Suffering

Advance copy received for review purposes.

I have read a lot about suffering from a Christian perspective, and I have spoken to numerous clergy members about the subject as well. I have often found these individuals to be as scared and confused by infirmity as anyone else, though they attempt to obfuscate their uncertainty with stock passages and bland reassurances. Some have even implied that the suffering in my family reflects God's displeasure with us. I have never accepted this explanation.

So when Mr Kemp began this book with an intimate and humble examination of how quickly and suddenly his own suffering collapsed his assumptions about life and faith, I found myself immediately heartened. Though perhaps I do not agree completely with every conclusion he reaches, I found Kemp's honesty and humility compelling and inspiring. Thank you, Mr Kemp, for writing such a difficult book.

I am thankful to Crossway and NetGalley.com for an advance review copy of this book.

This book is worth the price for the opening chapters alone. Tripp writes in his characteristically forthright style about the suffering he has experienced himself in recent day. Yet the real skill of this book is that he does it in such a way so that we dont think thats terrible...I feel really sorry for him but we do it in such a way that thinks thats terrible it must have taken faith to survive that.

Interwoven throughout the chapters of the book are real life examples of people who have suffered pain and loss and Tripp skilfully exposes the idols that perhaps had taken hold of them.

If you are suffering read this book and be encouraged by it...if you are not suffering at the moment heed Tripp's words at the start of the book and know for sure that suffering will come one day to your life and when it does you will need to be prepared. Reading this book is a good way to get yourself prepared.

This practical and theologically sound book on suffering comes from personal experience. Paul David Tripp was a busy counselor and author, working long hours to accomplish lots of good with his ministry. Out of the blue, he lost over half of his kidney function and now, after several surgeries, still suffers from debilitating pain and inability to accomplish things that were once easy for him. In this book he uses personal examples and Biblical teaching to show practical ways to handle the suffering that comes from living in a fallen world.

This easy-to-read book emphasizes that having a right theology of God will enable us to handle suffering better when it comes. "Suffering is never just a matter of the body but is always also a matter of the heart. It's never just an assault on our situation, but also an attack on our soul.... Too many of us, while battling the cause of our suffering, forget to battle for our hearts."

The book also provides practical ways to stop our "functional theology"--the theology that arises from the way we act, not from our head knowledge--from morphing into a heretical view of God. "What controls your mediation will control your thoughts about God, yourself, others, your situation, and even the nature of life itself. And as you meditate on what you are suffering, your joy wanes, you hope fades, and God seems increasingly distant. In the meantime, God hasn't changed, his truth is still true, and what you're facing hasn't grown bigger, but it all seems bigger, darker, and more impossible...."

Besides offering advice on controlling our thought life, Tripp reiterates things that Christians know but can forget when they are in the valley. Recount the good things God has done. Sing his praises. Avoid complaining. The Christian community is there to help in times of suffering.

Rather than offering the simple platitude that "God has a purpose for our suffering and that all things will work together for good," Tripp examines what that "good" really refers to. He turns to the Psalms and the book of Job to show that a certain level of doubt is a normal reaction to the heaviness of suffering, but it must not be a doubt that calls into question the goodness of God. The doubt of "wonderment" at what God is doing is the Psalmist's way of crying out to God, but the doubt of "judgment" is the way to create a false picture of who God is and make the suffering even harder to bear.

This book was a helpful reminder of the spiritual disciplines that can ease and comfort during times of trial. It did feel needlessly repetitive in some parts, but it was a thoroughly edifying read and will be a great blessing to many when it is released later this month. Recommended.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Having read another book by Paul David Tripp in the past, I was excited to read his take on suffering and how the Bible explains our pain. He tells his own story about his physical suffering and gives snippets of other people’s stories as well. Although it contained some good and helpful information, it read a bit like a textbook. Under the right circumstance, I could see myself referring someone to this book.

This is a great book. Suffering is something we all face. The author is in the throes of his own suffering beyond his wildest expectations. He shares his story as well as the stories of others whom he has counseled. But most importantly he shares a theology of suffering in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Life with a helper, an advocate who is ever present and in control.

It’s written in a way that the average person can grasp the suggestions, thoughts, concepts, and applications. I love the italics questions throughout steps to ponder and heart scripture to consider with the themes of each chapter, as well as the reflection questions for individual or group review.

As one in the midst of unique suffering, being pointed back to dependence on a great and worthy God, and having all my wrong thinking and self indulgence systematically approached, it’s a hard, humbling, way to relatable read, but one that will resonate and be revisited over and over.

Thankful to read a netgalley copy.

Suffering isn't a question of if but rather a question of when. There isn't a person among us who has not suffered, or who will not one day experience the pain of loss, the sting of betrayal, or the weakness of their physical body failing. Writing out of his own life-altering suffering, Tripp writes, "[t]here could be no more stunning declaration packed with more practical hope than Jesus' words, 'I am with you always.'" Tripp's book is a gritty, street-level reminder that the hope of redemption is not just reserved for eternity but is a real, living, present hope; rooted in the fact that God is with you, in you, and for you right here, right now. This book packs a powerful dose of gospel courage as Tripp unpacks the traps of temptation that greet every sufferer and the comforts of grace that are available for those who fear God and trust their lives to his sovereign love and grace in the midst of difficulty. Tripp provides comforting truth for everyone who has suffered and solid gospel preparation for those who haven't.

