Q138_090226 Rom. 8:17 The Three Kinds Of SufferingQ138_090226 Rom. 8:17 The Three Kinds Of Suffering
How it Happens with Colin Cook
Colin Cook explains three kinds of suffering—creation, woundedness and sin—and relates them to faith in Christ, childhood pain and personal temptation. The talk offers spiritual tools like journaling, prayer and acceptance to help people in addiction recovery rethink their pain and move towards healing.
14:40•8 Sept 2026
Three Kinds of Suffering: Faith, Childhood Wounds and Sin on the Sobriety Journey
Episode Overview
- Suffering with Christ is presented as fellowship and identification with him, not a way to earn salvation or impress God.
- The suffering of creation stems from Adam’s sin, and accepting that this judgment is not personally your fault can bring greater peace.
- Childhood wounds—from loss, abuse, parental drinking or poverty—can be brought to God through journaling, honest prayer and reflection.
- Recognising that accusations like "you’re no good" were false and that God was present in painful moments helps loosen shame and fear.
- Resisting temptation brings a constructive kind of pain that strengthens character, supports mental health and reduces self‑destructive behaviour.
“"Every time we resist a temptation, we experience a certain kind of pain. But it is not a pain of destruction. It is a pain of construction."”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober when life already feels hard enough? This teaching-centred episode of *How it Happens with Colin Cook* looks at suffering through a strong Christian lens, aimed at people wrestling with addiction and searching for steadier faith. Colin works through Romans 8:17 and the idea that believers are "heirs of God" who "suffer with him"—not to earn salvation, but to share in fellowship with Christ.
He lays out three kinds of suffering: the suffering of creation, the suffering of woundedness, and the suffering of sin, and links each one to how you might relate to God and to your past. First comes the suffering of creation: being born into a "broken, fallen, ruined world" because of Adam’s sin. Colin stresses, "you are suffering...for Adam’s sin" and urges acceptance rather than endless self‑blame or attempts to "scoop God" and fix everything yourself.
For anyone in recovery who feels the weight of the world on their shoulders, this offers permission to stop pretending to be the saviour. He then moves to the suffering of woundedness, especially from childhood. Whether it’s a parent’s drinking, death, poverty or emotional neglect, Colin suggests practical spiritual work: journaling, listing specific hurts, and talking honestly to God about them.
He encourages people to see that "the accusations that were made of you were not true" and that God was present even in those dark moments. Finally, he tackles the suffering of sin—both from giving in to temptation and from resisting it. Giving in wounds the soul and feeds guilt and shame, but Colin points to Christ’s atoning sacrifice and the promise that "there is no condemnation".
Resisting temptation brings its own discomfort, yet he calls this a "pain of construction" that helps growth, creativity and mental health. Anyone trying to break free from addictive patterns may find fresh language for their pain here—and a challenge: are you ready to stop "griping and whining" about the mess and lean into faith, healing and honest self‑reflection?
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