Since the beginning of humanity, the question of suffering―why it happens and how God works in it―has existed. What are you doing, God? Why is this happening? Where are you? These questions fill our thoughts when we experience deep pain and tragedy. Having lost two young children who suffered from a rare and incurable disease, editor Nancy Guthrie has put together this helpful collection of short readings exploring the question of suffering.
This anthology includes essays from both classic and contemporary theologians, Bible teachers, and missionaries such as John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Piper, Corrie ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Helen Roseveare. Each entry expounds on a Bible verse, leading readers to see and be comforted by God’s perspective, purpose, and provision in suffering.
About the Author
Nancy Guthrie teaches the Bible at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as at conferences around the country and internationally, including her Biblical Theology Workshops for Women. She is the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast from the Gospel Coalition and the author of numerous books, including Even Better than Eden and Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus. She and her husband are cohosts of the GriefShare video series and lead Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of a child.
Joni Eareckson Tada is founder and CEO of the Joni and Friends International Disability Center, which ministers to thousands of disabled people and their families through programs of practical encouragement and spiritual help. She is also an artist and the author of numerous best-selling books such as Joni; Heaven: Your Real Home; and When God Weeps.
JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564) was perhaps the preeminent theologian of the Reformation. Known best for his Institutes of the Christian Religion, he also wrote landmark expositions on most of the books in the Bible.
J. I. Packer (1926–2020) served as the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College. He authored numerous books, including the classic best seller Knowing God. Packer served as general editor for the English Standard Version Bible and as theological editor for the ESV Study Bible.
John Piper is founder and lead teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He served for thirty-three years as the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is the author of more than fifty books, including Desiring God; Don’t Waste Your Life; and Reading the Bible Supernaturally.
