Suffering strengthens resolve and increases the value of Christ for those who, in response to the presence of the Spirit in their lives, genuinely trust God’s love and power. Rather than destroying faith-induced hope, suffering spurs it on. It is the fire that fortifies faith, stripping away the illusion of the world’s glamour and gold and unmasking our powerlessness to solve our own problems, or provide for our own security (Luke 12:16-21). Suffering therefore teaches us to esteem God’s promises as our only hope.
— Scott Hafemann (b. 1954), Theologe und Neutestamentler
Related Bible passage: LUK.12.16-21
Topics: Suffering & the Question of God, Faith & Trust, Hope & Confidence
Occasions: For Reflection
Scott Hafemann
Scott Hafemann (* 1954) ist ein US-amerikanischer evangelikaler Neutestamentler und Theologe, der unter anderem am Wheaton College, am Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary und an der University of St Andrews lehrte. Bekannt ist er für seine Arbeiten zur paulinischen Theologie, insbesondere zum zweiten Korintherbrief, sowie für die theologische Betonung der Kontinuität von Altem und Neuem Testament. Bibellesern vermittelt seine Exegese ein vertieftes Schriftverständnis, das alttestamentliche Verheißungen eng mit praktischer Kreuzesnachfolge und Glaubensgehorsam verbindet.
All quotes by Scott Hafemann (39)
In our own woundedness, we can become sources of life for others.
Henri Nouwen
Ultimately mourning means facing what wounds us in the presence of One who can heal.
Henri Nouwen
C.S. Lewis
When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become.
Henri Nouwen
He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.
Joni Eareckson Tada
Etty Hillesum
God writes straight even on crooked lines.
Paul Claudel
God lets us walk no path that he himself has not walked, and on which he does not go ahead of us.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer