But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. (Job 36:15)

Welcome to Comfort Cafe, an ezine and resource center offering hope, help and healing for women.

In This Issue—Coming To Terms With Suffering.

Book Recommendations

Randy Alcorn’s If God is Good: Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God–Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist? See http://stores.homestead.com/eternalperspectiveministries/Detail.bok?no=171

By Gigi Schweikert, Inspirational Stories to Encourage a Mother’s Heart.” Includes stories for Special Needs Moms.

Ruth’s Blog

Comfort Cafe’s editor, Ruth Wood, brings a personal connection to the site through her blog. Her latest post is: Suffering—A Gift? See Ruth’s Blog.

Photography Blog

Deb Allen is the author of Creation Speaks—short devotionals illustrated by beautiful photos she’s taken of nature. Enjoy her latest posts at Creation Speaks.

Coffee Shop Concert—Karen Burkhart

Singing songs for and about God has always been Karen’s passion. Karen was about ten years old when she sang her first solo in church. By age sixteen while on her first missions’ trip, she sensed God’s call to serve Him in her vocational life, and she believed music would be a significant part of that. See Coffee Shop Concert page.

Healing Humor

I was shocked, confused, bewildered as I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all, by the lights or it’s decor…See our Healing Humor Page.

Miles to Go

The plastic costumes crowded the circular clothing rack. The price was $4.95—5% of our monthly grocery budget back in 1982, the year that Brian was in kindergarten. “Mommy!” Brian grabbed the edge of my denim, wrap-around skirt and pointed wildly with his other hand. “It’s Papa Smurf!”
Confessions of an Overachieving Mom, by Marianne Miles

Life Stories

In the providence of God, five days ago I was given a diagnosis of “uterine papillary serous carcinoma.” Statistically, only 1 percent of women with my symptoms have this diagnosis. It is classified as an aggressive cancer that spreads quickly.
To Go On Living Is Christ—Cancer Diagnosis, by Becky Lynn Black

Articles

He had been working hard in the church, and Life was not as easy as he had expected it to be. His heart was full of bitterness, anger, disappointment; he felt betrayed by others and by God.
God Didn’t Make Me To Suffer, Part I, by Becky Lynn Black

In considering this assertion, we are forced back to our belief system, and how we have formed our beliefs over the years. We are forced to question the reliability of our belief system.
God Didn’t Make Me To Suffer, Part II, by Becky Lynn Black

In this last part to our series, let us consider the final reasons for suffering.
God Didn’t Make Me To Suffer, Part III, by Becky Lynn Black

His voice starts very small. It is reasonable. It is based on reality. It is logical. “What if this happens….?” A few minutes later, he continues. “What if that happens…?” Gradually his voice becomes high-pitched, almost yelling, panic-stricken, anxious! “And what if THIS…?” “And what if THAT…?”
The God of What-Ifs, by Becky Lynn Black

Trauma. Anyone who has lived any amount of time has had it. It is part of Life. Those bursts of danger that stretch us to the limit….the car accident, the moment a spouse walked out, the season when a parent walked through the horrors of drug-addiction with a child, getting caught in the midst of a gun battle, hearing the thief enter the house in the dead of night, the rape, identity fraud, discovering a spouse is caught in pornography, getting a cancer diagnosis.
Coping With Trauma, by Becky Lynn Black

Our inability to understand all God’s purposes in evil and suffering should not surprise us. Sometimes we make the foolish assumption that our heavenly Father has no right to insist that we trust him unless he makes his infinite wisdom completely understandable to us. This lays an impossible demand upon God, not because of his limitations, but because of ours.
Is There A Purpose to Evil and Suffering We Overlook?, by Randy Alcorn

Devotionals

This year I will be meeting with a group of persecuted pastors in a country I cannot name, men who have learned that zeal for the Gospel can lead to hazardous consequences.
The Suffering Church, by David Alan Black

All of us are heir to the common troubles and heartaches of life. Headaches, petty vexations, grievances – everyone has these. Some of us, however, wear visible scars. One of these is our Ethiopian son, Bereket.
Handicapped? Serve the Lord Anyway!, by David Alan Black

More Related Resources

See Help for the Hurting—Cancer
Help for the Hurting—Hospice
Help for the Hurting—Grief