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Guidebooks for Life
Suffering Well: The Predictable Surprise of Christian Suffering
If you had to explain to a friend what the Bible says about suffering, what would you say?
Paul Grimmond writes:
"As I began to write this book, I thought I knew pretty much what I was going to say. But the more I read the Bible, trying to find the right passages to make the points I thought I needed to make, the more uneasy I felt."
Come with Paul and discover the surprises he uncovers as he asks some of the most basic questions of the Christian life: Why do we suffer? And what does it mean to suffer—and even die—well?
This book is part of our Guidebooks for Life series. Like other titles in the series, it covers an important issue of the Christian life in an accessible and straightforward way.
Paul Grimmond writes:
"As I began to write this book, I thought I knew pretty much what I was going to say. But the more I read the Bible, trying to find the right passages to make the points I thought I needed to make, the more uneasy I felt."
Come with Paul and discover the surprises he uncovers as he asks some of the most basic questions of the Christian life: Why do we suffer? And what does it mean to suffer—and even die—well?
This book is part of our Guidebooks for Life series. Like other titles in the series, it covers an important issue of the Christian life in an accessible and straightforward way.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
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93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 18, 2013
A complimentary review copy was provided to me by Cross Focused Reviews (A Service of Cross Focused Media, LLC). I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
There are many books out there on suffering from a Christian perspective and I have read several of them. What makes this book so different it takes suffering from God's point of view and man's point of view. It also teaches on the different types of suffering which I found quite helpful. Is this a book to read while going thru a difficult time, I don't think so. If I were to suggest a book to read it would be Psalms during difficult times. This one is to read to prepare you for suffering so that you may suffer well. Suffering well is when thru the midst of our suffering, God is glorified.
From God's point of view, suffering reveals God's character. His grace is magnified during suffering. We share in his glory during this period. A world view may look at this has being somewhat sadistic, however, biblical view shows God's sovereignty. To have a biblical view, we need to be in the word always which is stressed in Suffering Well. In Isaiah, Jesus is referred to as the Suffering Servant, as his followers, are we to have it differently. In suffering, all we have is to cling to him and his promises. So knowing Jesus in relationship and according to his word is essential. It seems odd, but I can attest to it and many others can as well, but in suffering, we see that God is good. Since Adam and Eve, we have been told that God is not good and that we know better than God leading us to suffer terribly.
From our point of view, this read blessed me tremendously. In our culture we live for comfort and suffering is not a good sale. However, because we run from pain, we don't always deal with any heart break potential. If this is going to hurt me and cause me any discomfort, I am not going there. I will run and hide. Many times because of this, we are running from God's will in our lives. Another aspect to avoiding pain is we choose sin over temporary. We don't see heaven and the eternal. Great examples of this is abortion. Myself or someone I love dearly, may have a unwanted pregnancy and to avoid the "pain" of caring for a child, we choose abortion. Gay marriage, Jesus himself in Matthew 9 that marriage is between a man and woman, that is what God's design was however, man's heart was harden. As Christians, many of us know loved ones that struggle with this, however, because we see the pain that they are in and in the name of love, we go against God's will. Are we called to love people in this type of pain. YES, but not to celebrate. Standing for righteousness is standing for truth and is a call to Suffer Well.
Suffering Well is not a list of do's and don'ts. It is having faith in the character of God and living it out in Glory to him. It is a wonderful thing that takes courage of a willful heart that is after him.
There are many books out there on suffering from a Christian perspective and I have read several of them. What makes this book so different it takes suffering from God's point of view and man's point of view. It also teaches on the different types of suffering which I found quite helpful. Is this a book to read while going thru a difficult time, I don't think so. If I were to suggest a book to read it would be Psalms during difficult times. This one is to read to prepare you for suffering so that you may suffer well. Suffering well is when thru the midst of our suffering, God is glorified.
From God's point of view, suffering reveals God's character. His grace is magnified during suffering. We share in his glory during this period. A world view may look at this has being somewhat sadistic, however, biblical view shows God's sovereignty. To have a biblical view, we need to be in the word always which is stressed in Suffering Well. In Isaiah, Jesus is referred to as the Suffering Servant, as his followers, are we to have it differently. In suffering, all we have is to cling to him and his promises. So knowing Jesus in relationship and according to his word is essential. It seems odd, but I can attest to it and many others can as well, but in suffering, we see that God is good. Since Adam and Eve, we have been told that God is not good and that we know better than God leading us to suffer terribly.
