In many cases, we go into the refiners' fire so that God will remove the draws from our lives,

draw us close to himself, and in the process of pain and suffering, we are made more like Christ.

As I look back on times of suffering in my own life, I can see how God use those times to draw me closer to him.

Perhaps you can see that in your life.

Yet we don't always have that perspective where we're in the midst of grief and suffering, do we?

You're listening to the Monday edition of Renewing Your Mind?

I'm your host, Nathan W. Bingham.

How should we understand suffering then, and how should we as Christians respond?

Well, this week on Renewing Your Mind, R.C. Sprawl will be helping us deal with various difficult problems in the Christian life. And to further aid you in your growth, when you give a donation

of any amount at Renewing Your Mind.org, we'll send you Dr. Sproul's book Surprised by Suffering,

and will give you lifetime digital access to all the messages in the series we're

featuring this week, plus its study guide. Well, today, R.C. Sprole will look at suffering

and we'll consider a number of the ways that the world tends to respond and can sadly influence

our response, and then he'll direct us to the Bible's teaching on how Christians

should think about suffering. Here's Dr. Spurall.

Several years ago, I was invited to give a lecture at Covenant College down in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

And I remember the address that I gave at that time was called the locus,

not locust like the insect, but the locus of astonishment. That is the place where we

focus on what is really amazing to us. I pointed out in that address on that

occasion that we sing amazing grace and give lip service to the sense in which we are amazed by grace,

but I wonder how amazed we really are, where we have

become so accustomed to the mercy of God, the patience of God, and the grace of God, that we

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