132. The Hope for our Suffering in Orthodox Christianity | Read the Bible With Me132. The Hope for our Suffering in Orthodox Christianity | Read the Bible With Me
Raised & Redeemed
Michaela reflects on her own hardships while laying out the Orthodox Christian view that suffering can be for salvation and deepening communion with God. Through scripture readings and honest commentary, she questions secular therapy and modern attitudes to pain, offering a hopeful, faith-centred perspective for those who still hurt after turning to Christ.
44:28•22 Jul 2026
Finding Hope in Suffering Through Orthodox Christianity
Episode Overview
- Suffering is accepted in Orthodox Christianity as a means through which God works salvation, rather than proof that faith has failed.
- Many afflictions are linked to the sin and fallenness of humanity, so blaming God for every tragedy misreads the source of suffering.
- Scripture encourages believers to meet trials with joy and perseverance, seeing them as opportunities for deeper faith and patience.
- Secular therapy can help with communication and coping skills, but without a godly view of suffering it may keep people circling their pain.
- Comfort received from God in hardship is meant to be shared, as the godly suffer partly so they can later comfort others in their trials.
“Orthodoxy also accepts the fact that in life we suffer, but we suffer for our salvation.”
How do people find hope in the darkest times? This Raised & Redeemed episode turns that question toward Orthodox Christianity and asks what suffering is really for. Host Michaela Nikolaenko shares candidly that her own family is going through "a bit of a hard time" and uses that as a springboard into how Orthodox faith reframes pain as something that can be "for our salvation" rather than a sign that God has abandoned us.
You'll hear Michaela contrast her husband’s past comfort in the Buddhist idea that "life is suffering" with an Orthodox view that accepts suffering but insists there is "an ultimate hope" in it. She also reflects on feeling out of place in online Christian spaces where everyone seemed to say life was suddenly amazing, while she was still struggling, and how finding Orthodox teaching on trials stopped her from losing heart in her faith.
The episode has a slow, reflective style as Michaela reads passages from the Orthodox Study Bible and its notes, such as James’ encouragement to "count it all joy when you fall into various trials" and Peter’s reminder that fiery trials test the genuineness of faith.
She links these scriptures to life experience, including trends she’s seen online that blame God for suffering, pushing back with the line that "the source of afflictions is the sin of humanity." Therapy also gets examined through an Orthodox lens. Michaela questions secular approaches that promise to "fix" people without a spiritual understanding of suffering, warning that "the mind is a battlefield" and that non-Christian therapists can sometimes lead people astray.
At the same time, she acknowledges "there’s a time and place for therapy" for practical help, as long as it’s paired with a God-centred view of hardship. For anyone in recovery, wrestling with pain, or wondering why life still hurts even after turning to Christ, this gentle, scripture-soaked conversation asks: could your current suffering be part of your salvation story?
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