Go To God First

and don't sanitize what you are feeling

Hi, friends. I know I have been pretty absent in this space over the last few months. In due time, I will explain why but for now, please know I have missed you and this space so much and am very happy to be back with every-other-week newsletters and the monthly podcast. Thank you for being here. Okay, let’s get into today’s post:

I was listening to a podcast this week that featured my pastor. They were talking about suffering “well”— what it means and practically, what it looks like.

The conversation was timely for me because I’ve been walking through a season of learning, first hand, that suffering isn’t something a Christian is going to escape in this life. If I’m honest, I wish I was less surprised by this fact as certain facets of my life went from worse to worser.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, I was fully subscribed to the subtle but pervasive ideals promoted and promised by Western Christianity. I genuinely believed that if I did my best to obey God and do things His way, what I could expect was blessings on blessings on blessings. Yes, of course, I knew that life wouldn’t be perfect but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect to be granted a certain amount of ease— or comfort is the better word.

Whatever it is that I thought I was owed was theologically, Biblically, and fundamentally inaccurate.