Suffering, hardship, struggle, adversity – and simply, pain – are all part of the texture of life. But we are blessed, for there is light that comes to us from God in these periods of darkness.
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You brought us to a place of abundance — A look at Psalm 66:12
“We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” (Psalm 66:12, NIV) Hopefully you have not had the experiences of being trapped in an inferno or of drowning. However, the psalmist here uses his amazing capacity for metaphor to capture the way we feel during adversity and suffering. […]
The Lord is my refuge and my fortress – Reflections on Psalm 91:2
Psalm 91 was the favorite psalm of General Charles Gordon, a symbol of heroism and chivalry during the Victorian period in Great Britain. His indomitable courage took him to suppress bloody civil wars in China and the Sudan. The psalm is filled with military metaphors, and presents a thundering image of our triumph through God.
The coronavirus: If you want peace, prepare for boredom!
Today begins the fourth day in which strict regulations have been put in place regarding the coronavirus: curfews for businesses, restrictions on gatherings, and forcefully suggested closures. However, by just noontime yesterday – only two and a half days in – I was being told again and again by different people how bored they were. […]
Healthcare: America’s Most Serious Illness
Several years ago, when living in Shanghai, I wrote a series of articles for the Global Times newspaper about the state of healthcare in China. A friend of mine was so appalled by reading about the conditions in China’s healthcare system that she jokingly gave me the following advice on how to handle it: “Don’t […]
Getting Closer to God: Trusting vs. Understanding
I was recently asked how we can understand God better – specifically, His decisions and what happens to us. The answer is that “understanding God” is essentially a contradiction in terms. No amount of theological study can bring us to understanding the ways of God. If it did, the human race would most probably have […]
A Few Spoonfuls of Socialism Won’t Kill Us
In a scene from the spy film The Good Shepherd, Matt Damon’s character, an ex-Yale CIA officer, presses an Italian-American mafioso for information, with the threat of deportation. After a long conversation, the mobster (played by Joe Pesci), in frustration, takes a look at Damon’s character, Edward Wilson: a member of the WASP Establishment, raised […]
Three Short Prayers: Praising the Lord, Cleansing the Heart, and Wisdom
While long prayers are have certain merits, I always think that it is great to have short prayers in your prayer vault — prayers that can be memorized and said wherever you are and at any time. Psalm 23 — the one which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” — is […]
True Happiness is Developed from Within: “Tell Me How!”
I often tell people that happiness does not come from external things, but that it comes from within you. You have to develop it. And their reaction is always the same: TELL ME HOW! My first book, Winning the Fight to Be Happy, talks about this process in depth, but here’s a list of what […]
5 Bible Verses to Help You Fight Anxiety
Earlier this month, Barnes & Noble announced in a press release that books about anxiety had seen a 26% rise in sales year-on-year. Undoubtedly, we are living in the Age of Anxiety, which is a result of our fast-paced lives, a lack of stability, constant comparisons with others, and numerous other factors. While I […]