Collective Church Podcast Draw Near: Drawing Near In Pain
Oct 27, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Pastor Sam Gibson from Church of the City NYC shares his insights on navigating pain and suffering. He explores how pain serves as an inflection point, prompting believers to either draw closer to God or harden their hearts. Sam emphasizes the promise of God’s nearness during hardships and how suffering can deepen empathy and refine priorities. He also discusses the transformative power of repurposing personal struggles into purposeful intercession, urging listeners to embrace a renewed perspective on their relationship with God.
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Presence In Pain
- Pain invites deeper proximity to God; Scripture promises God is "very present" in trouble.
- Sam Gibson urges believers to expect God's nearness rather than guilt when suffering.
Perspective Through Suffering
- Pain opens new perspective and empathy by exposing life's dualities of joy and sorrow.
- Sam Gibson highlights hospitals as places that teach emotional maturity through simultaneous grief and celebration.
Purifying Effect Of Pain
- Suffering purifies motives and priorities by stripping distractions and mixed desires.
- Gibson says pain simplifies life and can reorder what truly matters, producing spiritual growth.
