Category: Suffering

Failing or Forging

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Do the fires in your life forge you into greatness, or do you fail in the heat?

By Mark D, Harris

The Navy Exchange at the base in Rhode Island had a plaque which read, “Some people are lost in the fires, other people are forged in them – Marines.” The finest swords are heated again and again to burn and melt away impurities that weaken the steel, making it brittle, prone to shatter, and worthless for war.

Life is full of fires, including everything from health to money to relationships. The flames of suffering burn throughout every life, waxing and waning as the days pass. No moment is completely free of pain. Ultimately, these fires will consume the mortal coil of every one of us.

During our earthly walk, some people are damaged or are even destroyed by their fires, while others grow stronger. Some fail while others are forged. A few become truly great. What makes the difference? Four factors characterize those who are forged in their infernos.

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The Gray Life

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Despite our modern conveniences and unparalleled wealth, life in the world is often gray. God wants more from us and more for us. Following Him is the path to color, joy, love, and the abundant life.

By Mark D. Harris

“My eyes are dull, my mind is numb, my strength is weak, my heart beats slowly, and my love runs cold. I can neither laugh nor cry. I am neither asleep nor awake. I am not here, at least in my attention, but I am not somewhere else either. Everyone around me looks at their cell phones, absorbed in texting people who are not here, watching videos that may amuse them, playing games to pass the time, or reading articles about topics that they find mildly interesting. Pleasures become less pleasurable. Hours grind by with me sitting alone watching an endless cycle of movies, games, and amusements in which others do things that I wish that I was doing. I am too afraid to act, lest I hurt my body and spirit. More and more, I use alcohol and drugs to help me feel what I no longer feel without them.”

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Reviving the Saints – Jeremiah 15

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Life is exhausting for all. Christian ministry sometimes makes it worse. How can Christians be revived on our life’s journey?

By Mark D. Harris

Life on earth is exhausting, whatever one’s sex, health, race, socioeconomic status, religion, or anything else. Followers of Christ grow weary and sometimes fall away:

  1. Normal ups and downs of life and ministry – To be human is to encounter sickness, injury, and disappointment. Things break, opportunities vanish, relationships wither, and hopes fade. In ministry, people we love and serve angrily resist and reject. We labor for years with seemingly little effect.
  2. Major hurtful events and people in our lives – Sometimes even friends and loved ones succumb to the pressure of the world and reject us and our faith. Sometimes they end their own lives.
  3. Discrimination against and persecution of Christians throughout the world. This includes the United States (academic, political, economic), although the fact that I am able to write and publish this article reveals that Americans still have more religious freedom than many others. Still, Christians lose jobs and other opportunities due to the practice of the faith. Christian schools are threatened with loss of accreditation, and Christians are seen as unfit for political office because of their beliefs.[1] Christians have become criminals simply for reading a Bible passage or saying something that others don’t like.[2] For example, H.R.5 – Equality Act 2019 – LGBTQ rights states “The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.) shall not provide a claim concerning, or a defense to a claim under, a covered title, or provide a basis for challenging the application or enforcement of a covered title.” Whatever one thinks about LGBTQ rights, religious beliefs would be no defense to prosecution (and persecution). Christians who believe what the Bible states about LGBTQ issues are specifically targeted.

Non-Christians encounter issues one and two, but increasingly Christians are facing problem three as well. It is so easy to despair. Amidst these challenges, how can believers in Jesus Christ be revived?

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Good Friday

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God transforms our hardest days, our “Good Fridays,” into the glorious victories of Easter. But He does so in His time and way, and we must trust Him.

By Mark D. Harris

“How was your day?” Nancy asked as I trudged in the door from work.

“Good,” I replied, with drawn face, slumped shoulders, and a shuffling gait.

Nancy frowned, “You look like it was awful.”

“No,” I said, “Every day above ground is a good day.”

“Mark, I am your wife. You need to tell me the truth – not just lies that you think that I want to hear.”

“Today was good, in the same way that Good Friday was good. Jesus died a horrific death, but God worked wondrous acts and eternal salvation from it,” I answered.

Nancy gave up the questions and followed me to the bedroom. I changed my clothes and laid on the bed where she gave me a back rub. Finally in a safe place with people who cared, the tension rolled out of my muscles. The gates to my heart, shut tight at work since I had to be, or at least appear to be, the perfect doctor and leader, cracked open. Soon Nancy brought love into my dark castle, and we began to heal.

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