Featured Image: how many valleys must we walk through on our way to a summit? Our faith narrative is a journey through valleys, to the heights, and areas in between.
Quotes from Timothy Keller’s Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering. This book is an excellent resource for those walking through a difficult season in life. Join me in examining various quotes and insights. Emphasis mine, images created using Night Cafe Studio. Pastor Keller’s book is available:
https://www.amazon.com/Walking-God-through-Pain-Suffering/dp/1594634408
Problem with Modern Concept of Happiness (Timothy Keller)
“The problem is that contemporary people think life is all about finding happiness. We decide what conditions will make us happy and then we work to bring those conditions about.
To live for happiness means that you are trying to get something out of life. But when suffering comes along, it takes the conditions for happiness away, and so suffering destroys all your reason to keep living. But to “live for meaning” means not that you try to get something out of life but rather that life expects something from us.
In other words, you have meaning only when there is something in life more important than your own personal freedom and happiness, something for which you are glad to sacrifice your happiness.” Page 129
What if God has something far greater, something that transcends our personal happiness? Knowing Him fully is the greatest prize for any believer! I write these posts to share perspective and encourage you especially those who are walking through a valley of loss, disappointment, or other trials.
Jesus’ presence and touch heals the broken, struggling, and wounded!
Our Story: God as Author
Walking with God, seeking to know Him better is the path forward! God doesn’t minimize or dismiss our sorrows, He does something far greater! He redeems and restores! Pastor of Soul Care Dr. Robert Cheong explains:
Because of the fall, our tendency is to view every aspect of our life through the lens of our story, or the events and experiences that we encounter as we journey through life. Our reality becomes our reference point, or the filter through which we see and understand life.
But God begins to re-frame how we see and respond to life as we look up and realize we live in a bigger reality—God’s Story—where Jesus is our reference point, as he serves as our way, truth, and life. As we experience God’s heart through his story, and his words saturate and satisfy our souls, God changes our perspective and posture in life.
Source: Full Article:
He is the Author of our story even when we don’t understand the reasons or see any meaning for the trials, failures, and difficulties.
How Sharing Our Stories Glorifies God
“If we merely share our stories because our stories have defined us or have imprisoned us, then we run the risk of focusing on the past and ourselves. But when we reflect upon and share our stories within God’s story and with his eyes and heart, we find hope and healing. As we work through our story in light of God’s story, He will help us to see how he is with us, how he is at work redeeming our stories as he restores our souls. God frees us from the past to live in the present and to continue our journey with him in the future. When we share our stories in this way, God is the focus, and he is glorified.
We share insights, truths, and encourage each other when we discuss God’s past interventions and grace in our lives!
Expectation: We will face suffering
We are not to expect that God will exempt Christians from suffering and inner darkness, nor that he will simply lift us out of the darkness as soon as we pray.
Rather than expecting God to remove the sorrow and replace it with happiness, we should look for a “glory”—a taste and conviction and increasing sense of God’s presence—that helps us rise above the darkness.
Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
Acceptance versus denial: two paths one faces in difficult situations. Avoidance, denial, blaming others or ourself maintains a fixed mindset. Here is the key question to ask: are we more concerned about understanding why and avoiding difficulties or walking with Christ through the dark valleys? Do we strive for a life of ease, lack of problems or to glorify Christ? What is our source of hope, courage, and resilience? Is this source based on Christ or on someone/thing else? Are seeking His assistance to rise above the present darkness and sorrows of our lives?
Light from above shines through the dense fog that seeks to obscure the pilgrim’s path. God is Light and His presence through Holy Spirit guides us forward in truth, hope, and grace.
Rise above
Wonderful truth for those who seek and follow Christ!
[The Christian] has something that enables him to rise above these things, but the glory of the Christian life is that you rise above them though you feel them.
God’s grace, truth, and presence enables us to “rise” above the sorrows, disappoints, and inevitable set backs in our spiritual journey.
