Why do you enter relationships?

Preparing for my sermon on Sunday, I came across this statement by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp: We enter relationships for personal pleasure, self-actualization, and fun. We want low personal cost and high self-defined returns. But God wants high personal cost and high God-defined returns. And although we frequently disagree with God, his plan is […]

Grace in suffering

It is rare to think of pain and suffering as a gift of God’s grace. Instead, most of the time, we argue with God about our plight, we complain and become angry about the “unfairness” of our suffering, and we assume that our circumstances are inherently bad. As a contrast, consider the testimony of Joni […]

Interpreting God

How will you perceive God when suffering? What will you think of God when life doesn’t work as well for you as you think it should? By what standard will you measure God when life is harsh? Joe Thorn offers some godly counsel: Do not attempt to base your interpretation of God on your circumstances, […]

An example of suffering

Pastor Keith has been teaching through the book of Job on Sunday mornings. This Sunday, he mentioned again the story of Brian Birdwell as an example of those who suffer. If you don’t have time to read his book, Refined by Fire, here is a brief summary of his story in his words: Brian currently […]

Nancy Guthrie talks about suffering

Nancy Guthrie recently conducted a live interview on Desiring God. She speaks of the death of her two children from a genetic disease and how that stimulate a deep trust in God in both her and her husband. [Aside: read anything you can that she has written or edited on the topic of suffering or […]

Afflicted for the sake of comfort

I don’t recall where I first heard this principle, but after 20+ years in ministry, I believe it is true: in every seat in every sanctuary is a person with a sad story or heartache. Talk to anyone for any significant length of time and ask the right kinds of questions and you will find […]

The spiritual value of sickness

After recently preaching on Romans 8:28-29 and then listening to Keith’s lesson on how to pray for those who are suffering (“Praying in Light of Job”) this past Sunday, I came across this related counsel from J. C. Ryle: Sickness is meant… To make us think—to remind us that we have a soul as well […]

God is not like us

I’ve been thinking much lately about how God uses difficulties, trials, and even sin for the accomplishment of His purposes and even for good in the lives of the believers (think Romans 8:28-29). Our tendency is to react defensively and with significant resistance to a statement like that. We struggle to accept that God works […]

Mark Talbot preaching on suffering

I have not yet listened to these messages given by Mark Talbot on suffering at the B. B. Warfield Memorial Lectures, but if they are anything like the message he gave at the Desiring God conference several years ago, this will be well worth hearing. (His message “Redemptive Curveballs,” given at Wheaton College is also […]

Truths to believe when suffering

We are more inclined to believe and enjoy and be satisfied with God’s sovereignty when we are in favorable circumstances. But what about when circumstances seem to be against us, when we are in difficulty, suffering, and even persecution? What then? What will we believe and cling to then? What will be our joy then? […]

Sunday Leftovers (7/10/11)

One writer has observed about the tendency not only of our culture but even believers, “We are willing to worship God only if God makes us safe. Thus you get the silly question, ‘How does a good God let bad things happen to good people?’” Too many want God only for the safety and comfort […]

Why the attributes of God are important

I was in a meeting yesterday where part of the topic was how to help people grow in their understanding of the nature and character of God through a reflection on His attributes. Since then I’ve been thinking about my next sermon series and the first sermon in that series in particular and a focus […]

Free audio book: A Place of Healing

Christian Audio’s free book download this month is Joni Eareckson Tada’s A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty. I listened to one chapter of it several months ago and was very encouraged by it. This looks to be a very beneficial book.

When a boy is born blind…

How will the father of a blind boy respond when his pastor preaches on John 9 — the story of the man born blind? Watch the interview of the pastor, John Piper, with his church member, John Knight, for one redemptive example. This will not only be helpful for those with disabilities or family members […]

A testimony of grace and suffering

This is a five-minute video that is well worth your time. Wrestling With An Angel. My favorite statement in the video: God brings us to the end of ourselves — to the end of our strength, to the end of our wits — He destroys our pride and our self-confidence in order to reveal to […]