Devotionals about Suffering & Trials
Suffering is not the evidence that God has left — it's often where He does His deepest work. The devotionals on suffering and trials below refuse easy answers and sit with the real pain while pointing to the real hope.
231 devotionals about suffering & trials
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231 devotionals in Suffering & Trials
- Comfort
Not One Broken
Getting our mind right leads to a right heart, then a right posture, and ultimately a right stance toward God. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. He keeps all his bones, not one of them broken.
- Grace
Behind the Thorn
Paul's thorn wasn't removed, but came with a promise, grace that's sufficient, power made perfect in weakness. My own thorn, this cancer, is still here, but it's taught me a grace I never could have found without it.
- Suffering
That Thorn in Your Side
A thorn seems small but occupies all our thoughts, financial strain, sickness, conflict, unforgiveness, loneliness. Even if no one else sees it, Jesus understands the suffering it causes.
- Frustration
He Ain't Like Us
The last few weeks have been a barrage of gut shots. Even Paul experienced frustration with an unanswered thorn in the flesh. His thoughts are not our thoughts. He ain't like us, and that's okay.
- Suffering
God Karma
Job was good and still suffered without ever knowing why, yet God was still good. Good things don't always happen to good people, but we're invited to be His hands and feet even without answers.
- Friendship
He Ain't Heavy
A street child carrying his baby brother said it best: he ain't heavy, he's my brother. Bear one another's burdens. A gentle word or a small lift of the load restores on many levels.
- Trials
Fixing Our Eyes
Life can feel like shoveling sand with a pitchfork, one problem after another. But God works all things together for good. The only way out of the trenches of pain is through Him.
- Hardship
For My Good and His Glory
Why would God allow extended weakness and pressure? Paul learned it taught him to rely not on himself but on God. God is bigger than our failures and the enemy's efforts. It's for our good and His glory.
- Weakness
This Is Where I Live Now
There are two types of people, those who don't know they don't know, and those who know they don't know. I've learned to embrace confusion, own my weaknesses, and stay content there. When I am weak, then I am strong.
- Perseverance
Fire for Silver
Endurance refines you like fire refines silver. Perseverance builds Christ-like character. God who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. Don't give up today.
- Loss
Setback, Not Defeat
How fast do you bounce back after a loss? Low faith opens the door to fear, and fear invites shame. But a setback is not a defeat. Blessed is the one who remains steadfast under trial.
- Burdens
Bear One Another's Burdens
Kathryn Ledford, a member of our Be Nice Grace Wins family, is fighting colorectal cancer for the third time. Bear one another's burdens. Give, pray, or send encouragement.
- Suffering
Now My Eye Sees You
Job had it worse. Everything was stripped from him, and yet he came to truly know God. We don't need to understand why we suffer, our job is to remember daily that God is sovereign.
- Faith
I Got This Boys
The world demands proof. But Christians walk by faith, not by sight. When the seas crash, Jesus comes in like a relief pitcher saying I got this boys. Look beyond the raging seas.
- Presence
Never Means Never
When we're suffering, it's easy to feel alone. But His Word says He will never leave us or forsake us. Never means NEVER. He's there in the middle of the hard thing. You just have to look.
- Gratitude
The Very Thing
When Paul said give thanks in all circumstances, he meant ALL. Including the crappy ones. Try thanking God today for the very thing that's keeping you from thanking Him.
- Peace
Not As the World Gives
Can we have peace when our world is turned upside down? The world's peace is sketchy. Jesus offers a different kind, built on God Himself, that thrives in the storm.
- Suffering
Not a Verdict
Job was righteous and suffered. Jesus said the sun rises on the evil and the good. Suffering is not a verdict on your standing with God. We all suffer. The reward is eternal.
- Suffering
Comforted to Comfort
The way out of suffering rarely looks like what we imagined. Sometimes His plan is to remain in it and stand under its weight. And the comfort we receive becomes comfort we can give.
- Perseverance
Press On
After the inventory and the asking comes the pressing on. Forgetting what lies behind, straining toward what lies ahead. We have a new start. We choose to run.
- Suffering
Street Cred
Our trials build credibility in our testimony, street cred in Christ. You wouldn't take flying lessons from someone who's never been in the cockpit. Paul wrote about standing firm from a prison cell.
- Suffering
The Sixty-Fifth Time
Sixty-five rounds of Keytruda. Plenty of days I asked God to take it away. So did Paul. God said no, then said something better: my grace is sufficient, my power is perfect in weakness.
- Faith
Bloom Where You Are Planted
God didn't put you where you are by mistake. Bloom where you are planted, pray for the place and the people, and stand still while He fights the battle for you.
- Peace
The Peace That Only God Can Give
In the middle of hard times, what we really need isn't for the trouble to disappear, it's the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. With His peace, we can face anything.
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