Contending for the Word Q&A

Anxiety can make it difficult to think clearly, rest, or experience peace. Scripture does not ignore this struggle or offer shallow answers. Instead, God calls His people to bring their fears, worries, and burdens to Him in prayer. In this episode of Contending for the Word Q&A, Dave Jenkins explains how Philippians 4:6–7 and 1 Peter 5:7 help Christians acknowledge anxiety honestly, examine where their trust is placed, and rest in the peace that God alone provides. Anxiety is real, but it does not have the final word. God does. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

Depression is often hidden, difficult to explain, and deeply heavy. Scripture does not ignore this kind of emotional suffering. It speaks honestly about sorrow, turmoil, weakness, and even despair while continually directing God's people toward hope in Him. In this episode, Dave Jenkins considers Psalm 42:5 and 2 Corinthians 1:8–9 to explain why depression does not mean that God is absent or that faith has disappeared. Christians can be honest about their suffering, resist isolation, receive support from the people of God, and continue turning to the Lord even when doing so feels difficult. Depression is real, but it is not beyond the reach of God's presence, faithfulness, and care. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

What happens when a spiritually dangerous practice appears to provide physical healing or relief? In this Contending for the Word Q&A episode, Doreen Virtue explains how Satan uses counterfeit spiritual experiences to draw people away from Jesus Christ and the true gospel. Practices such as Reiki, qigong, shamanic healing, Christian Science, manifestation, and the law of attraction may promise healing or personal empowerment, but they direct people toward self-reliance and unbiblical sources of spiritual power. Doreen also considers why God does not always grant immediate physical healing and how the Lord may use suffering to produce greater dependence upon Him. Since Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light, Christians must prayerfully compare every spiritual claim, experience, and apparent miracle with the teaching of Scripture. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

How should Christians respond when suffering continues and circumstances do not make sense? In this episode of Contending for the Word Q&A, Dave Jenkins explains how Scripture calls believers to respond to suffering with humility, trust, perseverance, and prayer. Christians may not understand everything God is doing, but they can trust His goodness, wisdom, care, and sovereign purposes. Suffering should not drive Christians away from God. It should lead them to humble themselves before Him, depend upon His strength, persevere through trials, and bring their fears and burdens to Him in prayer. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

The fire is real, but so are God's presence and faithfulness. Trials often leave Christians wondering where God is and whether their suffering has any purpose. Isaiah 43:2 reminds us that the Lord does not abandon His people in the waters or the fire. He remains present, faithful, and at work even when His purposes are not immediately clear. In this reflection from Contending for the Word Q&A, Dave Jenkins explains how God uses suffering to refine His people, strengthen their faith, and deepen their dependence on Him. Because Jesus entered into suffering and endured the cross for our redemption, Christians can trust that their suffering is never outside God's sovereign plan or wasted in His hands. Whatever you are facing today, remember that God is with you in the fire.

Every Christian faces trials. Some arrive suddenly, while others remain far longer than we would choose. During these difficult seasons, believers often wonder what God is doing and whether their suffering has any purpose. In this episode of Contending for the Word Q&A, Dave Jenkins explains what James 1:2–3 and 1 Peter 1:6–7 teach about trials and testing. Scripture shows that trials are not random interruptions to the Christian life. God uses them to test the genuineness of our faith, produce steadfastness, deepen our trust, and lead us toward spiritual maturity. Counting trials as joy does not mean ignoring pain or pretending difficulties are easy. It means trusting that God is faithfully working through circumstances we may not yet understand. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

Why does God allow suffering? This is not merely a theological question. It is often asked through tears, sickness, loss, betrayal, loneliness, and deep disappointment. In this episode, Dave Jenkins explains that suffering exists because we live in a world affected by the fall. Yet God is neither absent nor powerless in the suffering of His people. He remains sovereign, present, good, and near to the brokenhearted. Scripture teaches that God uses trials to refine our faith, deepen our dependence upon Him, produce steadfastness, and conform us to the image of Christ. The cross provides the greatest example of suffering with purpose, as Jesus suffered to accomplish the redemption of His people. Christians may not receive an explanation for every painful circumstance, but they are never left without hope. God is at work even when His purposes cannot yet be seen. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

A biblical worldview is not merely something Christians believe or discuss. It should shape how they live every day. Drawing from Colossians 2:6–7, Dave Jenkins explains how walking in Christ affects our relationships, work, conversations, choices, and responses to life's challenges. Christians are called to remain rooted in Christ, established in the faith, and intentional about applying biblical truth to every area of life. Living out a biblical worldview does not require perfection, but it does require direction. As believers depend upon Christ and grow in His Word, their actions should increasingly reflect their convictions. This episode considers how Christians can remain grounded in Scripture, apply biblical truth to everyday decisions, pursue consistency between belief and conduct, and depend upon Christ for lasting spiritual growth. For more episodes and resources from Contending for the Word Q&A, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

The world continually pressures Christians to adjust, compromise, or redefine the truth. In this episode of Contending for the Word Q&A, Dave Jenkins examines the command of 1 Corinthians 16:13 to be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act with courage, and remain strong. Standing firm in truth means thinking biblically, living consistently, speaking clearly, and acting humbly in every area of life. Christians do not stand through their own strength but through the grace of Christ as they remain rooted in Him and grounded in the Word of God. Faithfulness is not about perfection but direction: walking step by step and day by day in God's truth. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

Every day, Christians encounter ideas through conversations, entertainment, social media, education, and the surrounding culture. Some ideas are true, while others are misleading. Many false ideas are especially dangerous because they initially sound reasonable and persuasive. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/