Paul David Tripp is a talented author. His books are notable for the way he can communicate deep Biblical truth in an understandable and readable manner. Reading one of his books is almost as if you were sitting and having a one-on-one conversation with him. This book, however, takes his communication skills to a different level.

This is an honest, personal and open discussion about suffering. Mr. Tripp shares his own on-going struggle with daily physical pain and the process he has gone through in handing his attitude and reactions to his pain. This is the most helpful book I’ve ever read on this subject. He
is specific in identifying the thoughts and spiritual struggles that he’s experienced during the last few years, and shares his spiritual journey and the necessity of turning to God during moments of suffering. He writes about how the sufferer’s life is completely changed and how this is not always fully recognized by others. I learned so much from this book. It’s already helped me as I relate to close friends and family members who deal with pain on a daily basis. It’s helping me build a foundation in my own life for those times in my own life when suffering will come my way. This is a book to share and return to again.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This is the best book I’ve ever read on suffering. It is raw and real. The author has gone through some incredible trials and it shows up in how and what he writes. This book is full of hope and comfort that can be ours even in the midst of pain. He writes that besides the suffering of our situation, we suffer the way that we’re suffering that situation. We bring so many beliefs and attitudes about ourselves, others, and God to our trials and they have a huge impact in how we respond to what is happening. “Your suffering is more powerfully shaped by what’s in your heart than by what’s in your body or in the world around you” (location 252). Tripp writes that “Suffering always puts your heart under attack. Suffering makes us all susceptible to temptations that wouldn’t have had such power over us otherwise” (location 413).
My family has gone through some really hard times. As I read this book, there were many times when I was nodding in agreement as he spoke of both the difficulties and the comforts. It helped me understand better what I’ve seen in my life and in lives of friends whose experience with suffering has been very different from mine. Suffering is personal and unique to each of us.

Tripp told one story that I found very compelling. He shared that as he listened to a couple tell their story of suffering, he realized that they never mentioned God. They couldn’t see God’s presence and help and goodness to them. He took on the job of being their “goodness-of-God tour guide” and lead them back through their story and helped them to see how God was present and good to them. I think this would be a great practice for daily life as well as crucial in our experience of suffering.
This book was full of wisdom, encouragement, exhortation, hope, comfort, and truth. I think it’s helpful for someone to read after they’ve gone through a time of suffering as well as during or before. Suffering comes to us all. This book can help us be more ready and understanding of it. I will read it again and again and have already recommended it to others.
Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a complimentary e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Many people choose a word for their year, they are generally beautiful words, inspiring, full of hope, hope, and challenge, have you seen it before? No one would ever choose a sad word for their year right?. However, we must admit, that many times, what we long for or plan to start a year, is perhaps very different from what God will choose for us. Although, I saw the tender hand of God, full of kindness and mercy over me, every day... if I am sincere and I would use a word to describe 2018 it would be this: Suffering. Perhaps only 2003 is compared, (although in a different way). It draws my attention that this word is precisely the title of this book, which was one of the very best I read during that year. And I know not only that word describes my year, but that of many people I love, and surely also for many people around the world facing different circumstances and stages of life. It's funny to see how the perceptions of your life, of people who do not know you, through a screen is so different from reality. We must all be prepared to face pain, that is why resources like this, sincere, profound, biblical, are necessary. I thank God that without knowing, and in His sweet providence I have been reading, over the last few years, precisely on this subject. These contents helped me to be in a certain way "prepared" to face the unexpected and although it is still painful, at least you can decide to surrender and focus your thoughts on the truth. We are so fragile, everything is so unstable, changing, finite, temporary, that I continually recommend being prepared for pain, I do not imagine how people can live their lives without God and without hope. The ideas we have about suffering will directly affect our perceptions and reactions. I would have loved to learn more about this subject during my childhood, more about the pain, sovereignty, and goodness of God, yes, all of it mixed, present and available in everyone's life, at the same time, laughter and tears. It's never too late to start. This book, for example, is a good current material of one of my favorite authors, Paul David Tripp. Thank God for him, I feel so related, thankful for his fidelity to share his teachings and heart in the midst of suffering and also thankful with Crossway books, for publishing deep books just like this one.
#Suffering #NetGalley #Crossway #CrosswayBooks

I love Paul Tripp. The man is a communicator of grace and love. He tackles a tough subject and reminds us to keep our eyes on Jesus and He does what He does and to know that we are not alone. He then covers all of his words with grace and love by showing us how suffering has impacted his own life and how it played out. I love that about Paul. He has no problem allowing himself to be vulnerable because he trust in Jesus and what Jesus is doing. So the rest of us, who are trying to figure this thing called life can chew on what Paul has laid out for us.

One of he most critical things in life for us to have as we go through seasons of suffering is community. Paul has become my community as well as the men in my life. We love taking his books and talking about them, so thank you for Paul for being present even though you aren't actually with us. It is so good to do life with people who love Jesus. Get this book, it is so good for your soul.