archive for the 'suffering' category

darkness

posted by adam on 04.25.2007

We don’t talk much about darkness in churchy circles. Not inner darkness, anyway.
Among more charismatic Christians there is talk of spiritual darkness as it relates to evil, and more specifically, the evil one. I’ve heard friends go on and on about “spiritual warfare”, which I believe (1) is very real, and (2) we know very […]

suffering, truth | 5 comments »

the waiting

posted by adam on 04.25.2006

“Waiting to understand the heart’s desire, one is waiting to become heart-free and heart-whole. One is waiting to be purified of desperation and despair. The waiting itself is already the beginning…”
—From The Reasons of the Heart by John S Dunne

And yet, the waiting seems to me the hardest part.Here I sit, wanting God to move, […]

suffering, transformation | no comments »

complex faith

posted by adam on 04.19.2006

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

—Psalm 46:1-3

I hate too-simple statements of faith. God is good and trustworthy, yes, and we can go […]

relationship, suffering, faith | no comments »

don’t lose hope

posted by adam on 04.18.2006

Don’t lose hope, my friend told me.
But I don’t even know what to hope for anymore!
That’s the hardest time to hope, he replied, when you don’t know what to hope for. But that’s also when you’re forced to place greater faith in God because you have to hope in him instead of a preferred outcome. […]

suffering, dependence, hope | no comments »

thoughts on suffering

posted by adam on 04.11.2006

Lately I’ve been thinking about suffering, wondering what role it plays in faith. Suffering is such a subjective word. I have said, more than once in the last six months, that I was suffering because some things were happening that I did not care for. People were hateful toward me, saying things about me that […]

suffering, dependence | 3 comments »