Adam explains how Romans 7 shows that God understands our experiences and the clash of desires in our hearts. He takes comfort from the fact that the Bible is very real about the struggles we all face but also offers freedom from condemnation for those who come to Christ.

Ed has chosen Acts 8 as a passage as an example of a beautiful encounter between Jesus and someone who experienced the shame of not having children. He takes encouragement from the fact that Jesus – the one who was despised and rejected – meets us in our pain and offers us hope.

Resources mentioned and related

• Misstep 9 - 'Suffering is to be avoided' (The Plausibility Problem #9) The Living Out team
• 'Be True to Yourself.' Really? Adam Curtis
• Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy Paul David Tripp