Grief & Suffering

Grief & Suffering gathers Christian Standard articles that offer comfort, perspective, and practical help for seasons of loss and pain. Here you’ll find biblical encouragement for mourning, guidance for walking through hardship, and resources for supporting others with compassion—grounded in the hope of Christ’s presence, resurrection, and final restoration. These articles aim to help readers lament honestly, endure faithfully, and cling to God’s promises when life hurts.

July 2, 2011

Christian Standard

A Firsthand Report on the Joplin Tornado

By Victor Knowles It was a searing scene straight from of the book of Revelation. Thunder crashing, lightning flashing, wind howling in excess of 200 mph, hail hammering everything in its path like a merciless Hun invasion, and “ball lightning”—big balls of red fire bouncing across the ground like bizarre basketballs from Hell. “It was like a nuclear bomb was dropped,” exclaimed a stunned Errol Bolt, who has survived several hurricanes in his native Jamaica. And when the EF-5 tornado had spent its fury, one-third of the city of Joplin, Missouri, lay in ruins. The Weather Channel’s Al Roker initially

June 30, 2011

Christian Standard

After the Japanese Earthquake

By Reggie Hundley On March 11, a powerful earthquake struck just off the island of Japan. The destruction and loss of life from the quaking earth paled in comparison to the cataclysmic power of the resulting tsunami. News of the devastation traveled around the world. And within moments, people were contacting the forwarding agents of missionaries and the offices of Mission Services Association, the National Missionary Convention, International Disaster Emergency Services (IDES), and others. People from around the world wondered how friends and residents of Japan were faring. Perhaps the words of Paul Clark, longtime president of Osaka Bible Seminary,

October 7, 2010

Christian Standard

Offering Prayers after School Shooting

Our prayers are with the faculty and students at Mid-Atlantic Christian University (Elizabeth City, NC) after a Mid-Atlantic student allegedly shot and killed sophomore Jonathan Schipper on Sunday. The school has held a memorial service and many local ministers and counselors are available to staff and students. “We appreciate the outpouring of love and support we are receiving from churches, Christians, sister schools, supporters, other institutions of higher education, the community of Elizabeth City, and friends and alumni around the world,” the school said in a press release. “While our response to your offers of support, love, and prayers may

March 31, 2010

Christian Standard

This, too, Shall Pass

By Mark A. Taylor After one of the roughest winters in memory for many Christian Standard readers, Easter and the promise of spring couldn”t have come too soon. Even as we finish preparing this issue the first week of March, the lawns of our city are still half-covered with snow. Huge hills of the stuff””dirtied by car exhaust and gravel””still tower on the edges of many parking lots. It”s difficult for us to imagine little girls in pastel dresses posing in front of daffodils and Easter lilies as we hurry about our business still trying to shrug off the cold. But we

March 17, 2010

Christian Standard

Life is Hard, and That”s OK

By Mark A. Taylor I”ve thought a lot about the churches I know, the parachurch ministries I”ve seen, and the work situations I”ve experienced. My conclusion: There”s a problem with all of them. To one degree or another, they”re all broken. In fact, some are shattered messes. Every senior minister or elder or boss or chief executive has a blind spot. And some at the top are plagued by self-interest, paranoia, or a true incompetence they”re frantic to hide. Every organization chart, while conceived to solve problems, thereby creates new difficulties for those who must function within it, bound by

October 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Someone in the Church Family Has Just Died

By Marshall Hayden Those of us who serve in ministry with a church family are asked by members and the community to do several things. People seek counseling; and most of us refer more often than we accept. Groups are looking for a speaker; and we will accept the events we feel good about. Couples come asking us to perform a wedding. Some we accept. Several we decline. But there is one request that, as a minister, I have never turned down. A funeral is an opportunity for meaningful service, and often a chance to open hearts to the good

October 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Grief Ministry: How Your Church Can Help

     by Victor M. Parachi It was January 2001, the beginning of a new year, but I dreaded getting out of my cave, the name I applied to my bedroom. It had been two months since my 23-year-old daughter was killed in an accident. Though a new year was emerging, there was no sign my pain was departing. “”Scott N. I prayed, stood by her bedside, held her small hand, stayed up all night, and refused to give up on her, yet she died. My baby died only 29 days after her birth. For me there would be no

October 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Words of Life and Death

  by Larry W. Timm When death occurs, a minister encounters a unique and sacred duty. The deceased is someone”s loved one and God”s valuable creation; there is sanctity in both. Death erases neither. When asked to speak at a funeral service, our attitude will influence our preparation and proclamation. If we see a funeral as an interruption in our ministry instead of an expression of it, we will be poor stewards of this important opportunity. However, if we approach each funeral as a unique and sacred part of our calling, we can offer leadership and service as caring shepherds.

July 26, 2009

Christian Standard

Principles that Saved My Life

  By Derek L. Duncan In 1911 a columnist named George Hamlin Fitch wrote a book called Comfort Found in Good Old Books. In it, he described how books helped him through the devastating loss of his son. A quote in it is especially important for us as believers. After discussing things that gave him comfort, like familiar books that helped him focus on right issues (and not circumstantial tragedies that affect us all), he wrote,   No literary skill can bind up the broken hearted. No beauty of phrase can satisfy the soul that is torn by grief. No,

December 23, 2007

Christian Standard

“˜Carols” for any Season of Suffering

By Matt Proctor Max Lucado tells of Mrs. Smith, an elderly widow who loved her parakeet Chippy. His songs brightened her lonely days. One day while vacuuming, Mrs. Smith noticed Chippy”s cage was dirty. Opening the little door, she inserted her vacuum hose . . . when the phone rang. As she turned to pick up the phone, the hose shifted slightly and””slurp!””sucked poor Chippy down into the sweeper”s bowels. Horrified, Mrs. Smith dropped the phone, tore open the sweeper bag, and dug through the dirt until she found the now-brown little feathered lump. Chippy wasn”t breathing, so she did

August 20, 2006

Christian Standard

Why Do I Live in a World Filled With Pain?

By Tim Harlow I fulfilled a long-standing promise to my wife and took her to Hawaii for our 20th anniversary. We had never been to Hawaii together, and I have to tell you it is everything we expected. It is the Garden of Eden, as best I could imagine. It was like some kind of dream””perfect weather, tropical fruit, and hula people. But we had to come back to Chicago in February. There was something about the 100-degree shift in temperature (it was 15 below zero wind chill when we landed) that caused me to ask myself, How did this

April 2, 2006

Christian Standard

Saying the Last Good-bye to My Dad

By Paul E. Boatman I write these words at my dad”s bedside in early November. It is Tuesday morning at 5, and Russell Boatman”s death is expected within hours. He has seemed close to death several times in the past year, but this time the end of life seems imminent. His 91-year-old body is yielding to the inevitable outcome of living in a fallen world. He is resting fitfully, breathing in shallow gasps, and talking to himself about needing to “get going.” He clings to life with the tenacity of one who prizes life as God”s gift, yet he has

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