Healing the Wounds of Trauma

One day he began to think of what he had been taught at school— that God didn’t exist, that God did not create the world. Ben knew that this was not what the Bible teaches, but some part of him felt it might be true after all. Maybe there wasn’t a God listening to his prayers. Sometimes Ben thinks these terrible things have happened because people are so sinful, so he preaches more about how God is judging them. At the end of his sermons, he sees the people looking sad and knows he is not helping them. Often when he is preaching, he feels like a hypocrite because he preaches about God’s love, but he really feels God is far away.

❂❂ SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION 1. What is Ben feeling in his heart about God? 2. Why do you think Ben feels this way about God? 3. Have you ever felt like Ben? If so, explain.

2. When we are suffering, what do we need to remember about God’s character?

When we suffer, we try to make sense of our experience. What we know about God from the Bible might be different than what our culture tells us about what God is like. What our culture tells us may come to mind and cause us to doubt God’s love for us. ❂❂ SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION What does your culture tell you God is like, especially in times of suffering? In the large group, list responses on the board or flip chart. ❂❂ SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION Each table group should take one of the following verses and discuss the questions below. Romans 8.35–39 Psalm 34.18 Matthew 9.35–36 2 Peter 3.9–10 Genesis 6.5–6 1 John 4.9–10

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If God Loves Us, Why Do We Suffer?