• Brokeness: The Protest

  The children’s story about Jonah and the whale presents the prophet in a rather rosy light: After three days in the fish’s belly, he relents and goes merrily on to Nineveh. End of story.

• When God is Silent

  When Lazarus was dying, his sisters urgently called for Jesus. Imagine how their grief must have compounded when He didn’t instantly respond to their request. God’s silence is difficult to accept. We want Him to leap into action when we call, particularly if we are hurting or afraid. But since He promises to meet our needs, we can be sure that a silence from heaven has purpose.

• God's Gift to Us

  Imagine this courtroom scene: After a long trial, emotions are running high, the most noticeable one being hostility toward the convict. The judge issues his verdict: guilty of murder in the first degree. Then a punishment is decided—the death penalty. Tearfully, the mother of the victim rises, puts her arms around the murderer, and says to the judge, “Let me die in his place.”

• A Heart of Gratitude

  The Bible instructs us, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18) That directive might seem easy when life is going well. But if painful circumstances arise, expressing gratitude can become difficult.

• Understood by Jesus

  People often try to comfort others who find themselves in a difficult season of life. But sometimes expressions of consolation create even more pain. For example, the well-intentioned words “I understand” feel empty if the speaker has never actually experienced the situation.