Sunday, August 9, 2009

Tribulation, patience and hope

At Christianity Today, Nancy Guthrie offers a list of five books about suffering and loss:
  • Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, John Piper and Justin Taylor, editors
  • When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty, by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes
  • A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss, by Jerry Sittser
  • A Grief Observed, by C. S. Lewis
  • Disappointment with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud, by Philip Yancey
Perhaps the most lingering insight is Yancey's suggestion that we surrender our quest to understand "why?" and instead begin to ask, "to what end?" thus infusing the struggle with purpose and meaning.
Each of the books on the list is provided with a brief annotation although I have only quoted the one for Yancey. A Grief Observed was the first serious book I ever read on the subject - Yancey's Disappointment With God was almost as important to me. It seems like a very good list. Guthrie is author of Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow.

My Top 5 Books on Loss | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

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