Today, we gathered to face one of the most challenging realities of our faith: the presence of suffering and the question of why God allows pain, even for those who love Him. We began by celebrating the good news of God’s work through our church family—both locally and globally—reminding ourselves that every good thing is a gift from God’s grace. Yet, as we continued in our “Forged” series, we turned to the hard truth that life is not always as we plan, and sometimes God’s path for us includes pain, disappointment, and unanswered prayers.

Drawing from 2 Corinthians 12, we looked at the life of Paul, a man who experienced both extraordinary blessings and deep suffering. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” is a powerful reminder that even the most faithful followers of Jesus are not exempt from hardship. Paul pleaded with God to remove his suffering, but God’s answer was not what he expected. Instead of removal, God offered His sustaining grace: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” This is a truth that runs throughout Scripture—God does not always change our circumstances, but He changes us in the midst of them.

We explored the analogy of photography, where negatives are necessary to produce positives. In the same way, the negatives in our lives—the pain, the disappointments, the thorns—are part of the process God uses to develop us into the image of Christ. We are not promised a life free from suffering, but we are promised God’s presence and His grace to sustain us. The story of Job, the suffering of the apostles, and ultimately the suffering of Jesus Himself all point to a God who redeems pain and uses it for His glory and our good.

The challenge for us is not to avoid suffering, but to lean into it, trusting that God is forging something beautiful even in the darkroom of our pain. We can choose to become bitter, battered, or better. The invitation is to allow God’s grace to meet us in our weakness, to let our suffering become a platform for His power, and to remember that this is not the end—heaven is ahead, and God’s redemption is sure.

Chapters :

[00:00 ] - Welcome

[01:00 ] - Celebrating God’s Work Through Our Church

[03:30 ] - The Apollo 13 “Successful Failure” and God’s Unexpected Plans

[05:45 ] - Prayer for God’s Comfort and Guidance

[08:01 ] - Rethinking “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?”

[10:38 ] - The Reality of Sin and God’s Grace

[12:40 ] - Paul’s Suffering and the “Thorn in the Flesh”

[15:40 ] - Wrestling with God’s Refining Process

[18:27 ] - The Analogy of Negatives and Positives in Life

[21:11 ] - The Darkroom: How God Develops Us Through Pain

[25:32 ] - Suffering in the Story of Scripture

[27:39 ] - Paul’s Visions, Blessings, and Humility

[32:28 ] - God’s Grace in Weakness

[54:10 ] - Choices in Suffering: Bitter, Battered, or Better

[01:04:11 ] - Closing Prayer and Invitation