Posts by Vaneetha Rendall Risner

Vaneetha Risner

Author

Vaneetha writes and speaks about meeting God in suffering. She is the author of The Scars That Have Shaped Me: How God Meets Us in Suffering and her memoir, Walking Through Fire. You can find her writing at Desiring God and Vaneetha.com. Vaneetha lives in North Carolina with her husband Joel. She has two daughters, Katie and Kristi. Watch Choosing Joy in Suffering from Diamonds 2019.

The Relentless Ache of Unfulfilled Longings

Audio, Chronic Illness, Pain, Vaneetha Rendall Risner | 6 min read

I was torn about what to do. I begged God to take away this desire and he didn’t. So, I cried out to him to meet me amid this unfulfilled longing.

"Perhaps in heaven, I will thank God most for my unfulfilled longings because they did the deepest, most lasting work in my soul." Vaneetha Risner

How Can We Find Joy When We’ve Lost Everything?

Audio, Chronic Illness, Hope, Suffering & Joy, Vaneetha Rendall Risner | 6 min read

Habakkuk says that he will rejoice in the Lord today - in the midst of the devastation and loss. How is it possible to find joy when you've lost everything?

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:18-19

Don’t Sing Happy Songs to a Heavy Heart

Audio, Grief, Lament, Pain, Vaneetha Rendall Risner | 5 min read

Singing happy songs to a heavy heart is cruel. Don’t tell grieving people that their pain is a gift or make them sing praise songs when they don’t want to. Don’t tell them that other people are suffering more than they are.