We're Going to a Valley of Suffering

Some are leaving the majority american church for a more liturgical tradition, like a mainline episcopalian parish or some edgy expression of catholicism. But often there's an equally underdeveloped expression of suffering in those traditions than there is in the modern evangelical tradition. So why focus on something as bleak as suffering? Because god is just as present in the valley as he is at the mountain top. And because our only hope in the midst of suffering is a god who doesn't leave us alone there, but suffers with us and promises that pain will be brought to an end and will never have the final word.