Hope When It Hurts
Hope When It Hurts
Biblical reflections to help you grasp God’s purpose in your suffering
By Kristen Wetherell and Sarah Walton
250 pages; Good Book Company, 2017.
In a nutshell: “To suffer well, you will need Jesus.” A devotional with an emphasis on the role of suffering in your walk with Jesus.
How do you understand the place of suffering? Is it to be avoided at all costs, prayed against, or cast out in Jesus’ name? Does it threaten your ideal life so much that you don’t really know where to put it? Is your concept of God threatened by it? Is there a pathway through constant pain that doesn’t end in bitterness and numbness?
The gospel tells you why suffering is. It tells you how suffering ends (p21).
This book is all about hope through Jesus and his gospel. The first chapter gives a succinct biblical explanation to the existence of suffering, and the plan of redemption God has put in place to deal with it once and for all. Each chapter follows a similar format and finishes with an opportunity for your own reflection and prayer.
The authors both share from their personal experience of chronic pain, illness and grappling with their own anxieties and fears. They write as though they know all too well the darkness – yet they also know that there’s a way through it. They each give some deep reflections on the promises and comfort of Scripture applied to their situation. ‘God’s megaphone’ is clearly expressed this way:
the reality is that physical or emotional pain, especially when it is chronic, has a way of stripping away the masks we tend to wear, leaving our hearts exposed and our self-sufficient ways of life threatened. It clears away the fog of empty distractions and suddenly makes us face the question: is it worth following Jesus when this is what life will be like? (p49).
Perplexing circumstances in life present us with an opportunity to trust deeper, to hold tighter to Jesus and to keep his promises closer. As this book is a devotional, there is some license given to a couple chapters that deviate somewhat from the overall purpose: a chapter on Christian persecution, and a chapter on sharing the gospel through your suffering. The concept of suffering as a fertile ground for spiritual growth is well established. How you prepare, respond and understand your suffering matters a great deal.
This is a great resource for those who are suffering, as well as those helping them on that journey. If you struggle to know what to say, then this book offers some great assistance in unwrapping God’s words so that they are carefully and appropriately applied.
There are two bonus chapters available here: www.thegoodbook.com.au/hope-when-it-hurts
– Andy Buchan.
