A few weekends ago, my parents and I watched the NCAA women’s basketball national championship: the Connecticut Huskies vs the South Carolina Gamecocks. The power, speed, and agility on the court showed a stark contrast to me sitting on the couch with my blanket and cup of tea, my head aching and my stomach trying […]
By Jasmine Originally published on The Gospel Coalition Australia Author’s Note: I wrote this article just over a year after having to leave my job overnight due to the onset of serious chronic illness. As I write this note in April 2022, I’m blessed to have finally received a diagnosis (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome), which […]
Last week I introduced you to D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure and brought out the main points from his first chapter, “General Consideration.” This week we’re going to look at some immensely relevant ideas from Chapter 7, on fear, and Chapter 10, on faith. What Do You Fear? Coming after […]
Last week we looked at the last third of Lamentations 3 and some general takeaways for those of us in chronic illness: staying faithful to God and trusting in Him during a trial. This last week of our study I want to park on the big theme of the whole chapter and the book: waiting […]
Scripture tells us that, under the control of the Holy Spirit, we should be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). May you be encouraged by the spiritual truth in this song! Don’t You Fear words by Ben Everson You can […]
Can you believe it’s the end of 2021 already? I can’t. It seems like we started January yesterday, and here we are coming to another January in just a few days. It’s the time of year when we look back in reflection over the past twelve months and look ahead in anticipation to the next […]
Last week I shared the first half(ish) of a sermon our pastor preached a couple of months ago, titled “Humbly Ministering for His Glory.” The text is II Corinthians 4:7-18 and offers so much encouragement to those of us in chronic illness. Here are the main points so far: God identifies you as precious vessels. […]
Scripture tells us that, under the control of the Holy Spirit, we should be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). May you be encouraged by the spiritual truth in this song! He Giveth More Grace words by Annie J. Flint […]
A couple of months ago, the pastor of my church preached a sermon from II Corinthians 4:7-18 that really encouraged me in my chronic illness struggles. With his permission, I’m sharing his outline and both our notes in hopes the message will encourage you too. The message was titled “Humbly Ministering for His Glory.” I. […]
Thank you, Oksana, for sharing the rest of your story with us! (Two weeks ago we published Part 1, and last week we published Part 2.) What Scriptures spoke to you in your times of need? At that time of my wilderness, there were a lot of Scripture messages that helped me and God used […]
The Valley