Spiritual Growth / Suffering

  • The Providence of God by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2007

    The entire life of Joseph is summarized in Genesis 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” The teenager we met at the beginning of the story is now over a …Read More

  • Perseverance in the Face of Persecution by C. FitzSimons Allison

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2007

    Gilbert Meilaender is a truly heroic figure. I would like to share my admiration for him with others as an encouragement to persevere in the face of persecution. Meilaender is an internationally known ethicist and one of a group of …Read More

  • An Infallible Map by Kevin Struyk

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2007

    I enjoy looking at maps. Not only are they helpful tools to navigate unfamiliar territory, they also provide a unique “big-picture” view from an omniscient vantage point. Do you ever wish there was a map available to show where your …Read More

  • Present Suffering and Future Glory by Robert Rothwell

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2007

    My friends and I often have discussions in which we try to understand why people ever settled in the great state of Florida. Please do not get me wrong, I have a deep affection for the Sunshine State, largely …Read More

  • The Veracity of God by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2007

    The story of Joseph is one of the finest examples in Scripture of what Paul meant when he wrote, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). All things …Read More

  • Finding God in the Dark by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2007

    Four times in Genesis 39 we read that God was with Joseph (39:2–3, 21, 23). The statements form a set of pillars at either end of the story of Joseph’s initial experience of Egypt. On the one …Read More

  • Turning Evil on Its Head by Joni Eareckson Tada

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2006

    Ask my husband; I am no theologian. I’ve never read Calvin’s Institutes all the way through, nor do I know Greek or Hebrew. But years ago, when I snapped my neck under the weight of a dive into …Read More

  • A Mother in Israel by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2007

    Jacob, the wily one, after ten or fifteen years, finally returns to Bethel. God has been at work in his life, drawing the wayward patriarch to himself. It has been a difficult journey. It invariably is so when our …Read More

  • God Remembers by Greg Barolet

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2007

    God is sovereign, man is not, and sin distorts our understanding of this truth. God always keeps His promises to His people despite our shortcomings, as we see in Genesis 30. God blessed Jacob even though he was a …Read More

  • The Faithful Endurance of Suffering by Keith Mathison

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2007

    Pharaoh begins having disturbing dreams, and not one of his magicians or wise men is able to interpret them. The chief cupbearer suddenly remembers the accuracy of Joseph’s interpretation of his dream, and Joseph is brought before the pharaoh …Read More

  • Bound to Come Some Trouble by Chris Larson

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2007

    We Reformed types have it good. I mean, really good. Call it the doctrines of grace or historic Christian faith or even the C-word (Calvinism) and you have to admit that sinners such as us have received something amazing. The …Read More

  • Patience in Suffering by Michael Beates

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2004

    I hate pain. I try to avoid suffering, and I don’t go out of my way to look for affliction. But pain, suffering, and affliction find me. They find all of us. If you are free of these things …Read More

  • A Woman Richly Blessed by Starr Meade

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2005

    Imagine a contemporary teenage girl who becomes convinced, without a doubt, that God especially favors her. She knows God will bless her richly, beyond what any other woman ever has known. What does she expect that to mean? Surely God …Read More

  • Participating in Suffering by Mark Dever

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2005

    The bell rang, and as I left the classroom a young man in the class pulled me over to ask me to pray for his grandmother who was very sick in the hospital. Though shocked, I happily complied. Minutes before …Read More

  • Why Do We Suffer? by Robert Rothwell

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2005

    Throughout my life I have always been a voracious reader. I can remember being enamored by books at a very young age and becoming excited during my preschool years as I was first taught to read. Even today, hardly a …Read More