Lisa Appelo's Blog, page 3

What We Can and Can’t Control in Grief

When life falls apart in unexpected loss, the myth that we’re in control comes crashing down along with so much else. Part of navigating loss is learning what we can and can’t control in grief.

Loss brings massive change. When we’re walking through the death of someone we love, an unwanted divorce, a diagnosis, or other major loss, the familiar disappears. The people, routines, plans and expectations we counted on are gone. Never have I felt so untethered as I have in trying to put life back together after loss.

When we realize we can’t control everything, we begin to wonder if we can control anything. But believing we’re simply a victim of circumstances, emotions, diagnoses or other people’s choices, can leave us reactionary and keep us from proactively moving forward.

The opposite can also happen. Unexpected suffering can make us grab control wherever we can to try and keep life from turning on a dime again and prevent any future pain.

In my own grief, I’ve had to check myself from either reaction. On one hand, my bucket list had imploded and it seemed useless to make long-range plans or dream new dreams. But I also clamped down on control and began parenting out of fear, as if I could keep life safe.

The truth about control is found in scripture, which gives us two truths that become guardrails for us as we walk through grief.

First, while we may not have control over everything, we are loved by a God who does. God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing happens to us, or our children, but that it first passes through the hand of God. God isn’t watching remotely, letting things randomly happen to us and around us. He’s in control, even when events appear random: “We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.” (Proverbs 16:33, NLT)

God is sovereign even over unexpected suffering. We see that in the life of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, taken to Egypt, falsely accused after serving faithfully, imprisoned and seemingly forgotten. But God was in control over all of it: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (​Genesis 50:20, NL​T)

We aren’t like a pinball launched into a world where we randomly ping from one bell to the next until we give out and the game is over. God is sovereign over our life and orders our ways with intention and purpose.

Second, while we can’t control everything, God gives us control over some things.

God has made us stewards over creation, our families and our spiritual gifts. He gives us not only free will to make choices but wisdom to choose well.

As we walk through suffering, it’s helpful to see what we can and can’t control. Let’s take a look at both.

What We Can’t Control in Grief

Massive change

          Loss brings massive change to our relationships, finances, identity, daily rhythms, and more. These are often the natural fallout of loss of any kind. It’s also why we keep “bumping into” grief as we encounter one more way life has changed.

Our emotions

          Loss ushers in a messy mix of emotions like sadness, loneliness, regret, anger, despair and more. They’re typically called negative emotions, but I prefer calling them hard emotions. These emotions are signs of life gone wrong, not that we’re grieving wrong.

The intensity of our emotions

          Just as we can’t control what or when our emotions come, we can’t control their intensity. I’d never tasted despair until I walked through the sudden loss of my husband. I carried a physical pain of anguish through the day and a deep ache of loneliness each night that was unbearable but for the grace of God.

Loss of identity

          Loss of identity is one of the secondary losses in grief. It may be loss of a role like wife, mother, or child. It may be a job or position. Or it may be the vibrant, energetic person we were before loss. Along with loss of identity come unwanted new titles: Widow. Single parent. Orphan. Divorcee. Infertile. Patient.  

The time it takes to grieve

We can’t rush grief. Grief takes as long as it takes. I naively thought if I could just make it through all the firsts, I’d be okay by the second year. But in many ways, grief felt was worse that second year. Even after grief softens, it can rear up at milestones or on tender days.

How family or friends respond

          My family and friends were honestly amazing. I learned from them how to walk with someone in suffering. But I’ve heard from so many others whose family or friends not only didn’t show up for them but were downright hurtful. I’m so sorry if is one more grief on top of your loss.

The outcome

We can’t control every outcome. God will fulfill his promises but he’s not obligated to meet every longing. God didn’t heal my husband, but he has answered my cries for mercy over and over again as he’s walked us through grief.

What We Can Control in Grief

Massive changes we make

        Decision-making is difficult in the fog of grief, so it’s best to keep from making major changes in the first year after loss. Waiting until the second year to give away clothes or move from a beloved home can help you navigate one less major change in grief.

Our response to emotions

          We can’t choose our emotions, but we can choose whether we avoid them, mask them, or process them. We can choose whether we numb the pain through unhealthy choices or enter the pain so we can move through it. How we respond to suffering will have more impact on our life than the suffering itself.

Making space for grief

          Grief takes enormous physical, emotional, mental and spiritual space. Making space to grieve means allowing the tears, the questions, and the lament. It may mean saying no to volunteer work or outside commitments because we don’t have the energy in this season.

Expectations

          When we’re navigating excruciating waves of grief, we need to set aside expectations of how long it should take or how much we should be doing. We can let ourselves off the hook of keeping life just like it was before loss. It won’t always hurt so or consume so much of our time and energy, but while it does, we need to take grace for this season.

Comparison

          We can’t compare our loss to someone else’s loss or the way we grieve to the way others grieve. Some will find comfort in activity and community as they navigate loss. Some will find comfort in time alone or coffee with one friend. Some will express their emotions openly while others will grieve privately. Healthy grief doesn’t look the same for everyone.

Our thoughts

          Sudden loss ushers in all manner of fear, worry, regret and more. My mind was on overdrive and I felt paralyzed to move forward or make decisions. I had to learn to take my thoughts captive to the truth of Christ.

Anchoring in God’s Word

          When our circumstances are whispering lies, staying in God’s Word is key to staying anchored to truth. Find a daily rhythm through a Bible reading plan, Bible study or devotional that will keep you daily in scripture. God’s word reminds us of God’s character and his promises so that we can battle through the waves of grief that would otherwise sink us.

Choosing gratitude

          When life feels bad, we desperately need to see God’s goodness is for us. Cultivating daily gratitude is way more than keeping a list (though that’s a great start!). Choosing gratitude is asking God to help us see and capture his goodness for us and around us. It’s an absolute game changer and one of the best ways to proactively take steps forward in suffering. This free gratitude Bible reading plan can get you started.

