"You are not supposed to die before your children, are you?"

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Purposeful Suffering, I have suffered greatly because of depressive episodes and the loss of a child. What has helped me the most I think, is that our Sovereign God, who chose me before the foundation of the world to be a new creature in Christ, uses trials and troubles of many different kinds to accomplish His purpose. This suffering  makes me more like the Son of God. The Suffering/Glory themes in the Bible are a study in and of themselves!

We planned for four children but never dreamed that
 any of them would die before we did.

My wife, Robyn, and I talked about having four children before we were married. And by the grace of God we were able to do so. We never thought that we would lose Lindsay, our only daughter in a car accident.   Lindsay and her daughter Emily Hope were killed by a man in a car who never had no driver's license and who had a history of juvenile felonies. 

On September 11, 2001, he had been abusing drugs with his two friends. This man according to the Michigan State Forensic Office had enough heroin and cocaine in his blood to "put down six men." He hit Lindsay's car head on, we were right behind her and we saw it. She was eight months pregnant and was going to pick up her husband from his place of employment. She had left the prayer meeting  in a separate car. Our Pastor had called this special vigil  to pray for the nation. I can't begin to tell you the horror of that accident and of hearing the Chief of Police say, "I am sorry, she has passed." But God had a purpose for our suffering. The purpose would unfold in time.

(Editor:SB, I am sorry about the problem with the font below.

God is Sovereign in all that happens to His children.

 He was and always is in control of everything that happens to His beloved children. He does not effect evil but He is in control of all things. This truth is wonderfully seen in Isaiah 42:7, which states, I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

Our Lord Jesus encouraged and admonished John the Baptist when the prophet was having serious doubts about whether Christ was the Messiah. John was locked up in Herod's dark dungeon. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to him (by way of messengers that had come from John), "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them; And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." John the Baptist's death was sudden. All his doubts were gone as he entered Heaven. He was faithful until death, a true martyr. "Don't doubt in the dark that which you knew to be true in the light."

Charles Spurgeon

"But this is the lesson for you.   You only have to bear your burden for a certain length of time. The God who appointed you to bear it, also determined when you were to begin to bear it, and when you are to leave off bearing it. When God says you only to have ten troubles, the devil cannot make eleven of them; and you cannot reduce them to nine. Every particle of bitterness that is to go in your cup is dropped out with all the care of a qualified dispenser, and there will not be one drop more of bitterness in your cup, than the Lord knew was necessary to make the medicine just what it should be. I do delight in this truth, and I hope that you do also.” Spurgeon, Charles,ethereal library, public domain

Purposeful Suffering, I have suffered greatly because of depressive episodes and the loss of a child. What has helped me the most I think, is that our Sovereign God, who chose me before the foundation of the world to be a new creature in Christ, uses trials and troubles of many different kinds to accomplish His purpose. This suffering  makes me more like the Son of God. The Suffering/Glory themes in the Bible are a study in and of themselves!

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In our book Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It, (Kregel Publications) Robyn and I talk about the depths of suffering that are experienced by those who are depressed and those who have other types of mental illness. The spirit of a man sustains his sickness but a wounded spirit who can bear, Proverbs 14:12