We all suffer, but God doesn't leave us on our own to deal with our suffering in whatever way we can scrape together. He actually provides what we need in His Word -- and what He provides is better than what anyone else can offer! Let's look at 5 ways God equips us for the suffering we'll go through.

00:00 Intro & Recap

02:43 1. God reveals who He is and how He works

11:57 2. God teaches us the truth about suffering

20:21 What most people don't tell you about suffering

22:13 3. God tells us about the future

31:07 4. God shows us how to lament

33:41 Psalm 13 How long, Oh Lord?

35:27 Psalm 42 My tears have been my food both day and night

40:21 5. God gives us each other

48:17 Resources to dig deeper

👉 On Getting All our Spiritual Info Only from Scripture:

My video on what we learn from 2 Timothy 3: 15-16 and 2 Peter 1: 3

https://youtu.be/sCTi2X_JZDc

My in-depth video on how God provides what we need in Scripture:

https://youtu.be/C9WZU2-VRog

My brief video on how God provides what we need in Scripture:

https://youtu.be/vHHMtK_Of-U

My brief blog post on how God provides what we need in Scripture:

https://morethanthismess.com/2023/05/18/christian-be-on-your-guard/

👉 Mike Winger's Evidence for the Bible playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuhA0RPKZFHVcjIMN_-F596

👉 Wes Huff's "Can We Trust the Bible?" Series

Pt 1: https://youtu.be/QhVPBNBAGY0?si=8UnxYqB1n2VGutzK

Pt 2: ⁠https://youtu.be/KkmLCWeORaQ?si=vNrsHNbsuZnjktAO

Pt 3: ⁠https://youtu.be/lpsKNd8tqHI?si=R1OnuiEsfY5a9VSC

👉 Heaven by Randy Alcorn

https://a.co/d/0bXu5llH

👉 Got Questions on the Psalms of Lament

https://www.gotquestions.org/psalms-of-lament.html

👉 Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop

https://a.co/d/04tVpUQR

👉 Hinds' Feet on High Places

Book: https://a.co/d/09ugWDyZ

Description & Bible study on my blog:

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/02/22/book-recommendation-and-bible-study-guide-hinds-feet-on-high-places/

👉 Life Is Hard. God Is Good. Let's Dance. by Brant Hansen

https://a.co/d/07BVql1a

👉 True Comfort Podcast with Teasi Cannon

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNXm7SHidRI5rzHmDZjTHj8IkHEmUHAxr&si=icWny6326WM3LxRr

👉 Resource Page on my blog:

https://morethanthismess.com/favorite-resources/

---------------------------

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

How can we hold onto hope while we suffer? CAN we have hope in the middle of pain and sorrow? We need to find out the truth about suffering -- and to do that, we need to know what God tells us about what He does with it.

0:00 Intro & Review

01:53 What we need to know about suffering

02:33 God is not removed from suffering

03:26 Why we look to the Bible for answers

06:10 Romans 8.28

12:30 Examples in Scripture

14:16 Romans 5.1-5 -- HOPE

23:24 James 1.2-4

27:51 Philippians 1:29 -- Granted??

35:20 2 Corinthians 11.23-28

39:48 Philippians 1.12-14

40:49 Philippians 3.7-11

43:04 Philippians 4.11-13

46:41 2 Corinthians 12.7

51:51 2 Corinthians 4.6-9, 16-18, 5.1

58:50 Comforting others -- 2 Corinthians 1:4

Mike Winger's Evidence for the Bible playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuhA0RPKZFHVcjIMN_-F596

My video on Why You Should Want to Study the Bible:

https://youtu.be/P7P6UVlThPU

My video on Bible Translations:

https://youtu.be/aG9ILQYuZ5A

My video on 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1

https://youtu.be/QR5s5P0VNCY

How Should a Christian View Scripture? (Blog post with linked references)

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/02/03/how-should-a-christian-view-scripture/

A Little About Bible Translations and Quotes (Blog post with linked references)

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/02/05/a-little-about-bible-translations-and-quotes/

---------------------------

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Suffering is a part of life. But why? And how should we think about it? God tells us in His Word! And THAT's what we need -- the truth about suffering from God Himself.

