In the Christian faith, God really puts suffering front and center. He doesn't get squeamish about it.

Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desparate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.

Many people in the throes of suffering, disappointment, and despair, feel utterly stuck in their circumstances. They see no hope beyond their day-to-day drudgery of disability routines; but when hurting families place themselves under the shower of God's mercy, suddenly the clouds part. They realize there's hope, life, and even joy beyond their suffering.

Every Christian who keeps looking up stretches his heart's capacity for Heaven.

God turns on its head one form of evil - suffering - in order to defeat another form of evil - that is, our transgressions. It happened at the cross, and it occurs in the lives of followers of Christ every day.

Thankfully, God brought wise Christian friends alongside to help me discover life-transforming precepts in his Word.

Most people wish they could erase suffering out of the dictionary. Today's culture of comfort and instant gratification has no patience for suffering - most people want to drug it, escape it, divorce it; do anything but live with it.