Fear in my subconscious
Terror invades my speech

Faith in my own words
No one knows the nameless

Warm winds and burning tears
Spirits outside bodies

Endless repression by majority
A master without command
Strange new dimension disturbing my brain
Censored ideas, counterfeit answers

Shining blast, no perception
Altered state, no reaction
Shining blast
Altered state

Slow talk, fast thoughts
Ancient Scriptures
Controversial lines
Knowledge changes

Running in the wrong direction
Crossing with blind eyes
I’m closer to myself
Sanity can’t invade

–Sepultura, “Altered State”–

—

Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.
–Genesis 3:17-18 (KJV)–

The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
–2 Chronicles 15:2 (NKJV)–

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.
–Acts 17:27 (KJV)–

When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
–Matthew 6:6 (KJV)–

Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
–Matthew 20:22 (KJV)–

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
dwelleth in me, and I in him.
–John 6:56 (KJV)–

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
–Galatians 2:20 (KJV)–

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
–Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)–

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee.
–Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)–

—

Lester Liles, ed. Streams of Healing: A Book of Comfort (Revell, 1958), pp. 115-125.

Craig S. Keener, Suffering (Baker Academic, 2025).

Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes, When God Weeps (Zondervan, 2000).

David Wilkerson, Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately? (Revell, 2012).

Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place (Bantam, 1971).

Below are some other books on the theology of suffering. It occurred to me that some of the most influential recent voices in this area have been Joni Eareckson Tada, Corrie ten Boom, and David Wilkerson. Unfortunately C. S. Lewis has also had a big voice on this subject, but his writings are so littered with liberalism, skepticism, and pagan fantasy that I’d recommend readers to just ignore the guy going forward. The more I learn about Lewis, the more grieved, sick, and frustrated I get. But with the help of some A.I., I was able to draw the inference that Eareckson Tada, ten Boom, and Wilkerson all shared an interest in the following books to process their thoughts about suffering: John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening, The Imitation of Christ, and Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God. Except for Spurgeon, these other three were also central to John Wesley’s spirituality.