Acts: So They May Hear – What to Do When Life Sucks

What to Do When Life Sucks

So They May Hear: Acts

June 15, 2025

Ben Grasser

Acts 8:1 (NLT)

 Acts 8:4-8 (NLT)

In this story we see a secret to coping with pain, loss, and tragedy — the secret is seeing that even pain is a part of God’s plan.

Rom 8:28 (NLT)

See pain not .

When we see suffering as the path that God is using to direct us, it changes our focus from ourselves and lets us see that His purpose may be bigger than we ever imagined.

Pain is to .

In the middle of his pain, Phillip could have tuned out, could have run away, but he didn’t. Philip decided to run to God… and it caused him to run into an Ethiopian.

Acts 8:26-28 (NLT)

Acts 8:29-31 (NLT)

It’s not enough to just believe in God’s goodness. To trust Him in the hard moments of life, you have to…

Let your .

…that’s what Philip did.

Acts 8:35 (NLT)

Acts 8:36-38 (NLT)

The question isn’t whether you will experience suffering in this life, but how you will respond to it while you’re in it.

Discussion Questions:

1. Ben stated in his sermon that “Pain is God’s prompt to pay attention.” Can you think of a time when pain made you more aware of God’s work in your life?
2. Philip’s response to persecution was to preach the Good News wherever he went. What might it look like for you to “let your pain preach” in your own context?
3. God used Philip to reach people on the margins — Samaritans and an Ethiopian eunuch. Who are the “outsiders” in your world that God might be calling you to reach?
4. “See pain as the path, not the problem.” How might changing your perspective on pain help you grow spiritually?
5. What “pains” are you currently facing in your life? How might God be using them to grow your faith or help others hear about Jesus?