What Suffering Teaches Others

Wally Morris My wife and I were married in June 1978. Three months later, in September, just before I was to begin my senior year of college, Susan had a “minor” stroke from which she completely recovered. Four years later, in June 1982, she had another, more serious stroke which affected her speech and permanently…

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Misfortune or Providence?

Excerpted from Letters from a Soviet Prison Camp by Mikhail Khorev (Grummersbach, West Germany: Missionswerk Friedenstimme, 1986). Reprinted 1989 by Baker Book House. Used by permission. Born in 1931, Mikhail Khorev was imprisoned for his faith and ministry in the former Soviet Union in the 1950s and again from 1980 to 1986. Plagued from birth…

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The Value of Suffering

Steve Pettit Suffering is one of the main avenues by which God brings revival. Perhaps no one understood this concept more than the apostle Paul. His writings are full of references to God’s power entering through the pathway of pain. In 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, he mentions his “thorn in the flesh,” a physical infirmity. He…

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Lessons Learned from Suffering

Marty Goggins Being an associate pastor, I am often called upon to visit the sick, a portion of my ministry that I enjoy immensely. It affords me the opportunity to give words of encouragement to the suffering, and more importantly, it is an excellent time to give people the gospel. Our Lord had tremendous compassion…

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When I am grieved, I long to instruct Him

Don Johnson There is plenty of trouble and heartache to go around in this world. It comes unbidden into every life, one way or another, and when it leaves, it is only to return again in some other form, perhaps more grievous than before. Who can escape trouble? Our trouble in trouble is that in…

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Ministering in Adversity

Steve Schroeder We have all read the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and the men who were killed on the shores of the river in Ecuador. Since we can see the whole picture now, we rejoice over the salvation of the Auca Indians. But put yourself in the shoes of the women who heard…

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How to Handle Suffering

Scott Williquette and Steve Thomas Christianity promises no immunity from adversity. Believers experience pain and suffering like anyone else. The Bible is filled with suffering saints. Hardship takes many forms: physical, financial, social, emotional. The question that naturally arises in such circumstances is, “Why am I hurting and suffering?” The larger question is “Why does…

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Bring … the Books: The Silence of God

By David L. Cummins This article first appeared in FrontLine • July/August 2000. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. Through the years, saints of God have struggled with the two-fold conundrum as to why the heathen prosper and why the righteous suffer. The Psalmist dealt with adversity’s unequal balance in Psalm 73. In verses…

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