#Christian suffering

[musingongoodness]

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[thinkingonscripture]

God Works All Things Together for Good

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Christians in Rome, acknowledged “the sufferings of this present time” (Rom 8:18), our inner “groaning” (Rom 8:23), and our “weakness” as humans (Rom 8:26). However, he shifted the focus away from our difficulties and onto God, stating, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according…

[pastorhogg]

When Getting Through Isn’t the Goal

Life Lessons Learned I’ll be honest—when I face trials, my first instinct isn’t to stop and reflect. I want out. I want a way through, around, or beyond the hard thing as fast as possible. Maybe you’ve been there, too. We brace ourselves, pray for deliverance, and hold out hope for the moment everything gets better. We want to overcome, and that’s understandable. But what if God is after…

[kurtbennett]

Doing Everything Right, But Suffering Anyway--Acts 21:27-36

Christ at the Column by Eugene Delacroix, 1839, via Regan Vercruysse God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to. Continue reading Doing Everything Right, But Suffering Anyway–Acts 21:27-36

[hellolatashiam]

Creations Cry: Suffer Patiently

Explore the profound depths of suffering and patience through the lens of Romans 8:18-30, discovering the joy and hope that await us beyond our present trials. #HopeInSuffering #SpiritualPatience

In the valleys of our human experience, where suffering shadows our days, the soul clings to the fragile threads of hope and patience. Romans 8:18-30 serves as a beacon for those of us enduring the night of pain, promising that the weight of our current afflictions pales in comparison to the glory that will be revealed in us. Today we will seeks to explore this promise, providing context and…

[ainsi-soit-il]

The thing about being religious is you'll talk about your beliefs and/or experiences with non-religious people, and they'll sort of pat you on the head and say, "Yes, what a nice little idea, I'm glad that you have your beliefs to comfort you!" and every time you have to bite your tongue because your religion isn't just a "nice little idea" to you, it's a cosmic truth that underlies all things, and furthermore, although God Himself has comforted you, that doesn't mean that faith itself is comfortable, but if you put any of that into words, they'll look at you funny.

[andonlyafoolwouldsaythat]

People on this site have GOT to stop reflexively calling shit they don't like Catholic or Christian. "Desire is the root of all suffering" is literally one of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. Like how are you going to critique "cultural Christianity" if you can't even identify Christianity to begin with.

[winged-thinged]

I can't believe this needs to be said, but—suffering isn't good for you! It's stupid to rely on suffering to purify you, to build empathy, or to reach enlightenment.

In my experience, suffering mostly makes people myopic and self-interested. And this is, in a way, by design—the human body is built to slam on the brakes and put everything else on pause when you're in pain, to clamour for help until that pain is dealt with. It's your self-preservation instinct at work. It's good. But there's a reason drowning people tend to pull those around them down with them, panicky and thrashing. There's a reason you're supposed to only reach for them if you've had training, or if your feet are already planted on solid ground.

The people who appear to suffer gracefully, to learn something from the experience, to build empathy, to come out the other side stronger—mostly can do so because they already have a decent support system in place, and because they're already the kind of person who goes looking for opportunities to grow and heal and learn from others, who does that work themself. And so they would probably have built that wisdom another way. The pain isn't the active ingredient.

[sea-buns]

christian in chat representing critters everywhere lmao?

[musingongoodness]

Joshua 2:2 Bible Study Verse Reflection

Joshua 2:2 Chapter Summary:

Two Israelite spies sent by Joshua enter the city of Jericho and stay with Rahab, a prostitute. She hides them from the king of Jericho in return for their promise of protection for her and her family during the Israelite invasion.

Joshua 2:2 in context:

1 Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.

2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”

4 Rahab had hidden the two men...

Joshua 2:2 Verse Reflection:

Who is this "someone" and why does God let "someone" act against his people?

Sometimes God will use "someone(s)" who can do actions against you to test your motives and save others (ex: Rahab, Job among others and Cross-Refs: Proverbs 16:2, Proverbs 21:2, Proverbs 24:12, 1 Samuel 16:7, Luke 16:15, Jeremiah 17:10, Romans 8:27, Revelation 2:23)

In this verse, this "someone" could have been a jealous Israelite, or a random lover or hater of Rahab, or even someone extremely patriotic since only a strong emotion caused them to risk going all the way to the king of Jericho to share this news confidently. This could even have been an angel of God though this theory is most unlikely since it would have been made clear in bible.

What can we learn about God: There are likely plenty of people who are readily available for God and Satan to use for their purposes and such people in terms of morality could be willing to do immoral or unwise actions, or even moral actions that still negatively impact you but praise God since ultimately they are still under the control of God's sovereign power. (Romans 8:28)

Questions for ourselves: If you are aware of such "someone(s)" in your life, are you willing to trust in God's sovereignty that they are still under God's plan (like Judas Iscariot was under God's plan by betraying Jesus Christ intentionally)? Are you willing to forgive and pray for this person(s) like Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing?" (Luke 23:34)

Praise God for everything He has planned for us to make us more Christ-like on this earth. (Romans 8:29)

[thinkingonscripture]

When Hiding is Wise

Sometimes hiding from others is a valid response to avoid unnecessary persecution. The believer who operates on wisdom and faith will make the right choice at the right time. Solomon wrote, “The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naïve go on, and are punished for it” (Prov 22:3; cf., Prov 27:12). In this verse, the prudent man is shrewd and sees evil ahead, and by wisdom “hides…

[creature-wizard]

When people respond to the suffering of the world with "all of this is for God's ultimate glory!" all I can think is, God really needs to find a better coping mechanism to deal with his existential/loneliness issues. He needs to figure out how to deal with it without making it his creations' problem.

[apenitentialprayer]

We cannot take lightly people's suffering and try to console them with convenient phrases and do-goodism. Our hope has a name, Jesus, that God who did not feel disgust at our mud and who, instead of saving us from the mud, became mud for us.

Pope Francis (Address to the Seminarians and Formators of the Spanish Dioceses)

[villainous-queen]

Dexter: Original Sin is very good, although I correctly guessed Christian Slater is not great at playing Harry Morgan, he's acting his heart out but that's not Harry Morgan; that's Christian Slater. Meanwhile Patrick Gibson is SO GOOD at playing a young Dexter I feel he must have watched every episode of the original series (specifically the first few) 30 times and has nailed Michael C. Hall's performance. He's perfect.

[ahopefulbromantic]

HEY UM SO DO YOU THINK WHEN JOHN RECLINED ON JESUS' BOSOM DURING THE LAST SUPPER THAT JESUS THOUGHT OF SONGS 1,13? AS IN:

My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh

that lies between my breasts.

BECAUSE THAT'S VERY MUCH ABOUT JOHN IN THAT MOMENT??? IT'S NOT JUST ME RIGHT?!

[scuderia-hamilton]

oh speaking of double standards i cannot even describe how much i hate the fact that when those stupid rumours of Susie Wolff came out, people instantly flocked together and called her names, diminished her achievements and immediately decided that she was guilty, but when Christian Horner is being accused of cross border behaviour and is being advised to step down, it's suddenly innocent until proven guilty and it doesn't matter cause he's such a successful team principal. and to those people i say fuck you, you are the sole reason this sport is the way it is.