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Dr. Mike:

Suffering is a part of the human experience we don’t like to talk about. Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or confused by a terminal diagnosis or the loss of someone close to us. We live in a culture built around ease, convenience, and comfort and there is nothing more unsettling, disturbing, and spiritually distressing than the experience of suffering or the loss of someone close to us.

Dr. Darla:

For some, the suffering we experience is not visible on the outside but is very real on the inside. When I watched my 23-year-old daughter suffer during her four-year battle with cancer, to which she succumbed, I didn’t doubt God’s existence, but I wondered, “Why God didn’t answer her prayers, my prayers, our church’s prayers, and the prayers of so many family and friends and heal her?” My daughter Whitney was a brilliant songwriter and worship leader during her short-lived life. Many faithful Christians have had to live with the pain of unanswered prayers and have endured extended seasons of illness or have experienced immense heartache, trauma, and tragedy. The suffering for Whitney was real, and now, the suffering continues for me and my family. If I am honest, I have doubted God’s involvement, but I have never doubted His existence.

Dr. Mike:

Your lesson on the Suffering Servant is full of so many deep truths. For those who may be in a season of suffering physically, mentally, or even financially right now, God is not distant from you, as some are prone to think. This lesson will show you that He became flesh and stepped into the human experience of suffering in part so that He could fully identify and understand our pain.

Dr. Darla:

If you have yet to suffer or know significant loss, then keeping your faith may be less of a struggle but be careful not to cast judgment on others who are struggling with doubt as they navigate the complexities of their own personal suffering and challenges. I have chosen to hold tightly to my faith because I have had unexplainable divine encounters that have convinced me of the reality of the Creator and a realm beyond this one. I have personally encountered divine love, peace, joy, grace, and acceptance that I did nothing to deserve. So, regardless of what you are going through right now or whatever your past trauma experiences may include, we pray that you open your heart and mind to the understanding that Jesus, the suffering servant, walked in your shoes too.

Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. Hewas despised, and we did not care.”