Suffering with hope

A Response to John MacArthur’s Statements on Mental Illness From a Family it Has Misjudged

I write this article with an aching heart for countless families who have been affected by mental illness - including the dozens who have reached out to my husband and I in desperate search for help, hope, and community. And since hearing the comments made by John MacArthur on a recent panel, discussing his view… Continue reading A Response to John MacArthur’s Statements on Mental Illness From a Family it Has Misjudged

Suffering with hope

Comfort in The Cross

"Where are you, LordWhen the darkness swallowsWhen your silence deafensIn a multitude of sorrows? Where is your comfortWhen pain aboundsWhen companions fleeAnd loneliness resounds? Where is your justiceWhen the innocent are huntedWhen the wicked prosperAnd their evil is flaunted? Where is your compassionWhen a heart can bear no moreWhen weariness overwhelmsAnd it's too much to… Continue reading Comfort in The Cross

Suffering with hope

Words Spoken Out of Grief, Not Belief

Job has been a kindred spirit to me for much of my life. Not out of desire, but out of necessity. As I’ve tried to grapple with deeply painful realities that appear to be at odds with who God says he is, I’ve had to choose - do I go the easy route and deny… Continue reading Words Spoken Out of Grief, Not Belief

Suffering with hope

When Hard Places Become Holy Places

Suffering. How can one small word hold so much complexity?  Even beyond the complexity of what the circumstances entail, whether or not you believe there's a God, and whether you believe he's good and sovereign, will completely change the way you interpret the word.  Even in the Christian community, the way each interprets the pain,… Continue reading When Hard Places Become Holy Places

Suffering with hope

Growth Often Feels like Death

"So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will… Continue reading Growth Often Feels like Death

Suffering with hope

What’s the Point if the Pain Has no End

I slowly worked my way to the window and opened the blinds for the first time in over a week. My world had shrunk down to the next time I could take more pain meds, the next time I had to force down a little food and fluids to keep the ER at bay, and… Continue reading What’s the Point if the Pain Has no End

Suffering with hope

Seek God’s Face Before You Seek His Hand

Recently, we were discussing at Bible Study what it means to seek God‘s face, as it says in Psalm 27:8: “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” As I listened, what struck me most was the importance of distinguishing between seeking God’s hand and seeking his… Continue reading Seek God’s Face Before You Seek His Hand

Suffering with hope

He Will Create Rivers in the Dry Wasteland

There are moments in life when you find yourself standing in a metaphoric wilderness. You believe God can provide, and you see him providing for many around you. And yet, as the heat of the sun beats down on you and the streams before you begin to run dry, you begin to wonder…”Is God really… Continue reading He Will Create Rivers in the Dry Wasteland

Suffering with hope

Sustained in the Fire

“I’m thankful God that has sustained me, but sometimes I don’t want to just be sustained, I want to be delivered," I confessed to my husband. It’s difficult to admit such thoughts because as a Christian, I know that God is working in my trials and I do believe he has a purpose. But there… Continue reading Sustained in the Fire

Suffering with hope

Standing on God’s Promises When Circumstances Worsen

I stared out at the vast ocean and breathed in deep the warm salty air. I felt my mind slowly reconnecting with my body and realized, I hadn't been truly present in a long while. It took feeling my feet in the sand, the warm sun against my face, and the sound of nothing but… Continue reading Standing on God’s Promises When Circumstances Worsen