I Samuel 1:1-19

I have had the privilege of knowing many souls who have endured staggering personal pain. Many of them possess character qualities I don't have. Some were forged in the crucible of their suffering, some they took with them into the fire. It may just be my observation, but I've often wondered if their strength of (continued)...

I Samuel 23:4

"Once again…" Is that what my life story would say? Once again, Jan inquired of the Lord. Once again, Jan refused to make a decision until she prayed about it. Once again, Jan chose not to act impulsively but waited for God to give her direction. Once again, Jan did not take matters into her own hands but fully re (continued)...

I Samuel 30

What was the difference between Saul and David? Why was one recalled from the throne and the other revered on the throne? Both were chosen by God, both anointed for service and both victorious in battle. Yet their lives and legacies had nothing in common.

As I read through the pages of their lives, David w (continued)...

Psalm 5

When we find ourselves in deep distress, our words often vanish like smoke. We find our desperate longings cannot be formed into sentences with subject, verb, object. We are like the mute-wordless, with nothing on our lips but sighs.

And yet the Lord hears us!

In Psalm 5 David asks not only that the Lord m (continued)...

Psalm 6:1-9

In the midst of great physical suffering it is important not to ignore the emotional side of suffering. The advice, "Just suck it up," does not work. Our mental state enormously affects our physical state. Fears, grief, and anger all need to be expressed in order to bring physical healing. When bottled up inside, these emotions (continued)...

We are not being honest with God when we're churning out our best King James vocabulary, trying to sound unperturbed and unruffled and all righteous and holy. That's phony. Whom are we trying to fool, trying to sound so righteous before a holy and all-knowing God? He knows exactly what's going on inside us, ev (continued)...

Psalm 10

It's a great comfort to know that God sees my pain and that he promises to help the weak. Psalm 10:14 reminds us, "But you, O God, do see trouble and gr (continued)...

Psalm 10:17

One of the most difficult activities for suffering men and women to engage in is prayer. When you are in pain, it often seems that all your prayers just bounce off the ceiling. You cry out, but there seems to be no answer. And after you have lived with the silence for a while, your own voice often grows quiet.

Psalm 25

Severe suffering and life-threatening illnesses often cause us to reflect on our lives. We wonder: In what have we been investing our time and energy? Are our priorities in order? What kind of a legacy will we leave behind?

Many people who have suffered are thankful for this sort of reflection, for frequently th (continued)...

Psalm 33

Mark it down in red and underline it in bold: "For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does" (v. 4). When everything in our world is falling apart, when the earth gives way and we feel as if we are falling into a bottomless pit, we must turn our minds to this promise. We can count on his Word (continued)...

Psalm 36:9

After weeks in bed, incapacitated by depression, I finally made myself get up, although I was still very weak. I sat at my dining room table, sipping a cup of tea and gazing out the window at the flowers in my backyard garden. I sat there wishing life could go back to the way it used to be. The leaves on the trees were (continued)...

Psalm 126:5-6

Today I am out of the depression. But I learned for myself that the path out of the valley of depression is slow and laborious. From the time of my first panic attack in 1990, it took me five years to recover, and I can't tell how long I was depressed before I had to face up to it and find help. Like the storms tha (continued)...

Psalm 139

When I was a little girl, only five or six years old, I would sometimes get so mad at my parents that I would threaten to run away. I packed up my little suitcase with clothes, a few toys, and my favorite stuffed animal. Then I grabbed the handle of my little suitcase, stomped past my mom, and headed for the front door (continued)...

Psalm 139:13-24

What a relief it is to be able to pour out your heart to God and know that he will receive your prayer-no matter how composed or irrational, giddy or angry, direct or confused-as the utterance of one of his best-loved children.

In verses 23-24 the writer invites his Lord to "Search me, O God, and know my (continued)...

Proverbs 18:14

I'll never forget the doctor's words. I thought I was having heart problems coupled with the flu. The doctor had an entirely different explanation for my physical symptoms. "My dear, you are suffering from depression."

"Sir, I don't mean to be rude" I said, "but I am a Christian and Christians don't get depresse (continued)...