There are many ways we may respond to the sudden onrush of some new pain or the sudden onset of some fresh sorrow. There are many options set before us when health fails and uncertainty draws near, when wealth collapses and bankruptcy looms, when a loved one is taken and we are left alone. There are many forks in the road, many paths we can choose when we face such heavy trials. Some who seemed to be living so well grow angry at God and man, then sink into bitterness. Some who seemed to be so strong in their faith grow despondent, then stop pressing on. Some who seemed to be so vibrant grow dull and disillusioned, perhaps shrugging off a God who would ask them to pass through a dark valley.
But there are others who respond to their trials in different ways, and it’s these people who have so often blessed, encouraged, and inspired me. These people have understood that God’s sovereignty is active in and through their pain and that somehow even this trial fits within his providence. They have understood that through their time of sorrow, God has given them a kind of platform, an opportunity to glorify his name. And they have willingly accepted and embraced it.
One friend was told he had a form of cancer that was usually fatal. He used every treatment and every hill and valley to proclaim his trust in Jesus to the doctors, nurses, and his friends. When told he had only a short time left to live, he made it his purpose to give his last days to calling his Christian friends to encourage them in their faith one last time and to calling his non-Christian friends to tell them about Jesus one last time. “After all,” he told me, “everyone will listen to a dying man.” His suffering gave him a platform and he used it to proclaim the glories of God.
Another friend saw his daughter suddenly struck down by a terrible and mysterious illness. Though this was a heavy blow for him and for his family, he diligently wrote dispatches from the hospital that went out to believers and unbelievers alike. In them he expressed his confusion but also his trust, his sorrow but also his faith. His time of agony was also a time of proclamation. He ministered to others even when he was suffering so deeply.
Because we are never outside the providence of God, we can have confidence that we are never outside the purpose of God.Share
Generations have benefitted from the books and poems of Amy Carmichael, most of which were written from her sickbed—her sickbed that doubled as her podium before the world. Millions have heard Joni Eareckson Tada speak and sing of the glories of God—Joni, whose entire public ministry has been carried out from a wheelchair. Both embraced their circumstances as a God-given platform. There was pain, to be certain. There was sorrow and toil. But there was also opportunity.
We grieve our losses, of course, whether that’s the loss of health, wealth, ability, or loved ones. We rightly weep and mourn. And we certainly don’t wish for those times of darkness to come upon us. But because we are never outside the providence of God, we can have confidence that we are never outside the purpose of God. We can understand that God has purpose in our pain and we can know that in even our darkest moments and hardest days, we can praise and glorify his name. We can know that his providence has given us a platform, whether it is from the heights of joy or the depths of sorrow, whether it is before many people or few. And surely it is only right that we use it to tell of his goodness and grace.

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for April 2022)
No One Knows My Pain
Vaneetha Rendall Risner writes about a phenomenon common to those who suffer. “Rather than inviting others into my pain and grief, I’ve often pushed them away. I’ve felt a vague sense of self-righteousness, confident that no one could speak into my life except God himself. I’ve dismissed others’ experiences, even the comfort of friends, because they couldn’t fully relate to my suffering.”
In Praise of the Boring, Uncool Church
“Relevance is no substitute for reverence and indeed may compromise it. The Christian life shouldn’t be oriented around being liked; it should be oriented around loving God and loving others. Far less important than being fashionable is being faithful. Far more crucial than keeping up with the Joneses is staying rooted in God’s unchanging Word.”
Baylor University Charters LGBTQ Group
“The news that Baylor University has officially chartered Prism, an LGBT student organization on campus, marks an important moment in Christian higher education in the USA.” Carl Trueman tells why this is so significant.
The most revealing meeting at church
“Martin Buber said: ‘All real meaning in life is in meeting’. What’s the most revealing meeting at church?” This article suggests several possibilities and elevates one above the rest.
Christo et Ecclesiae 
Kristin reflects on the sheer goodness and necessity of the local church despite the pain it can sometimes cause us.
Friendship and Belonging in Middle Age
Alan Noble: “I’m skeptical anyone over age 35 has close friends. That’s an exaggeration, but I’m certainly convinced there’s a dead zone for friendship between ages 35 and 50. It’s difficult to have good friends in middle age. Far more difficult than it should be, especially for men.”
Flashback: Who Does My Body Belong To?
As Christians, we celebrate the beautiful fact that we were each handcrafted by God, we have been bought with a price, and we now have the joyful responsibility and privilege of glorifying God in our bodies.

Confessing that we are sinners in general will not enable us to make lasting headway against our sins in particular. —Sinclair Ferguson

Every now and again I collect more good articles than I can share in a week’s worth of A La Carte. When that happens I like to create a Sunday edition. And that’s exactly what I am doing today since I didn’t want to miss sharing any of it. So here we go…

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How to really encourage your pastor
Ian Carmichael offers some counsel on how to really encourage your pastor. “Here’s the main point I want to make: there is no such thing as a dispassionate pastor. Can a pastor really feel no emotion about the welfare of his people?” I sure hope not…
Family Partners: Men and Women Serving Together in God’s Church
Denise Hardy reflects on many years spent serving on staff at churches, often as the only female staff member. “There are examples in the scriptures of men and women working alongside one another for the sake of the gospel. We should want to follow the model given to us. How can we do this? What keeps us from doing this? We need a theological vision of brothers and sisters working shoulder-to-shoulder for the sake of the gospel.”
How Do You Resurrect an Empty Church?
I don’t often link to articles on Slate, but in this case I was interested in their look at a quickly growing number of empty church buildings across America. “It is a story replaying over and over in cities across the United States, where older churches have been hammered by neighborhood change and maintenance costs, coinciding with a national trend of plummeting religious attendance across faiths.” We see this happening all across Canada as well.
What Does Ecclesiastes 1:2 Mean?
We all know that Ecclesiastes is awfully concerned with “vanity.” But what exactly is bound up in that word? And what makes it so important?
Should Our Joy Depend on Our Circumstances?
“When I was a young pastor, a church elder detected my discouragement one day and gently said, ‘It will look better in the morning.’ This simple advice has helped me countless times since. Often after I’ve experienced a good night’s sleep and a brisk run, God has felt nearer, my problems smaller, the solutions clearer, and my future brighter.”
Why you should recycle your sermons
Stephen encourages pastors to feel free to recycle their sermons rather than preparing a new one for each occasion.