Songs in the Dark: Suffering and the Psalms

Counseling Common Struggles

Peter writes to suffering Christians and names the hard thing first every time. Suffering is disorienting, and God is personal. It leaves us disillusioned, and God is preserving us. It is distressing, and God is purifying us. This course works through Freedom Groups session ten on 1 Peter 1:3-9, including how to tell apart suffering that follows your own sin, suffering caused by someone else's, and suffering that comes with living in a broken world. David Powlison shows what Psalm 119 is actually doing, which is a person talking to God with complete honesty about affliction. You will finish by writing your own psalm to God about something real, and by thinking through how you would ask someone in your group to do the same.

1 hour

10 units

3 sections

Start This Course, Free

Free, and it stays free.

What You'll Work Through

Each unit is a conversation, not a page to read. The tutor asks you to explain, apply, and work with the material until it holds.

Chapter 1: Hope in Suffering (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Section 1.1: Peter Names the Hard Thing First

1 Peter 1:7 as the course anchor: tested faith is more precious than gold refined by fire
The session's pattern: name the hard thing first, then name what God is doing
The three movements of 1 Peter 1:3-9: disorienting/personal, disillusioned/preserving, distressing/purifying

Section 1.2: Three Sources of Suffering and the Response Each Calls For

Distinguishing the three sources of suffering
Matching each source of suffering to its fitting response

Chapter 2: How a Sufferer Talks to God (Psalm 119)

Section 2.1: The Psalm as Overheard Honesty

Psalm 119 is prayer, not a meditation on the topic of Scripture
First and second person pronouns outnumber the words for God's word about four to one
Overheard honesty that never whines, boasts, rages, or turns self-pitying

Chapter 3: Writing and Guiding a Personal Psalm

Section 3.1: Your Own Psalm and Helping Someone Else Write Theirs

Writing your own psalm: name the trouble, address God directly, say what you want
Inviting a suffering group member to write a psalm, and responding when it comes back angry