There Will Be Blood Pain is a microphone. And the more it hurts, the louder you get. Suffering isn’t an obstacle to being used by God. It is an opportunity to be used like never before. This truth leaps off the pages of Scripture again and again and again. Joseph suffered for years as a…
Forgiving God
Getting hurt by people is hard. Getting hurt by what God allows can feel unbearable. While I might phrase my disillusionment as a question of why or how, when I lay my head on my tear-soaked pillow, questions can turn into bitter feelings. I probably wouldn’t want to raise my hand at Bible study and…
It’s a One-Woman Job
Finding the Courage to Choose May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13 Let’s begin by acknowledging I am probably going to hurt someone’s feelings with what I am…
One Plot or Two
Editor’s note: Kayla Stoecklein is a voice of compassion and hope for those oppressed with the mostly-taboo topic of suicide. It’s a delicate issue, one haunted by shame and fear, and one that needs to be brought into the light of God’s grace. In Fear Gone Wild, Kayla shares her and Andrew’s story but above…
Hurt: But How Do I Get Through the Next 86,400 Seconds?
The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. — 1 Peter 5:10 I want healing to be as neat and predictable as a checklist. I don’t want to be inconvenienced by…
Saved by Suffering
The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. — Psalm 145:18 I woke up on what I thought would be an ordinary Monday a few summers ago, but nothing was normal. I felt as if knives were mercilessly carving their way through my insides.…
One Choice Every Couple Should Make in Their Suffering
What is one choice every couple should make in the midst of their storm? It might sound like a simple question, but it is incredibly important. One of the most important choices we can make as a couple is to move toward community instead of away from it. The challenge for most of us is…
Wondering Why
My God… why? — Jesus Hospital orderlies, dressed in green, had taken Sammy down to the operating room. We’d said our goodbyes and now, somewhere in Southampton General Hospital, a surgeon was preparing to conduct his third operation of the day. There was nothing more I could do. Sammy’s life was in the hands of…
What Do I Do When It Seems God Hasn’t Come Through for Me?
How do I continue trusting Him when my dreams have fallen apart? Have you ever asked these questions? Surely, we all have. Because life is tough and unpredictable and rarely happens the way we plan. When my twenty-one-month old daughter, Haven, was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer, these were the question scrolling through my…
Pressing through the Pain
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. — James 4:8 NKJV Does it ever feel like the heartbreak in your life is trying to break you? I understand. I really, really do. I’ve been in that place where the pain of heartbreak hits with such sudden and sharp force that it…