Getting Enough Rest

Grief fatigue is real. You’re not alone if you’re exhausted in loss. Grieving depletes us physically as well as emotionally, spiritually and mentally and getting enough rest is crucial. But rest is more than sleep. Here are seven ways we need to rest as we grieve.

Finding community

          God doesn’t intend for us to go through suffering alone. Learning to receive help from others in grief is tough, but it’s an incredible blessing for both giver and receiver. It builds strong community and deep friendship. Part of God’s promised comfort comes through the hands and hearts of our church, friends and family. Finding others walking through grief helps us see we’re not alone.

Knowing what we can and can’t control in grief frees us to navigate loss in a healthy way. It helps us surrender what we can’t control to God while taking intentional steps to move forward where God has given us control.

The post What We Can and Can’t Control in Grief appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

31 Ways to Pray for a Grieving Friend

When we can’t fix the pain for a friend in fresh grief, we can pray. Only eternity will reveal the incredible impact when we pray for a grieving friend.

Prayer changes things. Prayer changes US. Praying for a friend isn’t the least we can; it’s the best we can do.

When I found myself suddenly navigating loss I didn’t see coming, I could tell people were praying for us. I could feel their prayer—which is hard to describe unless you’ve ever experienced it.

I knew friends were lifting us in prayer because, as brutal as grief was and though I was overwhelmed in every way, I surprisingly slept well each night. I had words in conversations with my children that were not my own. They felt like a download straight from the Holy Spirit that met us in that moment.

When people asked how they could help, I had a specific request ready to give them. I asked them to pray for a specific child, a certain need, a big decision I was facing or fear I was carrying. As I walked through new, hard steps in my grief, I took comfort knowing that trusted friends were carrying specific burdens in prayer.

How can you pray for your grieving friend?

First, I would say be a noticer. Listen to her heart as she shares and watch for God to alert you to any special needs or struggles. When God points those out to you, cover them in prayer. You can tell her you’re praying or simply lift her up on your own.

Next, be a long-haul prayer. While lots of people lean in to help immediately after a loss, many of those will fall away after a few weeks or months—not because they don’t care but because life is busy. Grief takes time, often much longer than we expect. Your grieving friend will need prayer throughout her grief journey.

Third, pray for your friend on the milestone days. Birthdays, anniversaries, dates of diagnosis and the day her loved one went to heaven will be especially tender. Note those in your calendar and pray for her on those days.

Finally, use this list of 31 prayers to as a prayer guide. Pray one each day or choose to pray one through the week.

31 Ways to Pray for Your Grieving Friend

1. Pray she leans into God’s strong comfort.

2 Pray she draws on God’s strength in her weakness for each hard step ahead.

3. Pray for wisdom as she makes hard decisions.

4. Pray she’ll recognize where the enemy is trying to get a foothold in her pain.

5. Pray she’ll take every lie captive to the truth.

6. Pray she’ll let go of regret and trust God’s timing and ways.

7. Pray she casts every anxiety on the Lord.

8. Pray she will forgive where needed.

9. Pray she’ll take every hard question to God.

10. Pray she’ll see God’s goodness and thank him.

11. Pray she draws near to God and not away.

12. Pray God’s Word becomes her delight.

13. Pray for her as she sorts through memories and treasures left behind.

14. Pray for peace amid the massive changes right now.

15, Pray she finds God her sufficiency in all things.

16. Pray she’ll hear clearly from God.

17. Pray she’ll trust God when she doesn’t understand.

18. Pray she’ll walk deeply in God’s grace over each fresh wave of pain.

19. Pray she knows God’s infinite, boundless love.

20. Pray she knows God is for her.

21. Pray for pockets of joy.

22. Pray she’ll cling to hope and not give in to despair.

23. Pray for her loneliness.

24. Pray for her prayers and lament to robust, honest, and continual.

25. Pray she goes to God for comfort rather than any thing or substance.

26. Pray she sleeps well at night and wakes rested.

27. Pray each morning she re-aligns her heart to God’s.

28. Pray for her financial needs.

29. Pray that she’s able to eat well and beneficially.

30. Pray she won’t rush or stuff or mask grief.

31. Pray she’ll release control, tenderly surrender the life she thought she’d have and wholly trust God for her future.

The post 31 Ways to Pray for a Grieving Friend appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

How God Meets Us in Loneliness

I plunked down on the couch with the house finally quiet at the end of another full day. But the silence I once craved, I now dreaded. My alone time had become aching loneliness.

A few months earlier, I’d gone to bed happily married and woken up a sudden widow and single mom to our seven children. The days of single parenting were hard enough, but at least they were filled with activities that kept me busy—mornings of homeschool or co-op classes and afternoons with extracurriculars and sports practices.

After getting dinner on the table, cleaning up, and bathing the youngest kids, I’d settle into the family room recliner with our current read-aloud while my children snuggled on the couch or sprawled on floor pillows. Afterward, my older children would go upstairs to read on their own or finish schoolwork as I tucked the littlest two into bed.

But then I had hours to myself, something I’d once relished. Without the distraction of kids or a to-do list though, I was forced to sit with the pain. And honestly, the ache felt too much to bear. I never knew loss and loneliness could physically hurt.

Maybe you’re lonely in a houseful of people. Maybe you’re lonely in a marriage you desperately wish could fill you. Maybe you’ve found yourself feeling alone as you search for a new church home or slide into a seat at the church you’ve called home for years.

Maybe you’re lonely after your best friend died, or your sister or your parent. You reach for the phone to send that text or check in on them only to remember—the last text has been sent. They no longer need you to check in on them like you did all those months.

We’re in a crisis of loneliness experts tell us. Never before have we in the United States, and likely the western world, been so lonely, isolated and disconnected from each other.

Connecting through social media may give us the illusion we’re connected, but it’s a disappointing substitute for in-person relationships. Online interactions lack any kind of physical touch (a handshake, hug or even the clinking of glasses), and the facial expressions, tears and laughter that help us attach deeply.

When we scroll Instagram or Facebook, we aren’t cooking together, shopping together or laughing over a crazy game of pickleball. Social media doesn’t let us build the layers of shared connection that make for meaningful relationships.