00:00 Intro

01:33 Why talk about suffering?

03:05 What is the "theology of suffering"?

04:43 The point of this series

06:17 What should our expectation be?

07:16 Genesis 3 -- sin=suffering

12:43 Our own sin

14:30 Other people's sin

15:30 The state of the world (Romans 8)

17:19 Biblical hope

19:33 We have an enemy

20:16 Why we should expect suffering

20:52 How it helps to expect suffering

Why Does Sin Earn Death? (Blog post with printable Scripture references)

https://morethanthismess.com/2023/11/30/why-does-sin-earn-death/

Why Does Sin Earn Death? (Brief video presentation)

https://youtu.be/b-qGfZoEjDo

---------------------------

The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.

You really can memorize Scripture (even if you've tried and failed like I used to) -- and it's SO worth the effort! I share the super easy method that helped me, plus just a few of the benefits we get from committing God's Words to memory. ❤🤓

00:00 Intro/background

03:07 Memorization method

13:44 There's an app for that ;)

19:12 Benefits of memorizing Scripture

22:01 Don't forget the context!!

24:47 Encouragement & purpose in memorizing

Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory System:

https://youtu.be/f1wgNZ_Krtc

https://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/?srsltid=AfmBOop_djDWQjL9cFrgf-sWygTwNV-Z7fc-yEJLws3ZuUmfaPaW_-7K

My blog:

https://morethanthismess.com

(My apologies for the sound quality! I did what I could. I hope it's tolerable...because I truly believe this will be helpful.)

Life is messy. And "mess" is just a word we substitute for "suffering." We don't like talking about suffering, but we need to! In this video I give an overview of what God tells us about suffering and how to deal with it -- things we ALL need to know.

If you find this helpful, please like, comment, and share. And be sure to subscribe.

Timestamps:

00:00 Why do we need to talk about suffering?

02:34 Why we should expect suffering

05:48 What God does with our suffering

17:03 How God equips us to deal with suffering

34:05 Recommended resources

👉 Find more encouragement & resources at my blog: 👇

Free Bible Study Guide for "Hinds Feet on High Places":

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/02/22/book-recommendation-and-bible-study-guide-hinds-feet-on-high-places/

Even If: A Reminder of Our Reality

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/03/16/even-if-a-reminder-of-our-reality/

Anxiety: 12 Scriptures to Study & Pray Through When You're Feeling Anxious or Afraid

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/06/14/12-scriptures-to-study-pray-through-when-youre-feeling-anxious-or-afraid/

Everything Bitter is Sweet: A Close Look at Proverbs 27:7

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/04/17/everything-bitter-is-sweet/

Even If (hope in trying times)

https://morethanthismess.com/2020/05/04/even-if/

Some of my favorite resources:

https://morethanthismess.com/favorite-resources/

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) Wait..."don't lean on your own understanding"? Then...how can we understand this verse, or anything in Scripture?? 😵‍💫 Let's do a Bible study and find out!! (Spoiler: there's a good and clear answer!! 😅🤓)

00:00 Intro

01:24 Proverbs 3: 5-6

02:07 Why study this passage? (Can we *understand*? 🤔)

05:23 Step 1: Prayer

6:27 Pre-loading info

7:30 About Proverbs in general

10:30 Context of our passage

12:40 Today's approach: words & phrases

13:18 Defining *trust*

20:39 ...in the LORD

25:40 with all your HEART

32:01 Lean not?

33:40 your OWN understanding

39:01 related passages in Proverbs (wider context!)

40:02 Proverbs 1: 1-7

41:42 Proverbs 2: 1-12

44:24 Verse 6

44:44 What do you think it means? 🤔

47:34 In ALL your ways

48:28 Acknowledge Him?

51:30 He will make straight your paths?

