“God meets us in our suffering and helps us grow in Him. Rather than viewing afflictions as His disfavor, may we look for ways He’s using them to sharpen and build our character as we experience His love ‘poured out into our hearts’.”
~Marvin Williams
Scripture for Reflection: Romans 5:1-5
“Lord, when we face tough days, surround our souls with Your comforting love.”
~ Our Daily Bread
“We can take comfort that the Lord is our strength to help us endure suffering and will also use the most challenging of life’s journeys to deepen our fellowship with Christ.” ~ Lisa Samra
Scripture for Reflection: II Corinthians 12:9-10
“God, sometimes my suffering seems too much to bear. Help me to trust You and continue to walk with You on this journey.”
~Our Daily Bread
“Personal pain can either humble or harden us. As uncomfortable as it is, embracing our own suffering with gentleness positions us to embrace others, surrendering what we have (time, resources, wisdom, etc.) in order to meet them where they are. Just as Jesus did for us.” ~Dr. Charles Stanley
Scripture for Reflection: Matthew 15:29-38
“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.” ~Nelson Mandela
Scripture for Reflection: II Corinthians 1:3-7
“At times God doesn’t resuce us from suffering because He is providing something better. We may feel as if He’s abandoned us, but in reality , He is protecting us – not by deliverance but through strengthening.” ~Dr. Charles Stanley
Scripture for Reflection: II Timothy 4:1-22
I started this year praying for the ability to hope. To keep my focus on God and trust Him through everything that came my way. I wanted to live each day intentionally, seeking the Lord’s strength and mercy. I knew I needed His grace to discover reasons to hope and live with joy and peace. More than anything, I wanted trust that God had a purpose for everything I experienced throughout the year.
I wanted hope cemented in my heart.
You see, in my mind, I never doubted God as the source of my hope or that He could restore my hope. The actual problem resided in my heart – the one place I desperately needed cooperation.
I had no idea where the journey would lead, what lessons I would learn, or how pain would be used to refine my desire to have hope.
Today, as I think about some of the things that happened this year, I struggle to comprehend it all. Continue reading
“The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust – not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.” ~Brennan Manning
Scripture for reflection: Romans 5:1-5
“In the midst of every crisis, we face choices that lead to either isolation or intimacy. We can hunker down and withdraw, or we can open up and receive. We can pull back and try to cope alone, or we can allow ourselves to be used as a catalyst for grace and love to flow.” ~David Lyons
Scripture for reflection: II Corinthians 1:3-7
Living Water by Dorothea Love 