suffering Archives - tangible theology

Wise Words

December 28, 2016 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

Trusting God when the miracle does not come, when the urgent prayer gets no answer, when there is only darkness—this is the kind of faith God values perhaps most of all...the kind of faith that cannot be shaken because it is the result of having been shaken. A friend recently asked again for the handout (her copy was falling apart) from Sara's talk on Mother's Day 2015. About 400 people gathered that day, to hear Sara speak from her wheelchair about what the Lord had been teaching her through … [Continue reading...]

Is Faith Strength or Weakness?

November 2, 2016 by Chris Sicks 6 Comments

In light of Sara’s passing on October 29, 2016, I’m re-posting a few pertinent items—including this one from May 2013, four months after the cancer moved to her brain. They say: “You are so strong!” As Sara and I face another recurrence of cancer, now on her brain, we hear this comment from people who care about us. They are wrong. I don’t mean to be unkind, but I must redirect the praise and correct the misconception. Sara and I have learned how weak we (all) actually are, and that our … [Continue reading...]

Humility Incarnate

October 9, 2014 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997. Three million people showed up for Diana’s funeral on September 6, and it was broadcast around the world. Do you remember who died the day before Diana's funeral? It was Mother Teresa. How fitting that the world was so absorbed by the death and burial of a famous princess that they hardly noticed the passing of humble Teresa. I think she would have wanted it that way. The world values fame and fortune, power and prestige. God values humility: This … [Continue reading...]

She’s A Bright Light

October 16, 2013 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

Grief over children who have recently died. Fear of their houses being bulldozed. Lack of a place to use the bathroom. Injuries from childbirth that make it hard for them to carry water. Above all, the fear of dying before their children are raised. This is the humbling, sobering list of problems that ladies bring to a support group led by Liz Polk in Ethiopia. She and her husband Jason are friends of mine who serve families struggling with extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and a shortage of … [Continue reading...]

Are Christians Naive?

June 12, 2013 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

Do Christians ever seem naive to you? Have you heard someone say, "God is good!" and then thought, "You aren't in touch with reality...how can you say God is good when so many people are suffering?" It's harder to think that, however, when you really know the one who says, "God is good!" I've pasted below a short email from a friend at church. Before you read it, you have to know that this man was a federal judge in his home country. He ruled against the government in a case, for which they … [Continue reading...]

God’s Names Reveal His Heart For You

May 20, 2013 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

God is all this to you: if you hunger He is bread to you; if you thirst He is water to you; if you are in darkness, He is light to you. —Augustine I once took a list of about four hundred names and descriptions of God in the Bible and divided them into two columns. One column described who God is and the other what God does. In the “who God is” column I put: Holy One, Lord, Mighty God, and Sovereign Lord. When I finished, I had about two hundred of these powerful, imposing, and majestic … [Continue reading...]