CONNECT people to Christ and POUR into their lives His teaching so they'll OVERFLOW for the glory of God

'Suffering' Tagged Posts

Why Not Me?

Deeply embedded in our human reason is the idea that bad things happen to bad people.  It’s this innate sense of justice.  How many times have your or I at least thought in the midst of hearing of some difficulty, “They got what they deserved,”? In our self-righteousness, we, of course, never say that about ourselves.  When bad things happen to ourselves,…

Frustrate the Devil

How would you like to ruin the devil’s day?  Want to see him with shoulders drooped, face all scrunched up in a frown of disappointment, and sitting on a bench pouting?  That sounds awesome, doesn’t it?  Okay then, here’s the game plan:  rejoice in your suffering. No seriously.  God has ordained suffering for your life to bring about much good, but the…

Through the Fire: 10 Truths to Help in the Face of Persecution

Ben Franklin once said, “In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.”  While I appreciate his wit and agree that those two things are an unfortunate mainstay, there are, of course, many more certainties we can expect in this age.  For the Christian, one certainty, I’m sad to say, is persecution.  Suffering of this type is particularly commonplace for Christians…

Super-Conqueror

One of the great testimonial songs in the hymnal begins this way: Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! In the midst of life’s storms, assurance that God will never let you go is a wonderful comfort.  The fact that you, no matter the situation, will be victorious in the end through Christ is a soothing balm…

The Innocent Sufferer

As one looks at the life of Job (pronounced Jōb) in Scripture, nobody can deny the fact that Job suffered greatly.  In one day through major catastrophic events, he lost his great number of livestock, his many servants, and all ten of his children.  Soon thereafter, he was smitten with a terrible disease, causing black, burning boils to break out on his…

Why Do Bad Things Happen?

Bad things happen.  The reality of calamity isn’t news to anybody.  Just live long enough and you’ll know it firsthand.  But the “why” question is usually what’s burning on everybody’s heart. Do you ever wonder why bad things happen?  I’m not talking about the immediate cause, like the accelerator sticking on a Toyota Camry.  I’m talking about ultimate cause. Now, the atheist…