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When the Journey Hurts: Finding Meaning in Suffering for Heart, Mind, and Soul
Transform Your Suffering with Tools from Theology, Psychology, and Spiritual Formation We don’t like pain. So, we find creative ways to go around it. We try to ignore, minimize, or deny our suffering, but we're still left hurting. The twisting and defiling work of sin on this world is overwhelming and shatters our assumptions about ourselves and our place in the world. And yet, the path forward is through suffering. Our afflictions present an opportunity to encounter God and allow him to redeem our suffering. Drawing on six years of research, When the Journey Hurts untangles common misconceptions about suffering, instead helping you find meaning in it. The authors integrate theology, psychology, and spiritual formation to provide actionable steps and tools that teach you how to suffer well in relationship with God and others. This book introduces seven key practices to help you uncover meaning in your suffering, equipping you to engage with suffering in a healthy, faithful Identifying with Christ's suffering Lament Surrender Forgiveness Gratitude Memento mori (remembering our mortality) Weaving our story of suffering into God's storyThese practices are supported by both theological insights and psychological research, providing a unique approach to navigating suffering. Rather than diminishing the weight of your pain, this book is designed to help you transform suffering into an opportunity for spiritual growth and deeper connection with God. With When the Journey Hurts, you'll find that your pain can lead you closer to Jesus.
224 pages, Paperback
Published April 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 5, 2026
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3.5
More academic than I expected in that it was based on research from the cancer-diagnosed (thus also more cancer heavy than I expected)
Suitably practical even though research based. Just not one of my favorites on the topic.
3.5
More academic than I expected in that it was based on research from the cancer-diagnosed (thus also more cancer heavy than I expected)
Suitably practical even though research based. Just not one of my favorites on the topic.
April 15, 2026
4.5 ⭐️ // My overall impression of the book was that it lifted the sufferer toward God. It didn’t get stuck or bogged down in the questions of how suffering can draw people away from the Lord, like anger with him and blaming him. It discussed that, but it more so lifted the reader toward how suffering can draw us nearer to God.
Throughout the book, studies of people who have been through suffering were used, and their testimonies of how they surrendered to God, how they found meaning in their relationships with God, how they found the presence of God more closely, and more were highlighted. That was a unique feature of this book, perhaps my favorite.
Another feature of the book was its meaning-making model, in which we don’t only receive meaning from God through Scripture—we participate in and make meaning through our responses to Him.
Other gleanings from Part One: A Roadmap for the Journey:
• The book taught that, “The degree to which our view of what’s happening conflicts with our life blueprint determines how much distress we feel.” If our “situational meaning” of our circumstance conflicts with “global meaning” (our worldview), we will feel unmoored. But the book has a promising message: that this potential conflict can be overcome.
• I liked the concept of Scripture associating suffering with glory. This notion lifts the eyes of the sufferer to what’s coming in the future and how we connect with our future now.
• “Intersubjectivity” happens when “two people share a common ground of understanding based on joint experiences”… “They experience a kind of closeness in which the boundaries between ‘me’ and ‘you’ become more blurry—the desires, opinions, and preferences of the other person are experienced in some way as part of themselves.” The book related this to our experience with the Holy Spirit and our potential intimacy with Him. Beautiful!
• I also thought this insight was important: “We must carefully distinguish between the cause or origins of suffering and the purposes of suffering… Causes have to do with where the suffering came from. Purposes are about where God is going and what God is doing with it.”
The authors then in Part Two look at seven meaning-making practices: identifying with Christ’s suffering, lament, surrender, forgiveness, gratitude, remembering our mortality, and weaving our story of suffering into God’s story.
The book taught the sufferer often through the very words of the sufferer (because of the studies done). This added authenticity—hearing from this chorus of those clinging to God in their pain. This book stirred even more thoughts than I am recording here. But suffice it to say, I hold this book in high regard.
Throughout the book, studies of people who have been through suffering were used, and their testimonies of how they surrendered to God, how they found meaning in their relationships with God, how they found the presence of God more closely, and more were highlighted. That was a unique feature of this book, perhaps my favorite.
Another feature of the book was its meaning-making model, in which we don’t only receive meaning from God through Scripture—we participate in and make meaning through our responses to Him.
Other gleanings from Part One: A Roadmap for the Journey:
• The book taught that, “The degree to which our view of what’s happening conflicts with our life blueprint determines how much distress we feel.” If our “situational meaning” of our circumstance conflicts with “global meaning” (our worldview), we will feel unmoored. But the book has a promising message: that this potential conflict can be overcome.
• I liked the concept of Scripture associating suffering with glory. This notion lifts the eyes of the sufferer to what’s coming in the future and how we connect with our future now.
• “Intersubjectivity” happens when “two people share a common ground of understanding based on joint experiences”… “They experience a kind of closeness in which the boundaries between ‘me’ and ‘you’ become more blurry—the desires, opinions, and preferences of the other person are experienced in some way as part of themselves.” The book related this to our experience with the Holy Spirit and our potential intimacy with Him. Beautiful!
• I also thought this insight was important: “We must carefully distinguish between the cause or origins of suffering and the purposes of suffering… Causes have to do with where the suffering came from. Purposes are about where God is going and what God is doing with it.”
The authors then in Part Two look at seven meaning-making practices: identifying with Christ’s suffering, lament, surrender, forgiveness, gratitude, remembering our mortality, and weaving our story of suffering into God’s story.
The book taught the sufferer often through the very words of the sufferer (because of the studies done). This added authenticity—hearing from this chorus of those clinging to God in their pain. This book stirred even more thoughts than I am recording here. But suffice it to say, I hold this book in high regard.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews