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suffering

(8 articles)

How Should Christians Face Hardship?

Trusting God when everything seems to be going wrong

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🔒 Paid Article (Sept. 24, 2025): Dying with Christ, Rising with Truth

A meditation on the spiritual heart of loss. Through the lens of his father’s final days, Andrew reflects on how grief becomes participation in the gospel itself — the dying of the false self, the surrender of control, and the quiet rising of truth that cannot die.

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No One Knows How Hard It Is to Be Me

In today’s political landscape, the refrain “no one knows how hard it is to be me” has transformed public discourse from a focus on justice and collective action to a theater of personal suffering. This shift elevates pain as the new currency of authenticity, creating a moral economy where empathy is declared impossible. As we navigate a world increasingly defined by individual grievances, the challenge lies in recovering a language that fosters shared meaning rather than division. Discover how we can move from confession to communion and reclaim the essence of politics meant to unite us.

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Sorrow To Repentance

Today we tend to think of anything uncomfortable or sorrowful as bad. We try to avoid discomfort like the plague. Unfortunately we can miss some blessings that come from the hard times and the failures, where we learn and grow. Often today, we are so worried about looking loving, that we can frequently fail to actually be loving. Encouraging someone in their sinful lifestyle may feel loving, but it is harmful to the one being encouraged and it is taking the easy way out for the one doing the encouraging. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to address the sin of those we love. Obviously this needs to be done in a loving and gentle manner, but with firmness and truth. > For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter **caused you sorrow**, though only for a while— **I now rejoice**, not that you were made sorrowful, but that **you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance**; for you were made **sorrowful according to the will of God**, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For **the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation**, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this **godly sorrow**, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. (2 Corinthians 7:8-11) {emphasis mine} Paul wrote to the Corinthians to address some sin issues. He hated writing something that would make them sorrowful. He may have even wondered if his loving rebuke would be taken badly and cause a division, but Paul did what was right. By rebuking the church and making them sorrowful, he acted “*according to the will of God.*” Now that the Corinthian church had repented, he could rejoice without regret because the church members had been made right with God. There is some sorrow unrelated to our actions, like illness or the loss of a loved one or even persecution, that is due primarily to the sin of others in the world. We can also have godly sorrow when we act in an ungodly manner, but then repent of our actions. Helping others turn from sin to God is the most loving thing we can do, if done in a loving, helpful manner. Don’t be afraid to address sin when you see it, but of course you must first address your own sin, so you don’t act as a hypocrite. Still, avoiding addressing an obvious, out in the open sin is not being loving. It is being selfish because it is taking the easy way out instead of doing the hard thing to help the other person. May our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, lead us and guide us in wisdom and love to address sin, first in our own lives, but then in the lives of those around us, so everyone may grow closer to our holy Lord in Heaven. Trust Jesus

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Miserable Comforters Are You

Last post, I touched on the subject of what do you say to those going through trials and tribulations, but as I read Job, it seemed like there was more to say on the subject of how Christians are to respond to those who are suffering. The original passage of inspiration was this. ### Don’t Be A Miserable Comforter > Then Job answered, > > “I have heard many such things;\ > Sorry comforters are you all.\ > Is there no limit to windy words?\ > Or what plagues you that you answer?\ > I too could speak like you,\ > If I were in your place.\ > I could compose words against you\ > And shake my head at you.\ > I could strengthen you with my mouth,\ > And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain. (Job 16:1-5) Job was suffering. His friends came with the intention of comforting Job. Job vented his frustrations and problems understanding God’s justice. His friends tried to correct Job’s honest questions. These corrections escalated to the point of accusing Job of heinous sins and saying that everything that had happened to Job was his fault. Job rightly said, “*If I were in your place, I could compose words against you, and shake my head at you*.” Sometimes we have to show mercy while a person is working through their feelings and confusion. Although some hardships are the consequences or punishment for sins, many (probably most) are not. We, as Christians, are promised trials. We should not be surprised when we go through trials. Job also compares two ways of responding to a fellow believer going through trials. He says, “*I could strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips could lessen your pain*.” We can use our words to encourage and strengthen those who are suffering. He also accuses his visitors of “*Sorry comforters are you all. Is there no limit to windy words*?” This reminds me of a traditional saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Some of us want to fix everything. Sometimes we need to just listen. We don’t have to speak an answer for everything. In these uncomfortable situations, it is easy to start with a brief, Biblical answer, but then to start filling the silence with our own words to fill the silence. This can harm of everyone. Job’s friends initial comments were not bad and were mostly true, but the more they talked, the more they went off track and the more harm they did. We want to lessen their pain, not be sorry comforters. Of course this doesn’t mean that we can’t share God’s word. It doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge obvious sins that are known by all parties. It does mean that all words should be an encouragement to lead them into closer fellowship with God. Job again comments about his friends. > Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven,\ ****And my advocate is on high.\ > My friends are my scoffers;\ > My eye weeps to God.**\ > O that a man might plead with God\ > As a man with his neighbor!\ > For when a few years are past,\ > I shall go the way of no return. (Job 16:19-22) {emphasis mine} Job, being a godly man, puts his trust in God. Notice the pattern: God, friends, God. > **And my advocate is on high.\ > My friends are my scoffers;\ > My eye weeps to God.** Despite the scoffing and harm done by his friends, he keeps his eye on God as his advocate and the one he turns to in sorrow. In the case of Job, he is able to lean on God despite the harm done by his friends. Those will lesser faith might have been pushed away from God by his friends words. ### Love One Another In the New Testament, we are told: > “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) Our every word and action should be loving. That doesn’t mean ignoring sin, but it does mean every word and action should be used to draw a person into closer relationship with their God and Savior. In the case of a person who is sinning, Jesus set a perfect example. > The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they\*said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:3-11) What did Jesus do: 1. He protected the accused from those trying to use, abuse, and torment her. 2. He did not deny her sin, but encouraged her accusers to acknowledge their own sins. 3. He encouraged her to “*sin no more*.” This woman knew she had sinned. She did not need to be reminded of it. She didn’t deny it; she knew. Because she and everyone else knew her sin, there was no need to bring it up again. Jesus used this situation to help her accusers understand their own sin and to lead her into repentance and salvation. The gentle correction was used to lead her to a better way. When we speak to someone in trials, whether self-inflicted, externally caused, or a standard trial common to all men, our goal should be to uplift and draw to Jesus. We should have mercy on the suffering and not add to their suffering. No matter the case, we need to carefully use our words for love and mercy. > Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:7-11) ### Dealing With Sin & Repentance In 1 & 2 Corinthians, Paul deals with a situation of extreme sin. In 1 Corinthians he rebukes the church for allowing this heinous sin within their church body. > It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. > > For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to **deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus**. (1 Corinthians 5:1-5) {emphasis mine} This unrepentant sin could not be allowed to remain in the body because it could spread among God’s people and because it harmed God’s glory. At the same time, the motivation for removing him from the body was not to remove him from a relationship with God. It was to cause consequences in the hopes that the man would return to Jesus. In 2 Corinthians, we find that he does repent of his son and seek to come back into the fellowship of believers. > For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you. > > But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that **on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow**. Wherefore I urge you to **reaffirm your love for him**. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:4-11) {emphasis mine} Once a sinner repents, we are to immediately forgive and comfort them and welcome them back into the fellowship of believers. We are not to remind them of their previous sins and overwhelm them with excessive sorrow, but are to reaffirm our love for them. Any punishment was for correction, not to harm or cause them pain. We should seek the good of those who sinned. We should welcome them back with open arms. We should forgive as we were forgiven by God. All of our words and actions toward others, whether the most godly saint or the most reprehensible sinner, should be to the goal of drawing them closer to the Savior and helping them to trust in God’s goodness, wisdom, and strength. May the God of Heaven carry your burdens and help you to help carry the burdens of those around you. May Our Savior help us to be a godly encouragement to the suffering who draws them into closer fellowship with the Savior. May the Holy Spirt give us discernment in how to best encourage the suffering and to help them rest in Jesus. Trust Jesus