From our point of view, this read blessed me tremendously. In our culture we live for comfort and suffering is not a good sale. However, because we run from pain, we don't always deal with any heart break potential. If this is going to hurt me and cause me any discomfort, I am not going there. I will run and hide. Many times because of this, we are running from God's will in our lives. Another aspect to avoiding pain is we choose sin over temporary. We don't see heaven and the eternal. Great examples of this is abortion. Myself or someone I love dearly, may have a unwanted pregnancy and to avoid the "pain" of caring for a child, we choose abortion. Gay marriage, Jesus himself in Matthew 9 that marriage is between a man and woman, that is what God's design was however, man's heart was harden. As Christians, many of us know loved ones that struggle with this, however, because we see the pain that they are in and in the name of love, we go against God's will. Are we called to love people in this type of pain. YES, but not to celebrate. Standing for righteousness is standing for truth and is a call to Suffer Well.
Suffering Well is not a list of do's and don'ts. It is having faith in the character of God and living it out in Glory to him. It is a wonderful thing that takes courage of a willful heart that is after him.
September 8, 2012
If you want a book that fundamentally explains a correct theology of suffering, that should renew your mind and therefore your heart and soul during the trials of this life, buy this book!
Before I get into the book itself I would like to give the appropriate disclosure that the book was provided by Mathias Media in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review. I intend to do just that, albeit briefly. So do this ministry a favor and if I intrigue you enough to purchase, do so from their website-click on the picture to the left, they are from my estimation a wonderful group of humble Christians who have done the Church a great service.
In order to set the stage for the book and my ability to review the material with any credible authority, I feel it is important for me to confess my exposure to suffering in general. One of the beautiful things about this book in comparison to its peers in the topic of suffering, is that it seems to speak more directly to the topic of suffering as a Christian in light of two things: 1) A modern worldview that if God is God and God is good, then why do his people suffer at all? and 2) Suffering for Christ’s sake, in other words, Christian persecution.
On that note, I cannot with any honesty confess that I have been persecuted directly for my faith in any manner similar to the Apostles or martyrs and historic heroes of the faith like Martin Luther, or even the Puritan Pilgrims who left England in pursuit of their compulsion to freely worship. So to that I will give little comment as I am not in a position to argue based on anything except history and the Scriptures.
However, I can speak for an eternity on the topic of personal suffering and experience of pain. I battle daily with pain, have been scared that my child possibly had a terminal illness, I have witnessed my wife being wheeled into the operating room in order to correct a heart malfunction that had already threatened to take her life several times before. I have witnessed an honest man be falsely accused and be torn to shreds by public mockery and I have uncovered the remains of fallen brothers in arms on the battlefield. I have as much reason to doubt the existence of a good God as anyone, but by the grace of God alone I do not. Paul Grimmond, in this work, does an outstanding job outlining why Christians across the globe and in centuries past have not as well.
In God’s kind providence, my church has been going through a series in Job this summer, we have seen some of the similar topics explained and exposited in scripture that Grimmond shows us. What makes Grimmond’s work exceptionally helpful is the careful attention he gives to a proper view of God, and a proper worldview as it pertains to the purpose of life, the standard of morality and thereby the problem of suffering as it is perceived by those with an incorrect view of God’s sovereign control and intent in suffering and by those who understand that God does allow suffering in order to draw his people closer to him in faith and dependence upon his providence in their lives.
He responds correctly and logically after illustrating the common flawed worldviews of humanist and atheist understandings of God and suffering with biblical illustrations that counter their views which aim to clarify the true purpose in Christian suffering.
We see in the third chapter several examples showing that in our suffering we have a prime opportunity to show the world how God is our source of all hope, power, perseverance and righteousness. In our suffering we have the glorious opportunity to be brought to our knees in worship and submission before the perfect justice of a holy Creator God so that we might have the opportunity to have our self righteousness and self sufficiency revealed for what it is, that is, a damnable verdict of pride and idolatry before our God, Creator and Judge before it is too late.
As we moved into the fourth chapter we start to really see the proposition of the biblical answer to suffering put together. I think this is where Grimmond goes in for the kill..driving his point home methodically. But Why? That is the nature of the chapter and he answers it just as God did in scripture. It is all for the glory of His name. I even love how he predicts the reader’s hesitation to accept that answer and then responds with scripture again…”but who are you o man…?” And then the final blow to the folly of human logic. God himself is not only involved in our suffering, but he himself suffered.
I could end the review here and be justified in saying the book is worth the read, unlike other books on the same topic, which i have read at least ten of them, Grimmond disassembles the worldview of the prideful enlightened man and juxtaposes with what I call “a biblical logical paradox”. It only makes sense in scripture, because the world is backwards, not scripture.
Now we have the remaining chapters which I foresee a some readers wanting to skip ahead towards. Those are the chapters on suffering in general as a Christian, the predictable surprise as a human in this fallen world, and the suffering as Christian for the fame of Christ’s name, which is persecution. These are identified separately, rightly so. As I mentioned above I don’t have much experience in the persecution for Christ, but general suffering I understood, so I was grateful for the differentiation, I think it was an important clarification to make.
I could go on more on the specific details of suffering in persecution as well as during pain and suffering in this life, but I think my review his home. If you want a book that fundamentally explains a correct theology of suffering, that should renew your mind and therefore your heart and soul during the trials of this life, buy this book! There is no greater read that is accessible to all reading levels that explains the correct approach to the bibles view of suffering and clarifies where the world has it all wrong.
Before I get into the book itself I would like to give the appropriate disclosure that the book was provided by Mathias Media in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review. I intend to do just that, albeit briefly. So do this ministry a favor and if I intrigue you enough to purchase, do so from their website-click on the picture to the left, they are from my estimation a wonderful group of humble Christians who have done the Church a great service.
In order to set the stage for the book and my ability to review the material with any credible authority, I feel it is important for me to confess my exposure to suffering in general. One of the beautiful things about this book in comparison to its peers in the topic of suffering, is that it seems to speak more directly to the topic of suffering as a Christian in light of two things: 1) A modern worldview that if God is God and God is good, then why do his people suffer at all? and 2) Suffering for Christ’s sake, in other words, Christian persecution.
On that note, I cannot with any honesty confess that I have been persecuted directly for my faith in any manner similar to the Apostles or martyrs and historic heroes of the faith like Martin Luther, or even the Puritan Pilgrims who left England in pursuit of their compulsion to freely worship. So to that I will give little comment as I am not in a position to argue based on anything except history and the Scriptures.
However, I can speak for an eternity on the topic of personal suffering and experience of pain. I battle daily with pain, have been scared that my child possibly had a terminal illness, I have witnessed my wife being wheeled into the operating room in order to correct a heart malfunction that had already threatened to take her life several times before. I have witnessed an honest man be falsely accused and be torn to shreds by public mockery and I have uncovered the remains of fallen brothers in arms on the battlefield. I have as much reason to doubt the existence of a good God as anyone, but by the grace of God alone I do not. Paul Grimmond, in this work, does an outstanding job outlining why Christians across the globe and in centuries past have not as well.
In God’s kind providence, my church has been going through a series in Job this summer, we have seen some of the similar topics explained and exposited in scripture that Grimmond shows us. What makes Grimmond’s work exceptionally helpful is the careful attention he gives to a proper view of God, and a proper worldview as it pertains to the purpose of life, the standard of morality and thereby the problem of suffering as it is perceived by those with an incorrect view of God’s sovereign control and intent in suffering and by those who understand that God does allow suffering in order to draw his people closer to him in faith and dependence upon his providence in their lives.
He responds correctly and logically after illustrating the common flawed worldviews of humanist and atheist understandings of God and suffering with biblical illustrations that counter their views which aim to clarify the true purpose in Christian suffering.
We see in the third chapter several examples showing that in our suffering we have a prime opportunity to show the world how God is our source of all hope, power, perseverance and righteousness. In our suffering we have the glorious opportunity to be brought to our knees in worship and submission before the perfect justice of a holy Creator God so that we might have the opportunity to have our self righteousness and self sufficiency revealed for what it is, that is, a damnable verdict of pride and idolatry before our God, Creator and Judge before it is too late.
As we moved into the fourth chapter we start to really see the proposition of the biblical answer to suffering put together. I think this is where Grimmond goes in for the kill..driving his point home methodically. But Why? That is the nature of the chapter and he answers it just as God did in scripture. It is all for the glory of His name. I even love how he predicts the reader’s hesitation to accept that answer and then responds with scripture again…”but who are you o man…?” And then the final blow to the folly of human logic. God himself is not only involved in our suffering, but he himself suffered.
I could end the review here and be justified in saying the book is worth the read, unlike other books on the same topic, which i have read at least ten of them, Grimmond disassembles the worldview of the prideful enlightened man and juxtaposes with what I call “a biblical logical paradox”. It only makes sense in scripture, because the world is backwards, not scripture.
Now we have the remaining chapters which I foresee a some readers wanting to skip ahead towards. Those are the chapters on suffering in general as a Christian, the predictable surprise as a human in this fallen world, and the suffering as Christian for the fame of Christ’s name, which is persecution. These are identified separately, rightly so. As I mentioned above I don’t have much experience in the persecution for Christ, but general suffering I understood, so I was grateful for the differentiation, I think it was an important clarification to make.
I could go on more on the specific details of suffering in persecution as well as during pain and suffering in this life, but I think my review his home. If you want a book that fundamentally explains a correct theology of suffering, that should renew your mind and therefore your heart and soul during the trials of this life, buy this book! There is no greater read that is accessible to all reading levels that explains the correct approach to the bibles view of suffering and clarifies where the world has it all wrong.
January 12, 2025
we had a tough year last year. So I grabbed this book to help me think through suffering - as i headed into the realities of 2025. In it, I was encouraged by the Scriptures. The take away for me was to "trust God and do good-" from 2 Corinthians 1- "blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies the God of all comfort. "
This book was not particularly pastoral and probably not best to be read with a breaking heart, but may be in a stable seaon - for although it answered a lot of head questions it did not do much to bring me much comfort or joy but rather accept it and stick through it.
however it has a place in helping think through questions that will be answered when we are face-to-face with Jesus. Whose face will be comfort enough.
paperback
This book was not particularly pastoral and probably not best to be read with a breaking heart, but may be in a stable seaon - for although it answered a lot of head questions it did not do much to bring me much comfort or joy but rather accept it and stick through it.
however it has a place in helping think through questions that will be answered when we are face-to-face with Jesus. Whose face will be comfort enough.
paperback
January 31, 2013
“The Predictable Surprise of Christian Suffering:”
“If you had to explain to a friend what the Bible says about suffering, what would you say?
Paul Grimmond writes:
"As I began to write this book, I thought I knew pretty much what I was going to say. But the more I read the Bible, trying to find the right passages to make the points I thought I needed to make, the more uneasy I felt."
Come with Paul and discover the surprises he uncovers as he asks some of the most basic questions of the Christian life: Why do we suffer? And what does it mean to suffer—and even die—well?
This book is part of our Guidebooks for Life series. Like other titles in the series, it covers an important issue of the Christian life in an accessible and straightforward way.” (From the Matthias Media Company Website)
About the Author:
Paul Grimmond is a gifted and well-known Bible teacher, currently serving on the campus of the University of New South Wales. He is the author of Right Side Up, a book about the Christian life, and co-author with Phillip Jensen of The Archer and the Arrow, a book about preaching. Paul lives with his wife, Cathy, and their three children in Sydney’s east.
My Thoughts About the Book: Living well, suffering well and dying well are three very difficult tasks that we as humans all must face. Once we are born into this world two things we will not escape in our lives is suffering and death. However, few people are ever prepared to suffer and die and do it “well” as author Paul Grimmond writes about in his edifying and spiritually encouraging book, Suffering Well. His book his solidly Biblical and intensely practical making it of great value to all of us who want to learn about the issue of suffering and what God’s Word has to say about it.
Opinion is one thing. Opinion based on experience is another. But opinion based on experience supported by the Word of God is a total different story…and one well worth reading and giving our full attention to. And a lot of people today write prolifically as to what their opinions are about suffering throwing in some testimonies of their own personal experience in the school of life and suffering, writing eloquent as if “their” opinion and experience was the measuring rod for the rest of us as to how we should live. But author Grimmond does not merely share his opinion and thoughts concerning suffering as if he were a mechanic writing unemotionally about how to repair an automobile. No, he gets it – that is the concept of suffering and the character of God and he marvelously shares what he has learned both from the Word of God, (his book is delightfully rich with Scripture passages to read and consider), as well as from experience concerning suffering as a Christian.
His book,
Suffering Well, is written to inform and edify us as Christians and build us up in the faith so that we can be properly prepared to handle suffering in our lives when it comes. And some of you just might read his book and think to yourself “what does he know about suffering? Compared to what I have suffered or endured as a Christian and as a person, he knows very little from his own personal experience.” And that may very well be true. However If you are such a person who is thinking that read and learn from the wisdom, personal study and experience of author Grimmond about life, Christianity and suffering and you will learn this…that although he may not have suffered as a person as you have or are, he knows the experience personally from living in this sinful fallen world. And though the experiences among us may be different, the measure of our sufferings are not the same and are ever changing, there is one thing that ALWAYS remains the constant and the same and that is the person and character of God in the midst of our suffering as clearly revealed to us in the Word of God. That is something he makes very clear in his well written and worthy of reading book concerning the matter of how to suffer well as a Christian.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book at no cost from Matthias Media for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
“If you had to explain to a friend what the Bible says about suffering, what would you say?
Paul Grimmond writes:
"As I began to write this book, I thought I knew pretty much what I was going to say. But the more I read the Bible, trying to find the right passages to make the points I thought I needed to make, the more uneasy I felt."
Come with Paul and discover the surprises he uncovers as he asks some of the most basic questions of the Christian life: Why do we suffer? And what does it mean to suffer—and even die—well?
This book is part of our Guidebooks for Life series. Like other titles in the series, it covers an important issue of the Christian life in an accessible and straightforward way.” (From the Matthias Media Company Website)
About the Author:
Paul Grimmond is a gifted and well-known Bible teacher, currently serving on the campus of the University of New South Wales. He is the author of Right Side Up, a book about the Christian life, and co-author with Phillip Jensen of The Archer and the Arrow, a book about preaching. Paul lives with his wife, Cathy, and their three children in Sydney’s east.
My Thoughts About the Book: Living well, suffering well and dying well are three very difficult tasks that we as humans all must face. Once we are born into this world two things we will not escape in our lives is suffering and death. However, few people are ever prepared to suffer and die and do it “well” as author Paul Grimmond writes about in his edifying and spiritually encouraging book, Suffering Well. His book his solidly Biblical and intensely practical making it of great value to all of us who want to learn about the issue of suffering and what God’s Word has to say about it.
Opinion is one thing. Opinion based on experience is another. But opinion based on experience supported by the Word of God is a total different story…and one well worth reading and giving our full attention to. And a lot of people today write prolifically as to what their opinions are about suffering throwing in some testimonies of their own personal experience in the school of life and suffering, writing eloquent as if “their” opinion and experience was the measuring rod for the rest of us as to how we should live. But author Grimmond does not merely share his opinion and thoughts concerning suffering as if he were a mechanic writing unemotionally about how to repair an automobile. No, he gets it – that is the concept of suffering and the character of God and he marvelously shares what he has learned both from the Word of God, (his book is delightfully rich with Scripture passages to read and consider), as well as from experience concerning suffering as a Christian.
