• Topic > When Life Hurts

    When God Doesn’t Take Away Your Anxiety

    A question I’m often asked is, “How did you stop having anxiety?” I haven’t. Then comes the inevitable follow up: “You mean, you still feel anxious?”

    Hovering Over Us

    Betty’s daughter arrived home from an overseas trip, feeling unwell. When her pain became unbearable, Betty and her husband took her to the emergency room. The doctors and nurses set to work, and after a few hours one of the nurses said to Betty, “She’s going to be okay! We’re going to take good care of her and get her healed up.” In that moment, Betty felt peace and love flood over her. She realized that while she hovered over her daughter anxiously, the Lord is the perfect parent who nurtures His children, comforting them in difficult times.

    In the book…

    When God Turned My Sorrow to Joy

    In every person’s life, I believe that there is a defining moment when we suddenly come to realize how small we are compared with God, and how small we are compared with the problems that can overwhelm us. For me, that moment happened on my 14th birthday.

    Finding Beauty in My Tragedy

    In my brief 22 years of living, I have known brokenness in too many ways: sexual abuse, anxiety, depression, bullying, anorexia, and suicidal thoughts. Some of it was inflicted on me, some self-inflicted and some of it was a result of not living in line with the Word of God and understanding the Father’s abundant love.

    The Time I Attempted Suicide

    Pills and broken glass, tears and blood, fear and despair. It was one of the darkest nights of my life. I didn’t want to do it yet I couldn’t see how to face the next day. The pain of ending everything there and then seemed lesser compared to the pain of going on.

    Crying Over Nabeel Qureshi

    I never thought I would cry over a complete stranger. But the death of a man whom I have never met had me tearing up a few times this week.

    Sweet and Sour

    When our toddler first bit into a lemon wedge, he wrinkled his nose, stuck out his tongue, and squeezed his eyes shut. “Sow-wah,” he said (sour).

    I chuckled as I reached for the piece of fruit, intending to toss it into the trash.

    “No!” Xavier scampered across the kitchen to get away from ne. “Moe-wah!” (more). His lips puckered with every juice-squirting bite. I winced when he finally handed me the rind and walked away.

    My taste buds accurately reflect my partiality to the sweet moments in life. My preference for avoiding all things bitter reminds me of Job’s wife, who seems to…

    Dave’s Story

    Dave Dietz attended church but really didn’t understand the love of Jesus, until…

    Learning to Face Death from Nabeel Qureshi

    “It’s a little unsettling to watch the vlog of someone who knows he’s about to die,” I remember telling my mother after watching what would be Nabeel Qureshi’s second last video blog on YouTube just last week.

    God is in the business of transformation

    Feeling blue? God’s in the business of transformation! And you’re invited to join us today on Discover the Word, to hear the transformative series finale of our three-week discussion on how God responds to our deepest emotions. See how God turns our mourning into dancing and our tears into laughter. That’s on Discover the Word today!

    God doesn’t just wipe our tears away, He makes all things new

    What are we supposed to do when we’re sad? Does God just expect us to keep a “stiff upper lip”? Today on Discover the Word, we gather again to discuss how God responds to our tears! He doesn’t just wipe them away, but He consoles, justifies, and makes all things new! Find out how that […]

    Discover the remarkable way God attends to our pain

    God sees every tear that falls. Not one of them escapes His attention! So why do we try to hold back from crying? Today the Discover the Word team gathers around the table to talk about the remarkable ways God attends to our pain even when we don’t see it! Grab a seat in that […]

    How does God relate to our deeply felt tears?

    Emotions are so complex. There’s not always a straightforward answer to the question, “Why are you crying?” But today on Discover the Word, we will open up a helpful discussion about God’s emotions, as revealed in the Bible. How does God relate to our deeply felt “Tearful Expressions”? Listen today on Discover the Word!

    A Shattered Dream Isn’t the End

    A fairy princess? A queen? Those may be some of the typical titles that little girls aspire to, but that wasn’t me. Believe it or not, my dream was to become a “physical therapist missionary in Africa”.

    God is near to the broken-hearted

    From ballads to the blues, people love to hear sad songs. Today on Discover the Word, we will kick off a new round of conversation surrounding a song of lament found in Psalm 6. Receive heartfelt consolation from the Bible’s songbook and discover just how near God is, whenever you’re in pain. Join us on […]