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Rejoice in Unsparing Pain

It is hard going through difficult situations. Health problems, family problems, financial problems, feeling alone, feeling stuck in the wrong place, and persecution are all situations that Christians regularly find themselves. The question is “How will we respond to pain?” ### Advice for the Suffering Some Christians pull away from God when it feels like everything is going wrong. They think God doesn’t care or can’t fix things. They resent every minute of pain and accuse God of wrongdoing. Even Job, who fell on his face in worship after losing everything had a moment of weakness. > “Oh that my grief were actually weighed\ > And laid in the balances together with my calamity!\ > For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;\ > Therefore **my words have been rash**.” (Job 6:2-3) {emphasis mine} After a moment of doubt, he did, however, repent of his rash words, as should we all. Job should be an example to us all in dealing with pain and difficult situations. This is the verse that inspired this post. > But it is still my consolation,\ > And **I rejoice in unsparing pain**,\ > That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. \ > (Job 6:10) {emphasis mine} What an example! “*I rejoice in unsparing pain*.” When we trust God so much that we can rejoice in unsparing pain, we are trusting God as we should. We are accepting that God is working good in our life and we can trust Him even when nothing makes sense to us. I also love how he says that his consolation is that “*I have not denied the words of the Holy One*.” Job is hurting terribly. His heart is broken. He is destitute. He lost 8 children in one day. His friends, that came to console him, have instead accused him of wrongdoing. He doesn’t understand what God is doing and why, but he has “*NOT denied the words of the Holy One*.” He is still putting his faith in God and his word. He is still submitting to God when he feels mistreated. He is still trusting \ God, even when he doesn’t understand what God is doing and why so many bad things are raining down on him in a torrent. Despite it all, he refuses to deny God. I hope if I am ever put through similar situations, that I can trust God and not deny His goodness. ### Advice for friends The book of Job, in addition to advice to those who are suffering, also gives advice to friends of those who are suffering. (or maybe more accurately, what not to do) Job’s friends came with the intention to encourage and console Job. Every time Job would confess his thoughts, concerns, and questions, the response by his friends would get harsher and harsher. In the beginning they were gentle corrections, but they quickly escalated to accusing Job of great sins, that they had to know were not true, and blaming Job for every hard thing that had happened to him. I’ve talked to other Christians who have confessed to being dragged down by other Christians who would tell them that every difficult thing that happened to them was due to their sin or lack of faith. In the case of Job, his difficulties were due to his faithfulness, in order to prove to Satan and all of history that a faithful man would stay faithful to God in good times and in bad. Can Christians suffer as a consequence of sins and poor decisions? Of course, but there are many times that the faithful suffer. In Scripture, the people who suffered most were frequently the most faithful. Job’s correction of his friends was accurate. > “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;\ > So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.\ > My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,\ > Like the torrents of wadis which vanish, (Job 6:14-15) For those who don’t know, a wadi is a streambed that has water running in the wet season, but is bone dry during the dry season. Job accused his friends of being encouraging and helpful when he was prospering, then showing up and providing no encouragement or help when he needed it most. He thought refreshment was coming to visit, and instead what hope he had left was drained from him by his “friends.” We need to make sure we aren’t one of those who decreases hope and decreases faith in one who is hurting. We need to have mercy when a hurting person works through their confusion and doubts and help lead them back to God instead of driving a wedge between them and God. May the God of heaven protect us and lead us through the trials of life and may our trials lead us into the arms of our Savior. May God help us to merciful and to help guide the hurting into the Savior’s care. Trust Jesus

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Christianity is Not for the Faint of Heart

A description of the reality of the Christian life and the ironic, seeming contradictions of a hard life because of following Jesus, but with more joy than you can imagine.

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Suffering can’t be compared

We humans have a terrible habit of comparing our suffering. They have it worse than you — so your pain doesn't matter. You have it worse than them — so how dare they complain? There is absolutely nothing to be gained from this; it's a habit that only leads to more pain, that only creates a vicious cycle of more suffering. We do this because we yearn for our own pain to be acknowledged and validated. To know that someone sees how hard we've tried, how much we've lost, how broken our hearts are. And in our deepest yearning to be seen, we isolate ourselves from the very people who could give us what we want most. It's a tragedy. We all need to learn both how to acknowledge our own pain and how to acknowledge others' pain. That's what will help everyone to heal and move forward. You can start right now. For yourself: pause and put your hand on your heart. Ask, "Where am I in pain, and what love do I need?" For others: pause and think about someone in your life. Ask, "How might they be in pain, and how could I support them?"

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