The Soundtrack of Suffering
Music sounds different when you’re walking through the valley. These are the hymns, worship songs, Christian rock, and metal tracks that have helped me through suffering, forgiveness, praise, and learning to move forward.
Music sounds different when you’re walking through the valley. These are the hymns, worship songs, Christian rock, and metal tracks that have helped me through suffering, forgiveness, praise, and learning to move forward.
Thirty-one years ago, my almost 16-year-old cousin Michael died in a tragic accident on Lake Cumberland. What happened that summer taught me how precious and short life truly is, and why our only lasting hope is found in Jesus Christ.
Life has a way of bringing multiple trials at once. This week I found myself grieving at a funeral while also wrestling with adversity in the workplace. Scripture reminds us that whether we’re facing death, difficult people, or seasons of suffering, God calls us to respond with faith, integrity, and hope in Christ.
As a child, I wanted to experience life before going to heaven. After walking through suffering, I’ve come to understand why so many believers longed for Glory. More than a place without pain, heaven has become precious because it’s where my Savior is.
After nearly a year of separation, I reached the place where I believe my marriage is dead. But Scripture reminds us that God has always specialized in bringing life to dead things, from the valley of dry bones to Lazarus to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is an honest reflection on grief, faith, and learning to trust God when hope feels gone.
I was twelve years old the day I lost my father. I did not understand everything that happened, but I knew life had changed forever. This is the story of that day, the grief that followed, and the God I can now see was there even when I could not feel Him.
There are days when faith feels strong, and there are days when getting out of bed feels difficult. When my marriage felt impossible and giving up seemed easier, God reminded me that obedience is not about controlling the outcome, it is about trusting Him one more day.
Sometimes the struggle does not disappear as quickly as we prayed it would. But that does not mean God is absent. He may be working in the middle of it.
How do Christians process grief, loss, and unanswered prayers? In this personal review of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop, I share how learning the biblical practice of lament transformed my faith and connected me with a community of believers walking through suffering together.
I never imagined I would find myself at rock bottom—a lowly, contrite, broken man with seemingly nothing left to lose. Well… almost nothing. I still have my health, and my old CR-V is somehow still hanging on. Lately, I’ve found myself praying often for both, asking God to protect me and keep that old Honda running a little longer…