His book,
Suffering Well, is written to inform and edify us as Christians and build us up in the faith so that we can be properly prepared to handle suffering in our lives when it comes. And some of you just might read his book and think to yourself “what does he know about suffering? Compared to what I have suffered or endured as a Christian and as a person, he knows very little from his own personal experience.” And that may very well be true. However If you are such a person who is thinking that read and learn from the wisdom, personal study and experience of author Grimmond about life, Christianity and suffering and you will learn this…that although he may not have suffered as a person as you have or are, he knows the experience personally from living in this sinful fallen world. And though the experiences among us may be different, the measure of our sufferings are not the same and are ever changing, there is one thing that ALWAYS remains the constant and the same and that is the person and character of God in the midst of our suffering as clearly revealed to us in the Word of God. That is something he makes very clear in his well written and worthy of reading book concerning the matter of how to suffer well as a Christian.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book at no cost from Matthias Media for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
January 29, 2013
It is true. Life doesn't always go your way. Bad things happen. People lose their jobs, get sick, die. Christians who decide to live their life for God and follow His ways, sometimes find themselves at odds with the wider culture. In the West this might lead to some social ridicule. In the majority world, taking a stand for Christ means overt persecution. And didn't Jesus tell us it would be this way? "In this world you will have trouble . . .(John 16:33)."
In Suffering Well: The Predictable Surprise of Christian Suffering, Paul Grimmond does not propose a remedy to suffering. Instead he offers, more of an inoculation 'to help us arm ourselves with the truth so that we're equipped to suffer well when the time comes. (17)' As a campus minister at the University of New South Wales (Sydney) he has walked alongside numerous students who have struggled physically, emotionally and spiritually for their declaration of faith. In this book, he offers a practical guide which helps readers latch onto what the Bible says about suffering, instead of what our culture says.
What the Bible has to say on this topic is the major theme of this book. Early in this book (chapter 2), Grimmond rehearses the competing narratives of our age, and how they shape our understanding of suffering. When we look to what the Bible says about suffering, it presents a whole different set of assumptions and answers to questions that our culture is not even asking. Like Job's encounter with God, we can't expect to find out the 'why' behind our suffering; yet like him 'our answer' will come in the form of a fresh encounter with God.
Grimmond reviews a number of Biblical texts on suffering and what we can expect. He even exhorts us to suffer more for our faith than we are (most of our suffering comes from our fallenness and the brokenness of our world rather than our courageous faith). Ultimately, he wants us to trust God through our suffering and to continue to serve and seek him as we suffer.
There is a lot of good stuff here and I think Grimmond makes some astute theological points in simple, accessible terms. Grimmond is a campus minister and I can see this sort of book used in that context, getting young adults to shore up their faith for life's struggles. There is too much 'easy faith' peddled these days, and what Grimmond offers is different. On the other hand, what Grimmond addresses in this short book is the full catalogue of Christian suffering: disease, grief, sickness, death, chronic pain, natural disaster, persecution, etc. This book offers a good general overview of suffering (or struggles, striving, etc.), but this may not be the resource I commend for Christians facing particular struggles. But as an examination of the broad theme, this book has good things to say.
I would recommend this for youth and young adult Christians who are learning to deal with the 'real world.' Older Christians may also benefit from this book and be reminded of particular Biblical themes which speak to their situation. I give this book four stars: ★★★★☆
Thank you to Cross Focused Reviews and Matthias Media for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.
In Suffering Well: The Predictable Surprise of Christian Suffering, Paul Grimmond does not propose a remedy to suffering. Instead he offers, more of an inoculation 'to help us arm ourselves with the truth so that we're equipped to suffer well when the time comes. (17)' As a campus minister at the University of New South Wales (Sydney) he has walked alongside numerous students who have struggled physically, emotionally and spiritually for their declaration of faith. In this book, he offers a practical guide which helps readers latch onto what the Bible says about suffering, instead of what our culture says.
What the Bible has to say on this topic is the major theme of this book. Early in this book (chapter 2), Grimmond rehearses the competing narratives of our age, and how they shape our understanding of suffering. When we look to what the Bible says about suffering, it presents a whole different set of assumptions and answers to questions that our culture is not even asking. Like Job's encounter with God, we can't expect to find out the 'why' behind our suffering; yet like him 'our answer' will come in the form of a fresh encounter with God.
Grimmond reviews a number of Biblical texts on suffering and what we can expect. He even exhorts us to suffer more for our faith than we are (most of our suffering comes from our fallenness and the brokenness of our world rather than our courageous faith). Ultimately, he wants us to trust God through our suffering and to continue to serve and seek him as we suffer.