In fact, it begs us to compare our less-than life to everyone’s amazing highlight reels, leaving us feeling even more alone.

I wish I could tell you there’s a way to fix loneliness. But trying to numb the pain on our own would only make our circumstances worse.

I wish I could tell you you’ll get used to it. While for me the raw pain has definitely softened and many evenings I go to sleep happily exhausted from the fullest kind of day, I still have plenty of nights where I pull up the covers up on my side of the king-sized bed with a slow sigh as loneliness hangs in the still darkness.

Later this week, I’ll share the practical ways I’ve found to manage loneliness. But today, I want to share the one thing that’s helped me most when I’ve thought the ache of loneliness would swallow me whole.

Because we have Someone to help us in it.

How God Meets Us in Loneliness

Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (ESV) It’s that “very present” help I’ve come to lean on in my hardest moments of loneliness.

At times, I’ve audibly cried out to God or spoken aloud my frustrations. But mostly it’s my heart quietly connected to his—lifting my raw ache, my deepest prayers, my hardest emotions and my tenderest hopes to him.

When I lean into God, God wraps me with real comfort. God is our “Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3, ESV) That word comfort in the Greek is paráklēsis. “Para” means side by side or next to and klesis means a call or invitation.1

God comes alongside us, intimately meeting us in our loneliness. His presence is different than the human connection of a hug or knowing smile. But God’s comfort is real. And it is enough to get us through the most painful, isolating, aching moments.

God’s grace doesn’t just save us and then leave us to fight it out this side of heaven alone. God’s grace beautifully, fully and satisfyingly sustains us.

In the cavernous ache of loss, you and I are not alone. God doesn’t keep us from excruciating times of loneliness and pain. He keeps us in them. He sustains us through them. And He comforts us with himself.

Sometimes that’s breath by breath. Sometimes it’s from one lonely evening or new church visit or empty conversation to another.

In our deepest ache, God’s presence comforts deeper.

Thank You, God, that You will never leave me alone and that You are with me in my sorrow. Comfort me with Your presence. Keep me from any unhealthy choice in my pain. Thank You for Your grace that doesn’t just save me but sustains me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. https://biblehub.com/greek/3874.htm

The post How God Meets Us in Loneliness appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

Best Christmas Songs to Comfort in Grief

The pain of grieving becomes magnified at Christmas time. While the rest of the world decks the halls all merry and bright, the holidays are another stinging reminder of the deep loss in grief.

I remember facing our first Christmas in fresh grief. I desperately wanted to give my seven children joy. Goodness knows we needed joy. But we also needed comfort and I couldn’t imagine how to pull off a Christmas that would bring sparkle to their eyes without Dan.

Grief doesn’t take a holiday. Grief becomes even harder at Christmas when you can no longer fill their stocking, when there’s a gaping hole in every photo, when they’re missing at every holiday moment.

I needed a playlist of Christmas songs that made room for sorrow but also pointed me to hope. Because though the season can be hard, Christmas reminds us of the hope born in a manger — that Jesus came to be with us in our pain and redeem us to spend eternity with him.

I’ve curated a playlist of Christmas songs to comfort in grief. You can access the full playlist on Spotify or scroll through the songs included here. May these Christmas songs bring comfort to you in grief this Christmas season.

The post Best Christmas Songs to Comfort in Grief appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

Finding God in Grief: 5 More Names of God

[image error]

Finding God in grief is as close as opening the pages of scripture. The Bible tells us over and over that God is with us in our sorrow.

In a bittersweet paradox after Dan went to heaven, I endured the worst pain I’d ever felt while also experiencing God more intimately than I ever had.

But I know from walking with others who are grieving that experience isn’t universal. Friends have said finding God in their grief was difficult. They felt distant from him – though God never abandons us.

One way to draw closer to God in grief is through his names. Each name of God reminds us of who he is and how he cares for us.

I first wrote about . But there were too many names to cover and I knew this would be at least a three-part series.

So today, I’m sharing five more names of God to know when you’re walking through grief.

Finding God in Grief Through His Names

Jehovah Shalom: The LORD My Peace

Deep loss rocks our world like little else. It wrings us out emotionally, physically, mentally and even spiritually leaving us exhausted.

The death of a child or spouse, sibling or parent, the unwanted loss of a marriage and losses in chronic diagnoses or finances upend our routines and bring enormous change. Grief causes intense stress which can affect sleep, eating, immunity, health and mental focus.

And yet in the midst of deep grief, it’s possible to be anchored by deeper peace.

Jehovah Shalom is our peace.

The name Jehovah Shalom is found in Judges 6:24. For seven years, the Midianites rampaged Israel, destroying crops and livestock and leaving the nation impoverished and terrified.

In the midst of this terror, the angel of God appeared to Gideon and called him to conquer the Midianites. Gideon protested that he was incapable.

“But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace.” (Judges 6:24, ESV)

Jehovah is God’s name reflecting his eternal, unchanging nature. Shalom is the Hebrew word translated peace but encompasses more than our English translation captures. Shalom means completeness, soundness, well-being, safety, prosperity, health, and peace. 

When life falls apart around us, God does not. God’s unflinching character and unchanging promises mean we can have peace in the midst of suffering.

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.” (2 Thess. 3:16, ESV)

Jehovah Nissi: The LORD My Banner

I never knew grief was such a fight! It’s a struggle to find joy and our emotions work to convince us we’ll never smile again. Even managing everyday issues like a broken water heater feel like another hard battle to get through.

Then there’s the enemy. When we’re at our weakest, he comes at us with lies, discouragement and despair.

Finding God in grief means finding the One who fights for us.

Jehovah Nissi means the LORD my banner and it’s a military name found in Exodus 17. Just before the Hebrews reached Mt. Sinai, they were attacked by the Amalekites, who ruthlessly struck from the rear targeting the weakest in the community.

As Israel fought the Amalekites, Moses stood on a hill with his staff raised high. When Moses held up the staff, Israel gained but when Moses’ arms tired and he lowered the staff, the Amalekites gained. Aaron and Hur came alongside, lifting Moses’ arms until evening when Israel triumphed.

