Turn Your Deepest Pain into Your Greatest Gain

Our natural reaction to pain and suffering is to avoid it.  Failing that, we seek ways to restore comfort and control.  Seldom do we realize  that something “good” can come from the “bad” things in our life.  I appreciated the opportunity to talk in our DTS chapel service about the overarching good that can be at work in the midst of our suffering.  Click on the photo above to watch the 20-minute video.

While preparing for this talk, I came across an excellent new book, Why, O God?, which provides more extensive insights on suffering.    For example, Dr. Mark Bailey’s chapter lists 50 examples of the sufferings of Christ prior to his final week that we call his Passion.  In two other chapters, Joni Eareckson Tada writes about what she has learned from her life as a quadriplegic.  Greg Hatteburg writes about how he deals with his wife’s MS.  Several chapters show what the Bible has to say about suffering, in the Pentateuch, in the Gospels, in Paul’s writings, etc.

If you’re suffering, this book addresses questions that could bring you encouragement.  If you’re not suffering, it can prepare you mentally and spiritually for its inevitability.