Category: Pain

1/28/2025 0 Comments

Shooting from the Shadows

When I asked West Point classmate Greg, if he had ever been shot from the shadows, he wrote:
I was thinking back to a time in a position of supervisory responsibility for 50 federal employees in eight different locations, enabling almost 5,000 other federal employees. We were working hard to meet tasks and missions professionally. We even received an award for excellence at the Executive Building next to the White House.

0 Comments

9/24/2024 0 Comments

On a Quest

Have you ever felt like you were on a journey to nowhere? Does life seem unfulfilling and taxed by unnecessary hardship? Do you find that what you thought would be meaningful is meaningless or empty? Imagine how the Israelites felt as they were exiled from their land by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Their lives revolved around loss, shame, and suffering. God told them, “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing” (Isaiah 30:14). Like most people, the Israelites believed that they could solve problems and live however they wanted. God restored them to a worthwhile life only when they came to the end of themselves and recognized and renounced the evil of their rebellion.

0 Comments

9/5/2024 1 Comment

Too Much Pain

What is spiritual dishonesty? Could it be when I refuse to tell the Lord what I honestly think or feel? Might it involve minimizing pain before others to project hollow strength? If the fear of what people can think of me, if the truth is told, exceeds the actuality of my condition, I’ve robbed them and myself of what it means to be genuine. In perpetuating falsehood, no one is bettered, nor can healing occur. I wonder if the means to honesty is too much pain—something Job can help us grasp.

1 Comment

8/16/2024 1 Comment

Valor II

The word valor originates from the Late Latin valorem and means strength or moral worth.[1] In the sense of strength, we think of one’s mind or spirit that enables them to take on danger or engage in acts of bravery and courage. In the sense of moral worth, valor is displayed by an unshakeable commitment to right conduct and virtue. A person who honorably refuses to engage in wrongdoing despite the pressure to do so displays valor.

1 Comment

6/30/2024 0 Comments

Transformation

Do you remember the Transformers film series where cars transform into robots with various combative skills? Well, that is nothing compared to what will finally happen when we who love Jesus complete our change to the image and glory that is the Lord’s. The Apostle Paul gives us a preview of what will come in his letter to the Corinthians.

0 Comments

3/10/2024 3 Comments

Are You Prepared?

After hearing Jesus speak about the destruction of the temple buildings, His disciples asked Him what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3). He shared with them the signs of the end times and what it would be like before His arrival.

An undeniable unsettledness grips the hearts of entire populations concerning these days. One must hardly look to see that all is not well on Earth. But rather than mope or cast blame, why not cope within a different frame—the frame of preparation? Zach Clinton, author of Even If, asked thousands of men attending the Ignite Men’s Impact Weekend at Thomas Road Baptist Church two questions. “Can you sleep through the storm because you have prepared? Are you training for the trial you are not in?”

3 Comments

1/7/2024 0 Comments

Three Consequences of Sin and a Great Danger

Recently, I spoke with Jackson,* a sailor who was part of my ministry over three decades ago. He called to apologize over a series of texts that frankly were spawned from frustration and anger over racial issues he was troubled by. During our conversation, he linked his bondage to pornography to his father, who beat his wife, Jackson, and his older brother. His justification troubled me, and he permitted me to speak candidly.

0 Comments

12/7/2023 0 Comments

Resistance

West Point cadets as plebes [freshmen] are required to take boxing. I’m a runner, not a fighter. Give me a race to run or a soccer field to compete, and I’ll be thrilled. Put me in a ring with someone who is graded to punch my lights out, and I could think of a million other places I’d rather be. Boxing was painful, and I was no Golden Gloves boxer. Oswald Chambers taught that “Life without war is impossible either in nature or in grace. The basis of physical, mental, moral, and spiritual life is antagonism. This is the open fact of life.”[1] I’m guessing he must have competed in a boxing ring.

0 Comments

9/9/2023 1 Comment

Bent Over

Meditation
Luke 13:10—11--As He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for over 18 years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

1 Comment

8/2/2023 0 Comments

Thinking of You

When there is a death in the family, it is so encouraging to see people rally around and step up to provide support and comfort through meals, cards, flowers, phone calls, and just being present to listen, console, and encourage. The sting of death is not erased; the pain is real and sometimes overwhelming, but a caring community can and does make a difference.

