a part of what it means to be human—to cry is human. But lament is different.
We Are Both Job and Job’s Friends
One important question in reading any biblical text is who you, as a reader, identify with. This is easier for some texts than for others. Who do we identify with in the book of Job?
Entering into the Loneliness of Job
There is a deep sense in which the lonely sufferings of Jesus Christ mean that no believer today is called to enter Job’s loneliness in its full depth.
10 Passages to Read with Someone Who Is Near Death
Consider reading these passages if you are together with someone nearing the end of their life and you are searching for comfort in God's word.
Podcast: How to Endure Inexplicable Suffering (Eric Ortlund)
Eric Ortlund looks at the example of Job and how, as Christians, we should respond when we face the kind of suffering that Job did.
The Unresolved “Why” of Suffering
When tragedy strikes, almost everyone who believes in God, along with almost everyone who claims they don’t, asks the same question: Why does God allow suffering?