Topic > When Life Hurts > Suffering & Tragedy >
How the 2004 Tsunami Changed my Life
On 26 December 2004, one of the deadliest tragedies in recorded history struck when a massive tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake swept across the Indian Ocean, killing more than 200,000 people in 14 countries.
“God’s mercy in disguise”
When the weight of life crushes down on us and the pain is more than we can bear, our appeal to God is “Why?” But today on “Discover the Word,” we, along with our guest, Robert Gelinas reveal how our personal pain may be the perfect answer to the prayer, “Lord have mercy!” Gain a profound perspective on “God’s mercy in disguise” . . . today on “Discover the Word”!
Forward to God
In the days before telephones, email, and mobile phones, the telegram was usually the fastest means of communication. But only important news was sent by telegram, and such news was usually bad. Hence the saying, “The telegram boy always brings bad news.”
It was wartime in ancient Israel when Hezekiah was king of Judah. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had invaded and captured the cities of Judah. He then sent a letter to Hezekiah, a bad-news “telegram” urging his surrender. Hezekiah described the moment as “a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace” (2 Kings 19:3).
With taunts and scoffs, Sennacherib boasted of…
For His Time
When South African pastor Andrew Murray was visiting England in 1895, he began to suffer pain from a previous back injury. While he was recuperating, his hostess told him of a woman who was in great trouble and wanted to know if he had any counsel for her. Murray said, “Give her this paper which I have been writing for my own [encouragement]. It may be that she will find it helpful.” This is what Murray wrote:
“In time of trouble say:
First—God brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that I will rest.
Next—He…
The View from the Mountain
Our valley in Idaho can be very cold in the winter. Clouds and fog roll in and blanket the ground, trapping frigid air under warmer layers above. But you can get above the valley. There’s a road nearby that winds up the flank of Shafer Butte, a 7,500-foot mountain that rises out of our valley. A few minutes of driving and you break out of the fog and emerge into the warmth and brilliance of a sunlit day. You can look down on the clouds that shroud the valley below and see it from a different point of view.
Life is…
4 Ways to Cope with Pain and Loss
One afternoon last December, I received a text message from my former youth pastor asking me to pray for his wife, who was facing complications during delivery. When he called me later to explain the situation in detail, I could sense the tension in his voice.
Good Samaritan gets killed while helping another
A man offers help to another, but in the process, gets shot by the latter and dies. Talk about injustice. But that’s exactly what happened last Friday (22 January) in Catawba County, North Carolina, U.S.
When Questions Remain
On October 31, 2014, an experimental spacecraft broke apart during a test flight and crashed into the Mojave Desert. The copilot died while the pilot miraculously survived. Investigators soon determined what had happened, but not why. The title of a newspaper article about the crash began with the words “Questions remain.”
Throughout life we may experience sorrows for which there are no adequate explanation. Some are catastrophic events with far-reaching effects while others are personal, private tragedies that alter our individual lives and families. We want to know why, but we seem to find more questions than answers. Yet even as…
When I was Angry with God
Have you ever been angry with God because of an illness, a physical disability, poverty, or family problems? I have. Several years ago, I felt some pain in my back, but didn’t think of going to see a doctor.
Poem : When Life Hurts
Written By Desiree U. Angeles, Philippines Oh Lord, is this our punishment For turning against you? Chaos and natural disasters everywhere Misunderstandings abound, scuffles in the air. Love seems to slowly fade It’s no longer the paradise you’ve made. Living in a complete mess, where lost souls dwell. We have ourselves to blame, into sin […]
The Low Point
C. S. Lewis and his older brother, Warren (Warnie), endured several terms at Wynyard, an English boarding school for boys. The headmaster was a cruel man who made life unbearable for everyone there. Decades later, Warnie wrote in his understated dry wit, “I am now sixty-four and a bit, and have never yet been in a situation in which I have not had the consolation of reflecting that at any rate I was better off than I was at Wynyard.” Most of us can recall a similar dark and difficult time in our lives and be grateful that we’re better…
Real-world problems? Sometimes, they start at home
Peter*, 13, has a growth in his brain that will cause major problems if it is not removed. Already, it causes him some discomfort; the young boy keeps rubbing his forehead. Doctors fear that it will start to press on his brain, causing complications, or even result in a fatal stroke if it cuts off blood supply to his brain.
If God is good, why is there so much evil and suffering?
This must be one of the most perplexing questions Christians face. The problem of evil and suffering is a thorny issue that has caused some to fall away from their faith, prevented others from coming to God, or discouraged some from growing deeper in their walk with Him.
The Storms of Life
In the book of Mark we read about a terrible storm. The disciples were with Jesus on a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. When a “furious squall came up,” the disciples—among them some seasoned fishermen—were afraid for their lives (4:37-38). Did God not care? Weren’t they handpicked by Jesus and closest to Him? Weren’t they obeying Jesus who told them to “go over to the other side”? (v. 35). Why, then, were they going through such a turbulent time?
No one is exempt from the storms of life. But just as the disciples who initially feared the storm later came…
