Men of Iron Podcast

Faith Through Suffering| EP. 210

“This concept of having it all together is one of the most harmful things to Christians and the church.” – Justin Watkins

This week we continue our Faith Conversations for Men Series as we dive into another hard topic, “Faith Through Suffering.” Men – you WILL go through suffering in life, it’s all about how you deal with it. Knowing Jesus does NOT mean you won’t suffer in life. We live in a broken world. What does faith look like through suffering? We tend to think we can’t have seasons of suffering and doubt if we are strong enough in our faith. This concept of “having it all together” is one of the most harmful things to Christians and the church. When we put this facade up, and don’t open about our suffering it causes more harm. Men are especially subject to this and it ultimately leads to isolation. What does scripture say? There’s a long record in scripture of God’s people being very vulnerable about the things they are struggling with. Being able to lament, mourn and confess and be real with God and one another. We see it firsthand with Jesus crying out in the garden and lamenting on the cross. We have an invitation from scripture to be real and to lament about our suffering. It will ultimately lead to healing.

Three Practical tips for dealing with suffering:

Confront the Pain – Be real about your pain and your grief with yourself and with God
Read your Bible – Find out what Scripture has to say about suffering
Talk to someone – Open up about your pain to your spouse, friend, a counselor, your small group

Recommended Resource: Check out this amazing book, “Just Be Honest: How to Worship Through Tears” by our good friend Clint Watkins

Regardless of where you are in your journey, we have the tools and experiences for you. We provide one-to-one coaching, small group, and retreat curriculum. To know God is an adventure, and we are calling all men to conquer the mountain ahead of us. Men, it’s time to climb! >>> MENOFIRON.ORG/THECLIMB

SHOW NOTES:

Back for Week 3 of our “Faith Conversations for Men” Series, this week we dive into another hard and sensitive topic, “Faith Through Suffering”
What does faith look like through suffering?
Men – you WILL go through suffering in life, it’s all about how you deal with it
Knowing Jesus does not mean that you won’t have problems
That is the nature of this world, it’s broken and their’s pain
What does faith look like in what will inevitably be seasons of suffering that we walk through?
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Romans 8:22 (NIV)
How do we deal with those close to us who are going through a season of suffering?
We are quick to want to help by offer comforting words and advice
Sometimes those “comforting words” are not comforting at all to the person suffering
You have to be allowed to hurt and deal with the actual pain of your suffering
We tend to think we can’t have seasons of suffering and doubt if we are strong enough in our faith
This concept of “having it all together” is one of the most harmful things to Christians and the church
When we put this facade up, we don’t open up and aren’t vulnerable to other people
Men are especially subject to this and it ultimately leads to isolation
There’s a long record in scripture of God’s people being very vulnerable about the things they are struggling with
Being able to lament, mourn and confess and be real with God and one another
The result of facing your suffering head on is healing
Over a third of the Psalms are lament Psalms
Jesus crying out in the garden and lamenting on the cross
We have this invitation from Scripture to be real and to lament about our suffering
We get a very clear picture of how Jesus deals with grief and suffering in John 11
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept.” John 11:33-35
Jesus meets each of the sisters in their suffering in a different and unique way
Jesus is not some distant, cosmic God – he cares about YOUR suffering
Being real about your suffering shows what’s really true and valuable
Lamenting and mourning through suffering is strong faith
Check out this amazing book, “Just Be Honest: How to Worship Through Tears” by Clint Watkins
If you need some accountability in your life check out our Strong27™ mentorships, visit menofiron.org/thesummit.
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