59:55 Help from Proverbs 4

01:03:28 My paraphrase

01:05:37 Encouragement

👉 Watch all the videos in this series here:

Bible Study Basics Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLADknl3H78jzCMuK1o91xCBhDMI34-3Ix

👉 My blog post on Proverbs 3: 5-6

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/03/20/proverbs-35-6-a-deep-dive-into-a-well-known-passage/

👉 How to Understand the Book of Proverbs Correctly

https://youtu.be/din8-ZzaVhY

👉 What is the meaning of Yahweh? (Got Questions Article)

https://www.gotquestions.org/meaning-of-Yahweh.html

👉 Mike Winger: Evidence for the Bible

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuhA0RPKZFHVcjIMN_-F596

👉 Mike Winger: Evidence for the Resurrection

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuhA0RPKZFHVcjIMN_-F596

👉 Hope & Faith are Choices, not Feelings

https://youtu.be/ghZO38UL7cI

👉 Bible Study Basics Series on my blog (free printable in Part 3):

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/08/29/bible-study-basics-part-one/

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/01/bible-study-basics-part-two

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/04/bible-study-basics-part-three/

*******************

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

As we approach the end of the Bible Study Basics series, I share more practical steps to take when reading and studying the Bible. Then we get back to the heart -- the main point of Bible study, the thing we should always keep in mind, the thing that makes it SO incredibly worthwhile and rewarding! 💗🤓💝

00:00 Intro

01:30 Pray

02:19 Slow down

03:29 Use several translations

04:05 Read out loud

07:40 Label pronouns, mark connecting words

11:36 Mark keywords/repetition

13:07 Make an outline

14:30 Make lists

15:31 Read cross-references

17:53 Go down the rabbit trails

18:27 THEN look at study notes & commentaries

22:34 When you don't understand...

24:33 Resources

25:28 Where to start

27:42 The 💗heart💗 of Bible study

👉 Watch all the videos in this series here:

Bible Study Basics Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLADknl3H78jzCMuK1o91xCBhDMI34-3Ix

👉 Bible Study Basics Series on my blog (free printable in Part 3):

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/08/29/bible-study-basics-part-one/

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/01/bible-study-basics-part-two

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/04/bible-study-basics-part-three/

It's so easy to tune out while we're reading, or to just let the words bypass our thinking skills in a dull drone -- but God means for us to use the minds He gave us! Maybe you were never taught to do that, but you can most definitely learn! In this episode, I walk you through the basic questions you should always ask, and provide question "kits" to help you ask more. The more you ask the text, the more truth you'll learn, and the more enjoyable (and accurate) your Bible study will become! 🧐📖🤓🥰

00:00 Intro & brief review

01:33 Pre-load this info each time you read

03:00 Be curious!

06:37 Q's to ask EVERY TIME you read

10:22 Question "kits"

11:35 Kit # 1

14:23 Kit # 2

16:08 (About application)

18:59 Kit # 3

21:13 (More about application)

22:25 Other good Q's to ask

23:58 (About presuppositions & bias)

29:44 When we don't find the answers

32:07 One Q to NEVER ask

34:26 Encouragement

👉 Watch previous videos in this series here:

Bible Study Basics Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLADknl3H78jzCMuK1o91xCBhDMI34-3Ix

👉 Bible Study Basics Series on my blog (free printable in Part 3):

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/08/29/bible-study-basics-part-one/

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/01/bible-study-basics-part-two

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/04/bible-study-basics-part-three/

👉 Mike Winger's video on Head Coverings

(This one is very long; use time stamps if you want to skip to the conclusion.)

https://youtu.be/keXayp7JXf4

Why there are so many Bible translations? What's the difference between them? Which one is best? How can you know which ones are bad? How can I choose which one I should read? These are important questions! Join me to address all this and more -- and let me know in the comments what other Bible study questions you have!! (And check out the resources below! 👇🤓)

00:00 Intro & preview

01:23 Rabbit holes

03:19 About language

07:21 About translation

12:00 Manuscripts & textual criticism? Huh?

13:55 What makes a translation good?

18:05 How can you know if a translation is bad?

19:49 What are some reliable translations?

21:47 Some BAD translations you need to know about

24:50 The Passion Translation

27:40 What's the difference between good translations?