But the staff didn’t win the battle. Moses recognized God had fought for Israel.

“Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means ‘the Lord is my banner’).” (Ex. 17:15, ESV)

The battles in grief are too much for us.

Just yesterday, a sweet widow in my online group posted she couldn’t take it anymore. Others immediately replied with encouragement and prayers, figuratively holding her arms up in battle. That evening she posted again, noting the prayers had carried her through that hard place.

When grief threatens to pull us under, we need to let others hold our arms up in prayer.

God who fought for Israel and overcame their enemy is the same God who fights for us and has overcome ours.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31, ESV)

Jehovah Ezer: The LORD My Help

I can’t tell you how many times I cried out to God to help in my grief. I’ve learned that “Help!” is a complete prayer!

God offers divine help and as such, it’s unlike anything we could ask for or imagine. His wisdom, his provision, his rescue and his restoration are beyond what we can see and think.

Ezer, the Hebrew word for help, is almost always used in scripture to refer to God’s divine help, especially in insurmountable difficulty.

God’s help comes in situations where if God doesn’t act, we have no hope.

Psalm 33:20 says, “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield” and Psalm 124:8 says, “Our help is in the name of the Lord.”

Friend, in circumstances that cause us to be helplessly dependent on God, we can count on God being our ever-present help.

“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:6, ESV)

Jehovah Rohi: The Lord My Shepherd

The first words of Psalm 23 are familiar to so many, in and outside the church. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

David, the shepherd who became king, penned these words about the King who was his Shepherd. (Jennifer Rothschild, Psalm 23 Bible study)

What was the role of the ancient shepherd? The shepherd guided his sheep, providing for their needs. The shepherd provided such protection the sheep were able rest on all fours in complete safety. The shepherd knew each sheep and watched over each one individually, bringing back any that wandered from his protective care.

Loss throws us into a wilderness we never saw coming. It doesn’t feel like lush pastureland or still waters, but God tenderly provides everything we need in this unexpected place.

God guides us through each hard step, walks with us through the valley of the shadow and protects us from the enemy.

And while our wandering heart may question or even push against God, God never abandons or leaves us.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…” (John 10:14, ESV)

El Olam: God Everlasting

The death of a loved one helps us see that this world is not our home.

The things of this world grow strangely dim as we realize our time on earth is short, but our time in heaven is long.

The name El Olam is revealed in Genesis 21 when Abraham made a covenant with two Philistine rulers to protect a well he dug in Canaan. After making the covenant, he planted a tamarisk tree.

“Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.” (Gen. 21:33, ESV)

Abraham was a sojourner in Canaan — God had promised the land to his descendants but wouldn’t give it to Israel until centuries later. Abraham’s actions in digging a well and planting a tamarisk tree in land he didn’t yet own showed he believed God would fulfill his promise.

We too are sojourners waiting for the promised land of heaven.

Are we taking actions in the years God gives us on earth that show we truly believe in eternity? Where am I investing my time? My priorities? My hope?

As hard as grief is, it can serve to point us to what matters. Our everlasting God can use loss to align our hear to his.

Our sorrow will end. God will not only wipe every one of our tears but he will redeem them.

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deut. 33:27, ESV)

The post appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

Christian Songs on Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Curating these Christian songs on gratitude and thanksgiving has taken me to church, right here on my back porch tapping on my keyboard. And that’s the thing about giving God thanks — it’s not just for Sundays or one day in November.

Scripture tells us to speak to each other “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 5:19-20, ESV)

God tells us to give thanks always and for everything because he knows the incredible power of gratitude.

Worshipping with songs of gratitude turns our focus from our situation to our Savior.

God is good, God is good to us and God’s goodness is at work right now for us. Our circumstances, dark or painful as they may be, can never define who God is.

Listening or singing along to a playlist of Christian songs on gratitude and thanksgiving is one more way to cultivate hearts of gratitude.

I was brought to tears several times as I created this playlist. It starts with current worship and contemporary Christian songs and finishes with modern hymns. You can find the full list on Spotify as well.

Whether you’re doing the #30daystogratitude challenge, want a playlist for the fall or Thanksgiving season, or want to worship God in thankfulness, this gratitude playlist is one to mark and listen to on repeat.

21+ Christian Songs on Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Gratitude, by Brandon Lake

Thank You Jesus for the Blood, Charity Gayle

Be Glad, Cody Carnes

Goodness of God, Cece Winans

You’re So Good, Passion and Kristian Stanfill

You Are Good, Kari Jobe

Jesus Thank You, Katy Nicole

For the Good, Riley Clemons

The Goodness, Toby Mac and Blessing Offor

10,000 Reasons Matt Redman

Good, Good Father, Chris Tomlin

How Great Thou Art, Carrie Underwood

Good God Almighty, Crowder

My Tribute (To God Be the Glory), Natalie Grant & Cece Winans

Counting Every Blessing, Rend Collective

Thank God for Sunday Morning, Cochren & Co.

Lauren Daigle Thank God I Do, Lauren Daigle

I Thank God, Maverick City

Modern Hymns of Gratitude and Thankfulness

Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King, Gateway Music

My Heart is Filled With Thankfulness, Keith and Kristyn Getty

Doxology, Anthem Lights with Selah

Surely Goodness, Surely Mercy (Psalm 23), Shane and Shane with The Brooklyn Tabernacle

Praise to the Lord the Almighty, Travis Cottrell and Angela Cruz

The post Christian Songs on Gratitude and Thanksgiving appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

Names of God that Comfort in Grief

God’s names are deeply meaningful in grief. When we’re grieving the death of a loved one or miscarriage, mourning an unwanted divorce or suffering from a devastating diagnosis, the names of God that comfort in grief anchor us to real hope.

This is the first in a series of posts on the names of God that comfort in grief. Today, we’ll look at five powerful names of God, their Biblical context and how they help us when we’re grieving.

Why are God’s Names Comforting?

The names of God, unveiled in scripture from Genesis to Revelation, help us understand God’s nature and his character.

