God Uses Suffering to Sandblast Us into His Image

In her book A Place of Healing, Joni Eareckson Tada reflects on how we tend to worry that the cares, troubles, and afflictions of life will wear us down, ...

Comparing the Blessings of Jacob and Esau

If you're familiar with Genesis 36, you know that it's nothing but a list of the descendents of Esau—their names, their wives, their children, ...

The Benefits of "Living Under the Pain"

In his book When Life Is Hard, pastor and author James MacDonald shares a valuable lesson he learned during his days as a basketball player. He writes: ...

Trials Are Like Bounced Checks

In his book When Life Is Hard, pastor James MacDonald defines a trial as a painful circumstance allowed by God to change one's conduct and character. ...

Suffering from Cancer, Woman Trusts God's Goodness

In his book If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, author Randy Alcorn recalls when his friend, writer Ethel Herr, had a double mastectomy. ...

Woman Given 24–48 Hours to Live Learns Valuable Lessons

For 11 years, Mary Leonard of Louisville, Kentucky, has dealt with polymyositis, a rare inflammatory tissue disease that invades the muscles. There is ...

Celebrating God's Providence Amidst a Devastating Diagnosis

In his book The Many Faces of Evil, author John Feinberg tells the story of when his wife, Pat, was diagnosed with Huntington's Chorea—a genetically-transmitted ...

The Danger of Self-hatred

In his book All Over but the Shoutin,' Rick Bragg shares a brief story about a bird to show just how devastating self-hatred can be. He writes:

Once ...

Businessman's Vision Leads to 100 Little League Teams for Underprivileged Kids

On his way to work one day, Chicago insurance broker Bob Muzikowski saw a derelict ball field full of trash in a gang-infested neighborhood. The kids ...

The Importance of Expecting Our Departure

Prepare your heart for your departure. If you are wise, you will expect it every hour.

—Saint Isaac the Syrian, seventh century mystic