31:34 How you can apply this to your Bible study

34:07 Words, definitions, & synonyms

36:42 Which translation is best for you?

38:02 What are YOUR questions??

Watch previous videos in this series here:

Bible Study Basics Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLADknl3H78jzCMuK1o91xCBhDMI34-3Ix

👉 About Manuscripts & Textual Criticism

The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible, with Dr. John Meade and Dr. Peter Gurry

(from Alisa Childers)

https://youtu.be/qBpFWejXdRk?si=8v-C-6Z6x4-ZOJZY

The Bible: Tough Qs and Answers

(with Sean McDowell, Dr. Peter Gurry, and Dr. John Meade)

https://youtu.be/u17u0hC6lkc

How Can the Bible Be Inerrant If It Contains Variants (from J. Warner Wallace)

https://youtu.be/rl41qMLjHeY

👉 About Bible Translations

Bible Translation Philosophies Chart

One Bible, Many Versions (from Wes Huff)

⁠https://www.wesleyhuff.com/blog/2020/10/13/one-bible-many-versions

The Best Bible Translations: All You Need to Know & How to Choose (from Logos)

https://www.logos.com/grow/best-bible-translation/

Which Bible Translation Is Best? (from Mark Ward)

https://youtu.be/gFsQv7Z4jis

Can I Trust Bible Translations: Evidence for the Bible pt17 (from Mike Winger)

https://youtu.be/BCPoKIE5y1U?si=mV7E7YDDnbN8S8-b

👉 About Bad Bible Translations

7 Bad Bible Translations (ft. Mark Ward) (from Sean McDowell)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJahf5eC1u4&t=22s

Is the New World Translation a valid version of the Bible? (from GotQuestions)

https://www.gotquestions.org/New-World-Translation.html

How Joseph Smith Tried to Write Himself Into the Bible (from Mike Winger)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHkEeTRrmWo&t=26s

What is the Mirror Bible/Mirror Word? (from GotQuestions)

https://www.gotquestions.org/Mirror-Bible-Word.html

Literally the WORST Bible Translation I’ve Ever Seen (from Mike Winger)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yz6eoCQcNc&t=66s

I’m Shocked by How Many Pastors Are Using This Deceptive Bible (from Melissa Dougherty)

https://youtu.be/aJx78XHL2g4?si=YFOZ-VbS4o96xqKU

Exposing the Passion Translation (from Mike Winger)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHvXha4rjCj1Po0WLQc_jGGW

👉 An example of studying words in the Bible

Proverbs 3:5-6 – A Deep Dive into a Well-Known Passage (from my blog)

https://morethanthismess.com/2024/03/20/proverbs-35-6-a-deep-dive-into-a-well-known-passage/

👉 Bible Study Basics Series on my blog (free printable in Part 3):

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/08/29/bible-study-basics-part-one/

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/01/bible-study-basics-part-two

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/04/bible-study-basics-part-three/

We've talked about why we should study the Bible and what we need to know about it -- now let's get into the "how"! In this episode, we'll look at the two most important things that should ALWAYS be part of your Bible study!

00:00 Review & Welcome

02:05 The first & most important step of Bible study

04:35 Be ready for the battle

05:50 Don't follow your feelings

06:43 About hypocrisy & legalism

10:05 Fight feelings with truth

13:21 The most important step for Bible interpretation

17:54 Philippians 4:13 -- I can do ALL things?

23:45 Mark 11:24 -- Does belief make God our genie?

26:13 Helpful tools to study the full context of Scripture

30:21 Helpful tips as you study this week

Greg Koukl: Never Read a Bible Verse

Blog post: https://www.str.org/w/never-read-a-bible-verse

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQmKtUPyYGY

Mike Winger on Mark 11:24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvA5ZWDSdmo&t=396s

Bible Study Basics Series on my blog (free printable in Part 3):

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/08/29/bible-study-basics-part-one/

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/01/bible-study-basics-part-two

https://morethanthismess.com/2025/09/04/bible-study-basics-part-three/

-------------------------

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.