Month: August 2016

What do you do when there’s nothing you can do? Relationally, financially, professionally, physically, or academically, It just is what it is. There’s nothing you can do to change your situation. Challenging circumstances can make you jealous or resentful. They can make you angry with God. They can breed discontentment. But the problem with discontentment is that it can drive you in self-destructive directions that will eventually leave you with regret. So, what is the secret of finding contentment even when times are tough? August 28, 2016

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Every once in a while, we run into people stuck in unchangeable, unalterable, in-the-meantime circumstances who get to the place where they’re able and willing to receive their circumstances, their afflictions, their illnesses, their losses, and their disabilities as coming from the hand of their heavenly Father. How do these people maintain extraordinary faith despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances? Where do they find the peace that characterizes their lives? August 21, 2016

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

What do we do when our circumstances are so challenging there’s no way forward and no way out? We have problems for which there seem to be no solutions. We have questions without answers. During times like these, we’re tempted to run or give up. We’re tempted to give in to jealousy, resentment, and anger . . . especially anger toward God. That’s because when life gets hard, it feels like God is absent, apathetic, or angry. But what if he isn’t? Is it possible to hang on to joy, hope, and patience in the meantime? August 14, 2016

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

We all want autonomy. We all want to be in charge of our own destinies. It’s good to be king. That desire is natural, but it’s also problematic because it can cause us to drift toward isolation. We need the forced, sometimes uncomfortable, structured relationships that groups provide. You need community and somebody in community needs you. August 7, 2016

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS