Date:
March 31-April 2, 2025Hope in Chaos
Tough and bewildering stuff will keep happening in this life. But let’s not lose hope.
Resource Library
Browse
Suffering
In the process of living and dying in a sin-cursed world we experience distress, agony, and misery due to pain, disease, loss, and damage. We call it suffering. Everyone experiences it sooner or later. It is part of the human condition. Some of it we bring on ourselves. Some of us suffer through no fault of our own.
Besides being difficult physically, emotionally, and spiritually, the fact that suffering often appears to have no rhyme or reason, and appears meaningless adds a measure of psychological suffering. Suffering is easier to endure if we can attach some meaning or purpose to it.
While we can't often control the sources of our suffering, we can control our response to it. God gives us direction as to how to respond so as to make it meaningful. We hope these resources help you turn suffering into a situation to praise God for His strength amid your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9b).
Strengthening Your Grip on Attitudes
The Nazis stripped Victor Frankl’s life down to almost nothing. Once a renowned psychiatrist, Frankl was reduced to being a slave labourer at the notorious death camp Auschwitz. He could have seethed with hate and self-pity but, instead, Frankl realized that the Nazis could never steal, shape, or dictate his attitude.
Crucial Questions: Overcoming Long-Term Grief
Grieving is a journey, and even with God’s comfort, it’s normal to feel stuck. Here are some suggestions to help you move through long-term grief.
Suffering
We shouldn’t be surprised at suffering—we should expect it. Suffering shapes us and matures our character.
It's Not Fair!
Few things in life are more irritating, aggravating, and resented than having to endure what’s unfair, especially when our suffering is not our fault.
God's Hand is in Our Pain
Rest assured in the midst of your trouble, no matter what it is, God’s sovereign hand is at work. It will literally revolutionize your whole mental attitude toward life.
It's Not a Perfect World
No one lives happily ever after on this earth, but if we cling to our faith we can be sure there will be a happy ending. Our sorrow may last for a night, but joy will come in the morning.
Life Isn't Fair
Suffering has a way of simplifying life. It stretches our faith and pulls us back to the basics of prayer and dependence on God.
Tragedy and Calamity
If you allow it, tragedy can pull you closer to the Lord than you’ve ever been. God doesn’t leave you in hard times, He comes closer and He stays nearer.
Finding Balance between Abundant Life and Challenges
If Jesus promised an abundant, rich and satisfying life, how could He also promise many trials and sorrows? Aren’t those opposites? Why is the Christian life abundantly difficult at times?