Pilgrim’s Progress
One of my favorite classic books is John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan reminds us through multiple allegories that we are all pilgrims seeking to find relief from the heavy burdens of our past sins, mistakes, and failures. As one reads, we see Pilgrim struggling, yet persevering. There are several points where all seems lost. Pilgrims struggles through the Bog of Despair and being captured and imprisoned by Giant of Doubt in the Doubting Castle. Ken Pul provides commentary on Pilgrim’s Progress:
We must remember this lesson as well in our own bouts with despair. Satan would like nothing more than for God’s people to so trifle with sin and rebellion that we become ensnared by it and convinced that we will never find relief and freedom.
The devil would have us mired in hopelessness, despairing of ever again obtaining God’s mercy and forgiveness. And so we must ever take refuge in the gospel, turning from sin and running to Christ.
We must learn the lesson from the man in the cage to watch, be sober-minded and pray. We must guard our hearts from the unholy pursuits of lust, pleasure and profits that caused his misery.
And we must delight ourselves in God and His Word and hold fast the Key of Promise that can always free us from Despair. That Key is the promise of grace and mercy and forgiveness found only in the saving work of Jesus Christ.
https://kenpulsmusic.com/pilgrimsprogress28.html
The Good News of the Gospel crushes despair and reminds us that Christ redeems the fallen with grace, truth, mercy, and transformation!
Judgment and Mercy
“his judgment of the world was purposeful. Even as he judged the world with suffering, he had in view a plan for the redemption of all things. God judged the world “in hope” of a final redemption from evil that would be glorious.”
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/24678714
For as in-depth discussion of how that God’s Judgment works with His love, check out previous post.
God’s Judgment is Love!
God’s plan through all of history is to redeem, restore, and renew all of creation! Our God delights in calling the lost home, healing the broken hearts, and transforming us.
The Presence of Christ is available through Holy Spirit for those who eagerly seek Him. This image represents a quiet place of solitude and listening for His guidance.
The Challenge of Trust
“It is one thing to believe in God but it is quite another thing to trust God. It is one thing to have an intellectual explanation for why God allows suffering; it is another thing to actually find a path through suffering so that, instead of becoming more bitter, cynical, despondent, and broken, you become more wise, grounded, humble, strong, and even content.”
Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
We like Pilgrim, walk a path through seasons of life. God desires for us to become more like Christ as we advance along the path of faith! We are running a race, one that calls us to press ahead in growing and radiating His love and grace! Belief(s) guide us. When our beliefs don’t match our realities, we consider if the beliefs are correct! Holy Spirit and God’s Words help us with this task.
Knowing Him Better
Paul encourages us in Philippians 3:12-14 Berean Standard Bible
Pressing on toward the Goal
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
Knowing Him Better!
“Instead, we must look at suffering—whatever the proximate causes—as primarily a way to know God better, as an opening for serving, resembling, and drawing near to him as never before.”
Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
Pastor Tim views suffering as a path to better knowing God. Knowing in this context means more than understanding or “believing” a set of facts. It is an intimate relationship with God: a growing relationship of trust, dependence, and walking with God. C.S. Lewis Institute explains at link below:
Summary Quote from source above: emphasis mine
“But (lest we fall into law and self-generated-works righteousness) we must note well, and always remember, that this “straining and pressing on” is not merely unaided human willpower. Rather, it is rooted in the deep work of God in our hearts, arousing hunger and desire and drawing us to engage our wills and strength to seek Him, as Paul had earlier said when he urged the Philippians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12–13). Doing this, of course, is utterly dependent upon our being filled with the Holy Spirit daily, for He alone can supply the power we need (which Paul emphasizes in Romans 8, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 5). And the rewards of our Spirit-empowered efforts far transcend the greatest earthly pleasures!”
Thomas A. Tarrants
Concluding image: Canva Pro Stock. Man embraces the sunlight from a high place while hiking in rugged terrain.
Words of Grace & Hope 
I am trying to see my present situation as a period of growth. If God chooses to use my season with dementia so that I can be of service to another then so be it. All glory and honor to Him who sits on the throne!
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