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God’s Hand in Hardship – How can a loving God allow suffering? Why do good people suffer? Can any good come from our suffering? Joni Eareckson Tada addresses these and other challenging questions in the 14-page pamphlet “God’s Hand in Our Hardship.” Having searched for answers to her own suffering, Joni offers the reader hope and strength from God’s Word. 

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Paul wrote, “There was given me a thorn in my flesh, from Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

The cancer in the body. The sorrow in the heart. The child in the rehab center. The craving for whiskey in the middle of the day. The tears in the middle of the night. The thorn in the flesh. “Take it away,” you’ve pleaded.  Not once, twice, or even three times.  You’ve out-prayed the Apostle Paul and you’re about to hit the wall.  But what you hear Jesus say is this, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Sustaining grace. The grace that meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage, wisdom, and strength. Sustaining grace!  It doesn’t promise the absence of struggle. But it does promise the presence of God.

Read more Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Ken avoided the migrant workers in his building. Their habits and way of life, so different from his, annoyed him. One day, however, while Ken was praying, a thought pierced him: They’ve been your neighbors for years, yet not once have you shared the gospel with them. Think carefully about your attitude towards them.

Scripture tells us of when God confronted the Israelites with a similar warning: “Give careful thought to your ways” (Haggai 1:7). After their captivity in Babylon, His people returned to Jerusalem, tasked to rebuild the temple. God had “moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia” (Ezra 1:1) to order the construction and provide funds (vv. 2-4). But after the people laid the foundation, opposition grew (4:1-5), so they neglected the project for fourteen years.

Through the prophet Haggai, God told them: “Give careful thought to your ways. . . . My house . . . remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house” (Haggai 1:7, 9). God was saying, “Think carefully about how you’re living. Are you doing what I want you to do?”

God disciplined His people (vv. 5-11), but when they resumed construction, He encouraged them: “I am with you . . . . Do not fear” (2:4-5). And the temple was completed in less than five years.

In what area of life do we need to “give careful thought to [our] ways”? Let’s ask God to show us and help us follow His correction.

• The transformative power of prayer in marriage, especially during conflicts
• How perceptions of marriage have evolved culturally and the impact of social media
• Recognizing spiritual attacks at different marriage stages, including empty nest and "gray divorce"
• Building resilience through authentic, raw prayer, and shared spiritual practices
• Strategies for praying for a struggling spouse and fostering long-term faithfulness
• The enemy’s tactics today, from cultural influences to the rise of pornography
• The importance of intentionality and preemptive prayer during life transitions

• 00:00 - Introduction to the importance of prayer in marriage
• 00:29 - The Mitchells' personal journey through marriage challenges
• 01:18 - Building a Christ-centered marriage ministry
• 01:47 - The role of experience in guiding married couples
• 02:23 - Cultural shifts and the portrayal of marriage on social media
• 03:10 - The decline of marriage and its implications in the church
• 04:19 - The dark times that shaped the Mitchells' ministry call
• 05:38 - Strategies to keep marriage strong amid cultural pressures
• 06:08 - Challenges faced during different marriage stages, including long-term marriages
• 07:28 - The importance of vigilance against spiritual attacks
• 08:20 - Specific timing vulnerabilities in marriage, such as raising kids or becoming empty nesters
• 09:32 - The role of complacency versus active spiritual protection
• 10:25 - Preemptive prayer and strategic spiritual defense
• 11:18 - Rethinking prayer beyond ritual, embracing raw authenticity
• 12:22 - Overcoming barriers to prayer during conflict
• 13:46 - Psalm prayers and Scriptures as tools for unity
• 15:11 - How to pray when conflicts or tension are high
• 16:24 - The significance of prayerful agreement and seeking divine guidance
• 17:48 - Praying separately and then coming into agreement
• 18:40 - Supporting a spouse in a faith crisis through prayer and patience
• 19:37 - Engaging in silent, ongoing intercession for a spouse’s spiritual health
• 22:49 - Maintaining faith and strength in long-term spiritual battles
• 23:47 - Living a prayerful life that witnesses to a struggling spouse
• 24:40 - New tactics of spiritual attack in current culture
• 26:31 - How societal pressures and media influence marriage expectations
• 27:37 - Romanticizing marriage and the pressure to meet high ideals
• 29:04 - The shallow portrayal of marriage today and the need for biblical foundation
• 30:46 - The rise of quickie divorces and the erosion of biblical values
• 31:57 - Pornography’s infiltration and its devastating effect on marital intimacy
• 32:07 - Resources available: the Mitchells’ book Build Your Marriage with Prayer
• 33:19 - Connecting with the Mitchells online and where to find their ministry
• 34:07 - Key research findings on prayer and marital success

• Build Your Marriage - Ministry website with books, resources, and conference info
• Spiritual Mismatch by Lee and Leslie Strobel - Insights on faith dynamics in marri

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Confession! It’s a word that conjures up many images—some not so positive!  Confession isn’t telling God what he doesn’t know.  That’s impossible. It’s not pointing fingers at others without pointing any at me. That may feel good, but it doesn’t promote healing.

Confession is a radical reliance on grace—a trust in God’s goodness. The truth is, confessors find a freedom that deniers don’t! Scripture says “If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right.  He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done” (1 John 1:8-9 NCV).

Tell God what you did.  Again, it’s not that he doesn’t already know, but the two of you need to agree! Then let the pure water of grace flow over your mistakes!

Read more Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

After the horrors of Auschwitz, Elie Wiesel lost his faith. “Where were you, God of kindness?” he asked, recalling the evil he and others suffered. “In my childhood I did not expect much from human beings. But I expected everything from you.”

And yet, Wiesel realized later that his faith had never really left him. “It is because I believed in God that I was angry at God,” he told a journalist, “and still am.” You don’t get angry at someone you don’t believe exists.

We might feel uncomfortable expressing anger at God, but biblical characters did. “You deceived me, Lord” Jeremiah cried (20:7). “Will you forget me forever?” David wrote (Psalm 13:1). “God has wronged me,” Job said (19:6). Unaware of Satan’s role in his misfortune, Job accused God of being cruel (10:3) and even subpoenaed Him to court (31:35)! While Job later discovered that his understanding was limited (42:3), it’s important to note God never rebukes his feelings.

Despite his questions, Elie Wiesel prayed, “Let us make up. It is unbearable to be divorced from you so long.” We too might be angry at God for not limiting the suffering in our world, but our expressing it to Him can become prayer in disguise—keeping us close to the God who wants us to bring not just our praise, but our anger to Him too.

We’re living in a fractured world, pulled in a thousand directions, unsure what it actually means to live a good life. In this episode, I talk with Alan Noble about virtue, telos, and how prudence, justice, courage, temperance, faith, hope, and love reorient us toward a life that is whole, grounded, and shaped by the way of Jesus. We explore decision-making, suffering, agency, and hope - and what it looks like to actually embody these virtues in everyday life.

Dr. O. Alan Noble is Associate Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, a fellow at the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, and author of four books, including: To Live Well: Practical Wisdom for Moving Through Chaotic Times, On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living, and You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World. Dr. Noble has published articles at The Atlantic, The Gospel Coalition, First Things, and Christianity Today. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and three children.

Alan's Book:

To Live Well

Alan's Recommendation:

The Quest for Community

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