Gospel.com Blog

Has life ever hit you with an unwanted interruption–or disruption–that messed up your plans and sent you back to Square One?

For author Blaine Smith, that disruption came in the form of a computer crash that wiped out much of the book he was writing, forcing him to start over from scratch. But once he’d gotten over his initial frustration, Blaine made a surprising realization: what he considered a terrible setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

How so? Read Blaine’s latest Nehemiah Notes column, in which he talks about the ways that God sometimes uses unwanted “interruptions” to benefit our lives, and how to distinguish these blessings in disguise from genuine disruptions.

Ever heard the phrase “make lemonade out of those lemons,” exhorting you to take a bad situation and try to salvage some good out of it? It’s a somewhat cheesy cliche, but sometimes it can take a few frustrations to kickstart our creativity and inspiration. In his latest essay, Blaine Smith of Nehemiah Notes talks about the ways that you can approach frustration as an opportunity, not just as a setback–he calls it “inspirational dissatisfaction.” Blaine suggests that frustration is often a God-given motivation to make a positive change.

Are you feeling weighed down by anxiety, terrified by the thought of everything that could go wrong in your life? Life is filled with disappointment and stress, and the more we dwell on difficulty, the more it can come to dominate us.

In a new article at the Officers’ Christian Fellowship, Ron Prosise finds a Biblical answer to anxiety by looking at a Biblical character who went through incredible stress–and who rose above it. Can the answer to out-of-control anxiety be as simple as prayer? Read the full article to find out why Ron thinks that prayer is your greatest asset when you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress.

Blaine Smith has a new column up this week about a challenge that most of us run into at some point in life: moving on with life after a disappointment or letdown. Blaine writes:

During our own lifetime, we each experience a multitude of disappointments and setbacks. They range from minor aggravations (a friend forgets a lunch date, your favorite restaurant closes) to major unwelcome turns of fate (the breakup of a cherished relationship, the death of a loved one). The experience of loss is universal–none of us escapes it. Yet the way we respond to it varies greatly among us, and radically affects our quality of life.

How should we respond to grief and disappointment? Blaine looks at the model provided for us by Biblical characters who had to move on after letdowns, and offers some thoughts on how we can do the same.

As a bill collector, George Fooshee has seen just about every type of financial woe imagineable. In our consumer society, debt and financial ruin lurk around every corner. So what does the Bible say about managing our finances? In an article at Back to the Bible, Fooshee calls on both his financial sense and his Biblical insight to outline ten Biblical financial principles you can use to keep your financial house in order.

Is Christianity a cure for emotional damage? Does emotional stability and spiritual maturity go hand-in-hand… and does that mean that a Christian with emotional problems lacks spiritual maturity? And what about people who experienced profound emotional turbulence earlier in life–abusive parents, broken families, sexual abuse, addiction–but who have now turned to Christ?

Will the emotional damage you’ve suffered hinder your spiritual life? David Seamands, writing at the Narramore Christian Foundation, looks at what the Bible has to say about damaged emotions.

Pastoral burnout is a topic we’ve noted several times here at the Buzz, and if the number of articles about it are any indication, it remains a serious problem. But a piece by Dave Kraft at the Navigators website looks at the issue from a different angle, and asks church leaders “How healthy are you?”

He’s not just talking about spiritual health–he’s challenging leaders and ministers to consider whether the everyday lifestyle they lead contributes to their ministry… or is just setting them up for a physical and emotional crash. Are you leading a well-paced, focused life–or are you exhausting yourself with a brutal ministry schedule and an ever-increasing burden of stress? Read Kraft’s advice for healthy leadership and see if it applies to your own ministry.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”–is that true? Not by a long shot, according to a Bible study series going on this week over at Revive Our Hearts. This week, Nancy DeMoss is talking about the tremendous power of words, and about what the Bible says about how we are to manage our tongues. The series starts here, but you can also jump in with today’s message about lying.

Have you ever had a “close call” in your life–a time that somebody came through for you unexpectedly in a time of need, or when events conspired to keep you from harm or guide a decision you were trying to make? Did you dismiss those moments as coincidences… or did you suspect God’s protective hand in them? In his latest Nehemiah Notes column, Blaine Smith talks about the ways that God protects and guides us–sometimes when we don’t even realize He’s doing so.

Kim Davidson’s eating disorder had gotten completely out of control. It wasn’t just an unpleasant habit–it was a monster controlling her life. But when she accepted Christ and became a Christian, she learned that she couldn’t give full control of her life to Christ while also letting bulimia control her mind and body.

What lay ahead for Kim wasn’t pleasant; it was a harrowing struggle to break free of her eating disorder. But in the process of that battle, she learned that God was greater than her eating disorder, and that Christ offers hope even in the face of overpowering addiction. If you struggle with an eating disorder or another unhealthy habit, read about the spiritual steps Kim followed to break free, and consider applying the same approach to your own life.