See, knowing who God is helps us trust what he does.

In the Old Testament, God’s names are often revealed within a narrative or event giving us insight into who God is and how he deals with humanity.

In the New Testament, Jesus declares who he is through his names. He is the Light of the World, the Living Water, the True Vine.

Psalm 9:10 says, “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”

Knowing the names of God helps us know him more and deepens our faith. God hasn’t forsaken us. In heart-wrenching pain, we can trust God walks with us in our grief and loss.

Names of God that Comfort in Grief

El Shaddai: God Almighty

God revealed himself as El Shaddai to Abraham in Genesis:

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly. (Gen. 17:1-2, ESV)

Traditionally translated as “God Almighty” or “God Most Powerful”, El Shaddai points to God not just being all powerful but also all sufficient.

God promised Abraham would have an heir and yet Abraham waited almost 25 years for God to fulfill that promise. Month after month, year after year, Sarah remained barren until at 9o years old, she was well past childbearing age.

God’s promise now seemed impossible. But the impossible was precisely when God chose to fulfill his promise to Abraham.

After Dan died, I questioned how in the world God would mend eight broken hearts. How would I provide for my family, lead seven children as a single mom and raise them to adults? Everything seemed impossible, from fixing the broken water heater to stepping into an unknown future.

When life empties, we’re at a place to know God as the all sufficient One. And when the way forward seems impossible, especially after seemingly unanswered prayer, we need to know God is all powerful.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1, ESV)

El Roi: God Who Sees Me

So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

The name El Roi means “God of seeing” or “God who sees me.”

This name of God is revealed by Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant, after she fled to the desert to escape Sarah’s cruel mistreatment. Alone and despairing, the angel of God appeared to Hagar.

When all seemed lost, God reassured Hagar he had a hope and future for her. She would have Abraham’s son who would be the father of a multitude.   

God sees not only our plight but our heart. He knows our pain, worries and regrets that no one else sees. We may feel alone, but God sees and cares. And when we look to him, he will guide us forward.

Do you feel isolated by your suffering? Have you questioned whether God is even paying attention or cares about your situation? He is El Roi, the God who sees you right now, who knows your heart and who knows the way he will take you.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. (1 Peter 3:12, ESV)

Jehovah Rapha: The Lord My Healer

In Exodus 15, God reveals himself as Jehovah Rapha – the God who heals. After God miraculously split the Red Sea and delivered the Israelites from Egypt and their pursuing enemy, he led them on a three-day journey into the wilderness.

When they ran out of water, God led them to Marah, but its water was bitter and undrinkable. The people grumbled against Moses and Moses cried out to the Lord. God told Moses to throw a log into the water, making the bitter water sweet.

The Lord used this first difficulty in their wilderness journey to test and teach them.

“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” (Ex. 15:26, ESV)

God had intentionally led them to a place of desperate need where he revealed himself by a new name: Jehovah Rapha. God is healer over our mind, body and soul.

While we often cry out to God for physical healing (and God can and does physically heal), our greater need is spiritual healing. By the wounds of Jesus, our soul is healed. (Isaiah 53:3, ESV)

God also promises to heal our grief. He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18, NIV)

But places of suffering allowed by God are always places of testing. Will we trust God through pain as well as prosperity? Will we worship him when life empties just as we do when life fills?

In excruciating grief, we can give our broken heart and broken dreams to God, knowing he is our God Who Heals.

H e heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147: 3 , ESV)

Jehovah Jireh: The Lord My Provider

I’ve known the name Jehovah Jireh for a long time thanks to a couple popular songs but I’d forgotten the Biblical context for this name. In Genesis 22, God instructs Abraham to take his son Isaac to Moriah to sacrifice him there. Abraham stunningly and immediately obeys, trusting God would provide the lamb for the offering.

God didn’t provide the lamb along the three-day journey. He didn’t provide it as Abraham and Isaac climbed Mt. Moriah or as Abraham tied his beloved son to the alter. But as Abraham took the knife for sacrifice, God stopped him and there provided fully and sufficiently with a ram caught in the thickets.

“Abraham called the name of that place, ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’” (Gen. 22:14, ESV)

Dan’s death opened the door to a host of worries. We were a one-income family and that income was now gone.

I desperately needed God to provide for us. Not just financially, but I needed his sustaining grace for pain too hard to bear, his wisdom for single parenting and his guidance for overwhelming decisions.

Looking back over the last twelve years, I can clearly see how God meet every need. I still look to him to provide and trust implicitly that he is my Jehovah Jireh.

The One who did not move your mountain has led you to climb it an d will himself provide for you in this place.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19, ESV)

Jehovah Tsuri: The Lord My Rock

Several years ago, I was whitewater kayaking when my kayak got caught in a hydraulic. For several minutes, I fought to get out of it, finally bailing into the rapids as the hydraulic pulled my inflatable kayak into the vortex. I was able to steer toward a large boulder, cling to it as I caught my breath and stand on it to keep from being carried away by the rapids.  

Grief feels like getting caught in a maelstrom that just may pull us under. Fear surrounds us, we have to navigate massive change and we’re up against hard emotions like sorrow, regret and despair.

Psalm 18:2 says, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

In the turbulence of grief, we can cling to God. His steady faithfulness is our foundation when life implodes. We can count on his constant care and his promises that never change even when everything around us is swirling.

What are you grasping for in grief? Has loss revealed relationships, roles and dreams you thought would always be there?

God is our only sure foundation who will hold us up when we’re neck deep in grief.

Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any. (Isa. 44:8, ESV)

As we walk through grief, we can take our lament, questions and pain to God and trust the One who is richer, deeper, more loving and more caring than we could ever wrap our minds around.

The post appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

3 Ways to Find Joy in Every Season

When circumstances threaten to steal our joy, these three steps can help us find joy in every season. I’m welcoming author and Bible teacher Doris Swift to share today.

I miss my grandparents—and my Italian grandma’s cooking. While her house wasn’t over the river and through the woods, it was up a hill and through a neighbor’s yard. As a young girl, I often ventured up that hill to catch a glimpse of the split-level home sitting on a quiet cul-de-sac.

Did I cut through the neighbor’s yard to get there—yep, I sure did. I loved that shortcut—just not sure the neighbor appreciated it.

I’d ring the doorbell and peer through the side window, my breath fogging the glass as I waited to surprise Grandma. She’d appear at the top of the stairs, and upon seeing my face, I’d hear her shout, “Doris!” as she made her way to greet me.

I loved being Grandma’s surprise at the door. Little did I know, Mom always phoned Grandma to let her know I was heading her way.

A Recipe for a Joyful Heart

No matter the hour of the day, something was always cooking at Grandma’s house. The aroma of a hearty lasagna or chunky pasta fagioli wafted through the air and enveloped you the moment you walked over the threshold. To this day, pasta sauce simmering on the stove, with just the right amount of garlic, takes me back to my grandma’s house.

Our senses help us remember what our hearts can’t forget.

After my parents, sister and I moved to Florida, my grandparents followed us there. Grandma had a new home in a new state, yet the same familiar flavors and aromas followed her. Those same pots and pans, well-seasoned and misshapen from years of cooking up storms of goodness, followed her there too.

I can still hear her voice asking, “Are you hungry, Doris?” Of course, I always said yes to whatever Grandma offered—unless it was liver and onions.

We do that sometimes with Jesus, don’t we? We want what Jesus offers, but when life throws liver and onions at us (no offense if you like liver and onions), we turn our backs on joy.

When that happens, we can take grace for ourselves and remember we have all the ingredients we need for joy — Jesus and the joy he offers. That’s a recipe for a joyful heart.

I’d love to say I own a treasury of grandma’s recipe cards, but I don’t. Italian grandmas never need recipe cards—they know by heart what works. A pinch of this and a splash of that; there you have it, a meal made with love.

I may not have a legacy worth of recipe cards, but you know what? Now I’m an Italian grandma and can make a mean lasagna.

A legacy is more than carrying on—it’s knowing by heart what to carry forward.

I miss grandma’s cooking, but I miss my grandma more. Life has moved on, and not having her around can threaten to steal my joy — but my joy is not up for grabs.

My joy is a gift from Jesus, just like grandma was, and your joy is too.

How to Find that Joy?

Joy is supernatural, a fruit of the Spirit, and no matter our circumstances or trials, our joy cannot be stolen. Knowing that truth is comforting, amen? Although sometimes it’s hard to find joy amid difficult seasons, like missing a loved one, our joy runs deep.

John 15:11 tells us Jesus placed his joy in us so that our joy would be full. We are filled with Jesus’s joy which fills us to overflowing. But sometimes we forget that truth.

When we can’t find joy, we haven’t lost it — we just need to rediscover it. We need to be reminded that joy is constant regardless of what we see and feel. It’s there because Jesus placed it there, and he will never take it back.

Here are 3 ways to find joy:

Remember joy is a promise. Jesus promises joy regardless of our season or circumstances.Rediscover joy through surrender. Jesus invites us to cast our cares on him.Receive joy with open arms. Jesus has freely given his joy to us.

We can walk in joy when we lean on the promise, surrender our worry and open our hands to receive what God has in this season.  

Grandma will always be in my heart, and I take joy in the blessed hope that I will see her again in glory. Until then, I’m living a joyful life as a Gammy myself to six amazing grandkids. The baton has been passed, a legacy lives on and the heart carries forward with joy.

 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11, ESV)

Doris Swift is an author, speaker, founder of Fierce Calling Ministries, and host of the award-winning Fierce Calling podcast. She’s passionate about equipping women to dig deeper into God’s word and walk boldly in their fierce calling. Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You, is her new six-week study in John 15. Doris resides in Central Florida with husband Brian, is mom to her son and daughter and their spouses, and Gammy to six awesome grandkids. Connect with at Doris at dorisswift.com for more resources.

The post 3 Ways to Find Joy in Every Season appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

Summer Reading List 2023

I just finished my Summer Reading List 2023 and I’m sharing it with you. Because summer reading isn’t just for kids.

We’re one week away from fully embracing our summer schedule and I cannot wait. I love the longer days and lighter schedules because both mean more time for reading.

This summer, I’m taking it up a notch. While I usually create a summer reading log for my kids, I’m making one for me as well. I’m using this summer reading tracker in my planner.

That means I’ll also need my own reward system. Why have I never thought of this before?? Prizes will most definitely include a pedi at some point, a favorite candle and a trip to the movies by myself.

This kind of planning is a poignant reminder of how far I’ve come since loss. I have bandwidth for summer reading, totally absent in the survival days of early grief. I can think playfully, a gift after life got so bleak and serious. And I can dream — a sign that life can be good again.

Okay, onto my picks for the summer reading list 2023. I’ve divided the list into non-fiction (what I read most and all through the year), fiction (Christian or clean) and just for fun (because summer oughta be lighter!).

Note: I have a book club announcement coming for my book Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your World Back Together After It All Falls Apart. Make sure to subscribe to email if you want the information first!

Summer Reading List: Nonfiction

1. Building a Resilient Life: How Adversity Awakens Strength, Hope and Meaning, Rebekah Lyons

This book wasn’t initially on my summer reading list, but Rebekah swayed me as she talked on several podcasts about how we build resiliency and help our children build it. Resilience isn’t a by-product of suffering but choices we make in suffering. From Amazon: “Rebekah offers five practical, life-changing rules that help you live into God’s unshakable peace in a world that seems more uncertain every day.”

2. Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and Comfort of God, Tim Challies

Tim Challies is a blogger, author and pastor whose oldest son was away at college when he collapsed suddenly and died. Tim got the news in Canada and began processing his grief through words. Seasons of Sorrow is his nearly real-time journey of grief in that first year.

3. Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering, Timothy Keller

As I wrote earlier, this will be the summer of Keller for me. I’ve already begun re-reading this book on suffering. Keller compares the Biblical/Christian position on suffering to that held by other religions and cultural thought. He addresses hard questions head on and sifts them through scripture. The book also has personal testimonies of friends and congregants who experienced various kinds of pain and suffering.

4. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Timothy Keller

Prayer is the one practice nearly every believer says they could do more and do better. Why pray if God is sovereign, what do we pray and how do we persist in prayer? From Amazon: Keller “discusses ways to make prayers more personal and powerful, and how to establish a practice of prayer that works for each reader.”

Summer Reading List: Fiction

1.The Watchmaker’s Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom, Larry Loftis

This book unpacks the story of the ten Boom family, a devout Christian family who supported the Dutch underground and saved hundreds of Jewish lives during WWII. If you’ve read Corrie’s autobiography, The Hiding Place, Loftis fleshes out a fuller story adding historical context and details drawn from interviews and letters that reveal this family’s costly courage and enduring faith. My father-in-law was saved in Corrie ten Boom’s home after release from a concentration camp in WWII, so her ministry is precious to us.

2. Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story), Daniel Nayeri

This book won NYT Best Book of the Year, NPR Best Book of the Year, Amazon Best Book of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year. Khosrou (Daniel) and his mother become refugees after she converts to Christianity in Iran. Hiding and then fleeing to other countries, they finally land in Oklahoma. From Amazon: With a “distinct literary style…Nayeri deftly weaves through stories of the long and beautiful history of his family in Iran, adding a richness of ancient tales and Persian folklore.”

3. The Secret Book of Flora Lea: A Novel, Patti Callahan Henry

I discovered Patti Callahan Henry through her sister — author and Bible teacher Jeannie Cunnion (I just finished and highly recommend her study Never Alone: Parenting in the Power of the Holy Spirit). This Patti Henry book became an instant NYT best-seller. In 1939, after Hazel and her little sister Flora evacuate war-torn London to a rural village, Flora vanishes while playing along the Thames River. Twenty years later, Hazel’s tidy world of Sotheby’s and her Bloomsbury flat is interrupted when she gets a package holding secrets to Flora’s disappearance. From Amazon: “As Hazel embarks on a feverish quest…an astonishing twist ultimately reveals the truth…about the bond between sisters, the complications of conflicted love, and the enduring magic of storytelling.”

4. Edenbrooke, by Julianne Donaldson

This novel is billed as clean fiction akin to Pride and Prejudice with a heart-swooning romance. It even starts in Bath. From Amazon: “When an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry.” I’m all in for an old-fashioned Miss Bennett and Mr. Darcy like story.

Summer Reading List: Just For Fun

1.Cousin Camp: A Grandparent’s Guide to Creating Fun, Faith, and Memories that Last, Susan Yates

This has been on my TBR list for a while! I’ve gone from zero to eight grandkids in a blink, with two more on the way. It’s exhilerating in every way, but I have big dreams of doing this Nonni thing well. Susan Yates has hosted Cousin Camp for her 21 grandchildren for years and shares ideas for meaningful, lasting connection.

2. Stuff I’d Only Tell God: A Guided Journal of Courgeous Honesty, Obsessive Truth-Telling, and Beautifully Ruthless Self-discovery, Jennifer Dukes Lee

This book is part diary, part wonky tell-all. It’s a mix of deep, soul-searching ponderings and zany, out-of-the-box questions. As an interactive, conummable book, it’s meant to be written in and worked through. I plan to answer one or two questions a day to help pull out some things I might not otherwise consider. Some days will be wacky and other days will make me pause, reflect, remember, confess, think.

3. Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood, Ashlee Gadd

How to find time to create when our days are filled with mothering? Even with older children, adult children and now grandchildren, I’m still toggling between the two. Creating for me comes mostly through writing and it feeds my soul. As a single mom, it’s my work as well. Maybe your creativity is gardening, design, music or photography. I can’t wait to dive into this conversation on stewarding our creative gifts and motherhood.

4. Well Made, Meredith Mann

I need some serious kitchen inspiration and the peachiespoon.com dishes it up. Meredith is a certified holistic nutritionist focusing on blood sugar balanced recipes. I pretty much drool over her Instagram posts like this one and this one. Last summer I was in book launch mode and my kids fended dinner for themselves quite a bit. This summer, I’m ready to get back in my cooking groove. You can also find her recipes at her blog and Instagram.

Can I note that our summer hasn’t technically started and I’m almost done with two books on this list? Which means I’ve got a prize coming soon. Here’s to summer and to all that it will hold for us.

The post Summer Reading List 2023 appeared first on Lisa Appelo.

40 Tim Keller Quotes on Suffering and Hope

It may be the summer of Tim Keller for me. His death a few weeks ago stirred me to revisit several of his books and put others on my summer reading list.

Tim Keller (1950-2023) was the founding pastor of Redeemer Church in Manhattan along with his wife, Kathy, and the best-selling author of multiple books. One of his first books I read was Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering.

Ten years after writing this book on suffering, Keller was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Last month, after three years of treatments, Tim Keller entered hospice and just a day later, went to his heavenly home.

In the weeks since, I re-read his book on suffering as well as a few others, pulling my favorite Tim Keller quotes on suffering and hope.

(I’m a quote collector for sure. I’ve curated my favorite Elisabeth Elliot quotes on suffering and 50 best quotes of Billy Graham.)

A theology of suffering is vital to walking through suffering well. It’s not that understanding the Biblical basis for suffering answers all of our questions, but that in the middle of crisis or tragedy, we can trust God is in control and our hope is sure.

Books with Tim Keller Quotes

These aren’t pithy little quips. Keller’s writing is Biblically-rich, culturally-relevant and well-reasoned. Many of these quotes are meaty and take considerate ruminating. If you’d like to read these quotes in context of the full work, nearly all of these quotes have been pulled from the following excellent Tim Keller books:

Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

Making Sense of God: Finding God in the Modern World

Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

On Death

Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and Meaning of Easter

Tim Keller Quotes on Suffering

“One of the main ways we move from abstract knowledge about God to a personal encounter with him as a living reality is through the furnace of affliction.”

“Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you.”

