“Weep, trust, pray, think, shift, hope, grow. Ways to handle suffering.” – Tim Keller

Tim Keller was a preacher from New York City. He passed away in 2023. I followed him on Twitter because he tweeted profound thoughts like the one above.

You don’t exit life without tough things happening to you. It’s a fact. None of us are exempt.

In specific order, Keller gave us seven verbs to consider when challenged:

• Weep – It’s natural for suffering to bring about weeping. It comes upon us, hitting us with an unanticipated force. It sets us back. It frustrates us. It scares us. Weeping in despair is the outcome.
• Trust – But after weeping, you begin to gather yourself. This is where you do something paradoxical. You trust. Since suffering is part of our experiences, Keller challenged us objectively to trust the process and believe it will yield fruit.
• Pray – As a faithful person, he reminded us to pray. He believed, as do I, that there is someone greater who can affect the challenge. It helps to reach out in prayer.
• Think – Study. Consider. Challenges and suffering cause us to reflect. Consider your blessings. Notice your experience in detail. Consider the valuable lessons learned from it.
• Shift – If you trust the process, you will believe it’s leading you somewhere else. It will probably cause you to think differently, act differently, and move in a different direction.
• Hope – New directions are best when they move you to a better place. Thus, hope weighs significantly. It’s amazing that a process that starts with weeping can bloom into hope.
• Grow – You can grow from a challenge if you keep the process in mind.

I heard a great speech recently. Iowa State coach Matt Campbell was urging his team to love the process of becoming a great team. Here’s what he said:

“If you fall in love with the process, eventually, eventually, the process will love you back.”

Suffering and challenge can begin a process that takes you somewhere better.