There is a lot of good stuff here and I think Grimmond makes some astute theological points in simple, accessible terms. Grimmond is a campus minister and I can see this sort of book used in that context, getting young adults to shore up their faith for life's struggles. There is too much 'easy faith' peddled these days, and what Grimmond offers is different. On the other hand, what Grimmond addresses in this short book is the full catalogue of Christian suffering: disease, grief, sickness, death, chronic pain, natural disaster, persecution, etc. This book offers a good general overview of suffering (or struggles, striving, etc.), but this may not be the resource I commend for Christians facing particular struggles. But as an examination of the broad theme, this book has good things to say.
I would recommend this for youth and young adult Christians who are learning to deal with the 'real world.' Older Christians may also benefit from this book and be reminded of particular Biblical themes which speak to their situation. I give this book four stars: ★★★★☆
Thank you to Cross Focused Reviews and Matthias Media for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.
January 28, 2013
The title seems almost an oxymoron as suffering “well” strikes most of us as an unreal concept. On the other hand, if our Lord made it such a key component of our lives, it simply must be a good thing. So to read something along the lines of this book by Mr. Grimmond and published by Matthias Media should be on our agenda on occasion. We simply must get some sort of handle on something that is going to define our lives on some level. This volume sheds light, light we really need.
This book comes from a different angle than many I’ve seen. One clue is in the sub-title: “The predictable surprise of Christian suffering.” It is part of Christian experience. While he discusses personal or general suffering, the focus of the book is clearly on suffering as a Christian. There are many fine books on general suffering (for example, the writings of Joni Erickson Tada),but far fewer on suffering because you are a Christian.
Mr. Grimmond does well in tying suffering to the larger picture in the chapter on “But why?” I appreciated this comment on the Lord: “God is not an evil young boy pulling the wings off flies. He did not make the world so he could revel in sadistic pleasure. But in some profound way (and here there are many mysteries), suffering is at the very heart of God’s plan to create a perfect world and to glorify himself through his Son.” Well said, don’t you think?
As the book proceeds he draws out clearly from Scripture that “all Christians, without exception, must suffer.” He explains how the New Testament so changes the emphasis and that we should note it. Job and others discuss the suffering in life while Jesus and Paul focused on suffering as a Christian. I believe that both are needed for a balanced Christian perspective.
He explains that persecution is more than dying at the stake. In our culture it’s the many compromises that come in family or work that risk real persecution. An awareness is key here that this too is what the Bible is talking about. Take note of his explaining the value of Hebrews 12 on this subject.
He further explains that our goal is to be godly in the suffering the Lord allows into out lives. Then there is the value of God being so real at these times. Yes, these book has real value.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
This book comes from a different angle than many I’ve seen. One clue is in the sub-title: “The predictable surprise of Christian suffering.” It is part of Christian experience. While he discusses personal or general suffering, the focus of the book is clearly on suffering as a Christian. There are many fine books on general suffering (for example, the writings of Joni Erickson Tada),but far fewer on suffering because you are a Christian.
Mr. Grimmond does well in tying suffering to the larger picture in the chapter on “But why?” I appreciated this comment on the Lord: “God is not an evil young boy pulling the wings off flies. He did not make the world so he could revel in sadistic pleasure. But in some profound way (and here there are many mysteries), suffering is at the very heart of God’s plan to create a perfect world and to glorify himself through his Son.” Well said, don’t you think?
As the book proceeds he draws out clearly from Scripture that “all Christians, without exception, must suffer.” He explains how the New Testament so changes the emphasis and that we should note it. Job and others discuss the suffering in life while Jesus and Paul focused on suffering as a Christian. I believe that both are needed for a balanced Christian perspective.
He explains that persecution is more than dying at the stake. In our culture it’s the many compromises that come in family or work that risk real persecution. An awareness is key here that this too is what the Bible is talking about. Take note of his explaining the value of Hebrews 12 on this subject.
He further explains that our goal is to be godly in the suffering the Lord allows into out lives. Then there is the value of God being so real at these times. Yes, these book has real value.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
ebook-own-toread
October 11, 2016#free4kindle October 10, 2016
February 6, 2017
Great book to read. I do wish that I do have them in book form instead of an ebook. Every believer needs to read this.
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