“Any person who only sticks with Christianity as long as things are going his or her way, is a stranger to the cross.”

“Why should we be surprised, then, asked Luther, that our lives are often filled with darkness and pain? Even God himself in Christ did not avoid that.”

“Everything in this life is going to be taken away from us, except one thing: God’s love, which can go into death with us and take us through it and into His arms.”

“God is very patient with us when we are desperate. Pour out your soul to him.”

“Just because you can’t see or imagine a good reason why God would allow something bad to happen doesn’t mean there can’t be one.”

“Only when our greatest love is God, a love that we cannot lose even in death, can we face all things with peace.”

“Jesus was patient under even greater suffering for us, so that we can be patient under lesser suffering for him.”

“…the deepest revelation of the character of God is in the weakness, suffering, and death of the cross. This is the ‘exact opposite of where humanity expected to find God.’”

“Christ’s miracles were not the suspension of the natural order but the restoration of the natural order. They were a reminder of what once was prior to the fall and a preview of what will eventually be a universal reality once again–a world of peace and justice, without death, disease, or conflict.”

“If you have ever been on a coast in a storm and seen the waves come in and hit the rocks, sometimes the waves are so large that they cover a particular rock, and you think, “That is the end of that rock.” But when the waves recede, there it is still. It hasn’t budged an inch. A person who feels the “peace that passes understanding” is like that. No matter what is thrown at you, you know it will not make you lose your footing.”

“You will never really understand your heart when things are going well. It is only when things go badly that you can see it truly. And that’s because it is only when suffering comes that you realize who is the true God and what are the false gods of your lives.”

“Only the true God can go with you through that furnace and out to the other side. The other gods will abandon you in the furnace.”

“[I]t is because God is all-powerful and sovereign that his suffering is so astonishing.”

“So suffering is at the very heart of the Christian faith. It is not only the way Christ became like and redeemed us, but it is one of the main ways we become like him and experience his redemption. And that means that our suffering, despite its painfulness, is also filled with purpose and usefulness.”

“And yet one of the main teachings of the Bible is that almost no one grows into greatness or finds God without suffering, without pain coming into our lives like smelling salts to wake us up to all sorts of facts about life and our own hearts to which we were blind.”

“As a man who seemed about to lose both his career and his family once said to me, “I always knew, in principle, that ‘Jesus is all you need’ to get through. But you don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”

“It takes the entire Bible to help us understand all the reasons that Jesus’ death on the cross was not just a failure and a tragedy but was consummate wisdom. It takes a major part of Genesis to help us understand God’s purposes in Joseph’s tribulations. Sometimes we may wish that God would send us our book—a full explanation! But even though we cannot know all the particular reasons for our crosses, we can look at the cross and know God is working things out.”

“The only love that won’t disappoint you is one that can’t change, that can’t be lost, that is not based on the ups and downs of life or of how well you live. It is something that not even death can take away from you. God’s love is the only thing like that.”

“But if there is a God great enough to merit your anger over the suffering you witness or endure, then there is a God great enough to have reasons for allowing it that you can’t detect. It is not logical to believe in an infinite God and still be convinced that you can tally the sums of good and evil as he does, or to grow angry that he doesn’t always see things your way.” The Atlantic

“… it is one thing to believe with certainty that honey is sweet, perhaps through the universal testimony of trusted people, but it is another to actually taste the sweetness of honey. The sense of the honey’s sweetness on the tongue brings a fuller knowledge of honey than any rational deduction. In the same way, it is one thing to believe in a God who has attributes such as love, power, and wisdom; it is another to sense the reality of that God in your heart.” The Atlantic

“Death was not part of God’s original design. We were not created to age, weaken, fade, and die. We were not created for love relationships that end in death. Death is an intrusion, a result of sin and our human race’s turning away from God. Our sense even now that we were made to last, that we were made for love without parting, is a memory trace of our divine origins. We are trapped in a world of death, a world for which we were not designed.”

“While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this life’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy.”

“So while Christianity never claims to be able to offer a full explanation of all God’s reasons behind every instance of evil and suffering — it does have a final answer to it. That answer will be given at the end of history and all who hear it and see its fulfillment will find it completely satisfying, infinitely sufficient.”

Tim Keller Quotes on Hope

“God’s reckless grace is our greatest hope.”

“Christ’s resurrection not only gives you hope for the future; it gives you hope to handle your scars right now.”

“Suffering is the stripping of our hope in finite things, therefore we do not put our ultimate hope in anything finite.”

“Human beings are hope-shaped creatures. The way you live now is completely controlled by what you believe about your future.”

“The glory of the Christian life is that we have a hope that overwhelms grief. It doesn’t eradicate it. It sweetens it. It overwhelms it.”

“Only an imperishable hope can satisfy the human heart.”

“But resurrection is not just consolation — it’s restoration.”

“Human beings are hope-shaped creatures. The way you live now is completely controlled by what you believe about the future.”

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

“Christians see hard things as indeed hard and not to be sought, but we have been armed with this great truth, namely that when received with faith in God, hard things lead to the best things.”

“The resurrection of Christ promises us not merely some future consolation for the life we lost but the restoration of the life we lost and infinitely more. It promises the world and life that we have always longed for but never had.”

“When Jesus Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane and the ultimate darkness was coming down on him and he knew it was coming, he didn’t abandon you; he died for you. If Jesus Christ didn’t abandon you in his darkness, the ultimate darkness, why would he abandon you now, in yours?”

“The implications of this are significant. If we overstress the ‘already’ of the kingdom to the exclusion of the ‘not yet,’ we will expect quick solutions to problems and we will be dismayed by suffering and tragedy. But we can likewise overstress the ‘not yet’ of the kingdom to the exclusion of the ‘already.’ We can be too pessimistic about personal change. We can withdraw from engaging the world, too afraid of being ‘polluted’ by it.”

“In short, God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knew.”

“To pray is to accept that we are, and always will be, wholly dependent on God for everything.”

The post 40 Tim Keller Quotes on Suffering and Hope appeared first on Lisa Appelo.