God Understands…When You Feel Angry: Chapter 3
Anger and resentment toward ourselves and others can destroy our health and the peace of those around us. Acknowledging the deep-rooted hurts we have experienced, realizing that we cannot likely right the wrongs that were done, and releasing the bitterness in our lives into the hands of God are essential to our well-being.
God Understands…When You Feel Despair and Hopelessness
Your experiences may have left you with a sense of despair and hopelessness – dreams lost; relationships damaged; your self-esteem trashed. Does it feel as though God has disappeared? Or that there is no hope left for you? Spend some time on this journey and discover the comfort and hope that the Scriptures offer to you.
God Understands…When You Feel Despair and Hopelessness: Chapter 1
When it seems that there are no rational answers to explain our deepest despair, we don’t want to hear trite explanations. I knew that John in his situation did not want me to give a justifiable response to his question, “So tell me, Chaplain, what is God’s great hope for me?”
God Understands…When You Feel Despair and Hopelessness: Chapter 2
One of the struggles with depression is that it limits us to short-sighted thinking. When we are in deep despair and feeling hopeless, we find it difficult to imagine any source of hope to heal our deep heartache. Maybe you can relate to the following statements of John.
God Understands…When You Feel Despair and Hopelessness: Chapter 3
When we are in deep despair, we feel totally insignificant and might even question the existence of God. In the situation with John, I fervently prayed after our first meeting and asked God how I could help him discover a meaningful purpose for his life. As I prayed, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me about asking John to be my “teacher” in helping me better understand his experiences in Iraq and what it is like to live with an unexplainable seizure disorder caused by a TBI. The Holy Spirit seemed to say to me, “Due to your crippling condition and surgeries in your childhood and adolescence, you were denied medical waivers several times when wanting to serve in our armed forces. You are not a Veteran, you’ve not been to Iraq, you do not have a TBI causing an unexplainable seizure disorder, but John does. He can help you better understand.”
God Understands…When You Feel Life Is Meaningless
Maybe the things that you have seen, even things you have done, have left you feeling that there is no reason to live. You have lost your ability to make sense of life and you've lost a sense of purpose. Do you feel like a lost sheep? God is searching for even the one lost sheep in a hundred. Are you willing to be found?
God Understands…When You Feel Life Is Meaningless: Chapter 1
From his hospital bed, a Veteran turned to the chaplain with an intense stare. He started to speak but his words froze. His chin quivered. He tried again, "Chaplain, I have done horrible things. I was just a young kid when I enlisted. I wanted to serve my country. That was my purpose. I wanted to protect my family. But honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into. I have killed people with my bare hands. And I am so ashamed. I was taught, 'Thou shall not kill.'
God Understands…When You Feel Life Is Meaningless: Chapter 2
A Veteran sat in the chaplain's office. "I have decided my life isn't working. After what I saw in combat I decided there couldn't be a God, not the God that I was taught about. I came home bitter. My wife had waited loyally. She tried to stick it out. But I had changed. I did drugs and when I wasn't doing drugs, I was drunk. I couldn't hold a job. I swore constantly. My faith was trashed. My only commitment was in finding the next high.
God Understands…When You Feel Life Is Unfair
Life is sometimes unfair. We experience loss, pain and injury. Sometimes terrible things happen to us through no fault of our own. We want someone or something to blame. Many times, we believe that God has failed us. Scripture teaches us that when life seems unfair, God's people should bring their complaints to God.
God Understands…When You Feel Life Is Unfair: Chapter 1
Bobby was taking his new kite outside to fly it for the first time. He was thrilled with his father’s gift. He flung the screen door open just as the ball of string dropped from his hand. As he reached to retrieve the string, the screen door bounced back snapping the kite’s fragile wooden strut. Bobby was shocked. He couldn’t believe it. His new kite was broken. The broken wood had also pierced the thin paper of the kite. In a flash, Bobby felt ashamed, dejected, embarrassed, and angry. Why had this happened? How could it have happened? What could he do about it? All these questions raced through his mind. And almost as quickly, he found an answer. “I know. I’ll take it to my father. I know he won’t be happy, but at least he can fix it, and then I can fly my brand new kite!”
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