How Can a Good God Let Us Suffer?

“Nothing is certain except death and taxes,” or so the saying goes. But there’s something else that we’ll all face in our lives, regardless of our background, finances, upbringing or culture: suffering. Whether it’s suffering brought on by mental illness, physical illness, financial pressure, issues with relationships or family or any number of other things, at some point in our lives, things are going to be hard. Messy. Painful.  When we face suffering, it’s easy to wonder where God is. We can feel lonely, isolated … even abandoned by Him. Why is this happening to me?, we ask. How can a good God let me suffer? So what do we do, knowing we’ll face suffering? Today we’re chatting with Dr Katherine Thompson, who we heard from back in Episode 18 on the topic of Christ-Centred Mindfulness. Katherine has written a new book called The Discipline of Suffering, and that’s what we’re going to chat to her about today; the idea of suffering, and how to work our way through it as followers of Jesus. -- Through this podcast and our other resources, our heart here at Anxious Faith is to spark conversation and tackle the taboos around mental health in our churches and faith communities. Will you help us do that?  We’d be grateful if you would consider supporting us, whether through prayer, sharing our resources in your circles, or contributing towards our ministry costs. We’d also love to connect with you on socials, where you can join the community, check out our other resources and see behind the scenes content from our team.