Topic > When Life Hurts
What is your view of God?
Today on Discover the Word, the group has their second conversation in a series titled, “Job and Jesus.” They’re talking about our view of God. As you read Job, do you see God as detached, keeping Job at arm’s length? Or is He present in surprisingly intimate ways? Don’t miss it! Listen today to Discover […]
Job and Jesus
Have you ever been out of town, and suddenly you encounter a familiar face? It can sometimes be a little startling, but it’s usually fun to run into old friends in unexpected places. And today on Discover the Word, we uncover a surprise cameo appearance in the Old Testament book of Job. Don’t miss the […]
Nothing can separate us from the love of God
Illness is something that affects us all. But many people struggle with an illness that cannot be seen. Lakisha and Amy share how God comforted them in the midst of mental illness. They found life and hope in Him and in the “words to live by” found in Scripture.
The Delight of Despair
It may be that, like the apostle John, you know Jesus Christ intimately. Yet when He suddenly appears to you with totally unfamiliar characteristics, the only thing you can do is fall “at His feet as dead.” There are times when God cannot reveal Himself in any other way than in His majesty, and it is the awesomeness of the vision which brings you to the delight of despair. You experience this joy in hopelessness, realizing that if you are ever to be raised up it must be by the hand of God.
Our Careful Unbelief
Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as unbelief. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.
The Explanation For Our Difficulties
If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you are— because Jesus has prayed that you “may be one” with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became a disciple, you cannot be as independent as you used to be.
God reveals in John 17 that His purpose is not just to answer our prayers, but that through prayer we might come to discern His mind. Yet there is one prayer which God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus— “. . .
Having God’s “Unreasonable” Faith
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you —Matthew 6:33
When we look at these words of Jesus, we immediately find them to be the most revolutionary that human ears have ever heard. “. . …
Out of the Wreck I Rise
God does not keep His child immune from trouble; He promises, “I will be with him in trouble . . .” (Psalm 91:15). It doesn’t matter how real or intense the adversities may be; nothing can ever separate him from his relationship to God. “In all these things we are more than conquerors . . .” (Romans 8:37). Paul was not referring here to imaginary things, but to things that are dangerously real. And he said we are “super-victors” in the midst of them, not because of our own ingenuity, nor because of our courage, but because none of them affects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
You are not alone
When a difficult situation threatens to drag us down, we can either let ourselves fall or surrender to the only One who can hold us up. Learn how both Mary Ann and Pat found a lifeline in God’s Word when it felt like their worlds were falling apart. Find peace and joy when trying circumstances […]
The Habit of Rising to the Occasion
Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.
You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12).
The Habit of Enjoying Adversity
We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me.
Bring your pain to Jesus
Grief and pain are a part of life. But we may forget that Jesus experienced these emotions as well. Today on Discover the Word, we ask the question, “When Jesus comes to us in our grief, do we recognize Him?” Listen today to Discover the Word!
Singing with Violet
An elderly woman named Violet sat on her bed in a Jamaican infirmary and smiled as some teenagers stopped to visit with her. The hot, sticky, midday air came into her little group home unabated, but she didn’t complain. Instead, she began wracking her mind for a song to sing. Then a huge smile appeared and she sang, “I am running, skipping, jumping, praising the Lord!” As she sang, she swung her arms back and forth as if she were running. Tears came to those around her, for Violet had no legs. She was singing because, she said, “Jesus loves…
Bring your loss to Jesus
Have you ever lost someone or something and worried that nothing would ever fill the hole left behind? Today, Discover the Word team members discuss how Jesus comforts us in the midst of our loss and grief. It’s a comforting truth coming to you today on Discover the Word!
Tears No Longer
In 2013 Dr. Ad Vingerhoets, a social and behavioral scientist from the Netherlands, wrote a book called Why Only Humans Weep. He’s one of only a few scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying why people cry. Vingerhoets states that “tears are of extreme relevance for human nature. We cry because we need other people.”