0 Comments

2/28/2023 0 Comments

From a Deeper Place

Hannah suffered from three places. First was the place of torment. She had a rival—a woman who taunted her severely to provoke her, often reducing her to tears and enflamed resentment. Second was the place of pain. She could not bear a child, which ate at her soul as she felt God’s withholding hand. Not even the encouragement of her loving husband could ease the ache she carried. Third was the place of misunderstanding. Eli, the priest, mistook Hannah’s silent prayer in her anguished worship. He saw her moving lips and thought she was drunk. Instead of investigating, he scolded her and told her to stop drinking.

0 Comments

1/14/2023 8 Comments

Navigating the Christian Life

Author Geoff Davis

Over forty years ago, on April 1, 1982, I pinned on a US Army Ranger Tab. When I began that program on February 2, 1982, I started with some of the Army’s best soldiers. God used it as one of the most formative lessons in my walk with Him, so that I might know Him better.

8 Comments

12/16/2022 0 Comments

Grief

Grief is a day shrouded in fog and icy rain fed by a howling wind. It is spoiled fruit no longer fit to be savored. Grief makes its exhausted bed in a hidden cave on a barren mountain ridge called Sorrow. It rests in rare moments of silence and grows weary amidst mindless laughter. Its tears leave furrows unfilled by platitudes. When its memories are roused, new rivers flow, and expectation is uprooted, torn, and damaged.

0 Comments

9/26/2022 0 Comments

Why We Exist

Gerry got back from Afghanistan, and he is not in good shape. Half his squad was on a mounted patrol when their vehicles were hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), killing four and badly wounding two. Unfortunately, he had to identify the bodies and could not get the images out of his head. Now between alcohol and too many medications, his life has lost meaning, and he has frequent thoughts of ending it.

0 Comments

7/18/2021 0 Comments

Moving Past Crisis

Meditation
Matthew 14:12-14—Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, buried it, and went and reported to Jesus. When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns. As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.

0 Comments

5/31/2021 0 Comments

Wilderness Lessons

If one were to find a synonym for wilderness in the Bible it would be fairly safe to substitute hardship. The Holman Christian Standard Bible uses the term wilderness 150 times.[1] The majority of references applied to Israel wandering through deserts that resulted in all but two adults over 40 dying and a whole lot of complaining and suffering. The fascinating thing is that God has a penchant for leading His people through wildernesses, to include His own Son (Matthew 4:1). Why does He do this?

0 Comments

12/31/2020 1 Comment

Unity Survives Tragedy

There are some years that stand out for their severity in a manner that effects the entire world and most assuredly, 2020 will be one of those signature years. But tragedies do not destroy the body of Christ when followers of Jesus stand together in unity.

1 Comment

7/9/2020 1 Comment

Crushed!

While working on getting a book published I still lacked the artwork and so I called Bruce,* my project manager, to find out the status. When he answered the phone, it was obvious by the tone in his voice that he was stressed. Instead of diving into my request, I asked him how he was doing. Bruce sighed and then shared. “I’m going through a divorce . . . my house flooded and I’m having to replace the flooring in several rooms and it is not covered by insurance. I’m not sure if I can get a loan. I have an ulcer . . . my mother died and left me her house in a trust but one of the trustees was dishonest and it turned out that there is a lien on the home for unpaid debt . . .

1 Comment

3/19/2019 1 Comment

The Power of Belief

Talisa

My son Bryan was invited to share his story at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He was one of two featured speakers on a night when almost every participant in the room shared some kind of disability. Disabilities included Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), asthma, depression, cancer, arthritis, etc. Each person was asked to write a poem about their challenges and to highlight what was bad as well as what was good. Then, throughout the evening, volunteers could come to the front of the room and share what they wrote.

1 Comment

10/25/2018 0 Comments

Three Tough Questions

Meditation
Job 7:19,20—Will You ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? If I have sinned, what have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I have become a burden to You?

One of the things I love about the Bible is the raw honesty that it contains as people interact with God. You undoubtedly heard the story of Job and how God allowed Satan to sorely test him. Job was exasperated. The man who lived in wealth and privilege suddenly felt like a big target was drawn on his back. Nothing he could say or do would eliminate his suffering. Perhaps most discouraging was the fact that even his friends turned against him. Yet there is much we can learn from his questioning God.

0 Comments