Veteran youth and family pastor Cameron Cole experienced his worst nightmare come true on Monday, November 11, 2013, when his three-year-old son Cam did not wake up. In the months and years that followed, Cole and his wife Lauren recognized how a foundation of twelve theological truths about the love and character of God helped them find hope in the loss of their son. Cole wrote Therefore I Have Hope: Twelve Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy in order to offer that same hope and comfort to others in the midst of their own tragedies.
Along with an introductory video, each of the following videos will correspond to a chapter in Cole’s book. You will find them on our blog, our YouTube Channel, on Facebook and on Instagram.
Part Two The New Normal – The videos in “The New Normal” contain theological concepts you need as the initial shock wears off and living with your Worst becomes a daily challenge: empathy, providence, doubt, presence, and sin.
Video Six: Empathy– God can understand and empathize with your sorrow better than anyone you will ever find.
Video Seven: Providence– God reigns supreme when the Worst enters your story, and God reigns supreme as he works in every second to heal and restore your heart and your life.
Video Eight: Doubt– Given the vast discrepancy between who God is compared to who we are, living in doubt and mystery often represents the most humble posture we can assume toward the Lord in our suffering.
Video Nine: Presence– In your Worst, you will feel hung out to dry. You will feel distance from God, but that comprises only an emotional or existential reality- not a spiritual or theological one.
Video Ten: Sin– When we feel as if God has treated us unfairly, it helps to remember the treatment of Jesus on earth. When we feel as if we deserve better, the cross can stop this thought in its tracks, because we certainly do not believe we are entitled to a more comfortable life than Jesus.
For Part One of this video series, click here.
