Getting Through the Tough Stuff: It's Always Something!

by Charles R. Swindoll

We live in a time when things are tough for a lot of folks. The boomers are beginning to feel anxiety as they move toward retirement. Many people are facing financial pressure and are up to their ears in debt. We are having to care for both our kids and our parents. The pace of life, and the demands of life, just keep getting more intense. And for many, these tough times bring life crises. This is a book of encouragement, hope and freedom... an invitation to meet Christ at the crossroads of our lives and move beyond the tough times.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Inspirational, Faith

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2004

About the author

Charles Swindoll has devoted over four decades to two passions: an unwavering commitment to the practical communication and application of God's Word, and an untiring devotion to seeing lives transformed by God's grace. Chuck graduated magna cum laude from Dallas Theological Seminary and has since been honored with four doctorates. For his teaching on Insight for Living, he has received the Program of the Year award and the Hall of Fame award from the National Religious Broadcasters as well as multiple book awards.

Reviews

[Patricia Kubus]

Charles Swindoll educated me in the understanding of Jesus Christ. Many comparisons he made from day to day living of struggles from this day and age, with how Jesus dealt with it in his days on earth, truly showed how much understanding Jesus has for us. Charles describes our pain of getting through the tough stuff and shows a comforting knowledge on how Jesus coped with it and how we can make it better for ourselves. The touching and emotional break down he describes that happened to himself is heart felt, which turns into an amazing recovery into the hands of Christ. He is a very special author and individual; with a special gift of knowledge, understanding, and love. I look forward to reading more of his books. Thank you Charles.

[Bonnie]

With chapters titled Getting Through The Tough Stuff of: Temptation; .Misunderstanding; ..Anxiety; ...Doubt; ...Pain; ...Confrontation (and several others, 15 in all), this is a book that is to be read then placed in the personal library as an addition for future reference.

While we are not dealing with each of the chapter title issues there are those in our life who may need our support with something we have not experienced and having this information at our fingertips give us ammunition in dealing with the effects their needs place on our relationship with them.

Highly recommended for home reference.

[Jennifer]

I was impressed with this book from the beginning and Swindoll continued to impress until the very end. In his book about how to deal with the tough stuff in life (temptation, anxiety, divorce, prejudice, death, author Swindoll creates pictures that remind you of times in your life when you were face to face with the tough stuff. Then he brings in Scripture to show that Jesus faced the tough stuff in His time on earth, too, and we have no better fellow traveller on this planet than Christ Himself. I am going to order the Getting Through the Tough Stuff Workbook for a fall Bible study class through our chapel.

[Karen Klein]

I used this as a devotional with my daily bible readings. This was my first book by Charles Swindoll, but definitely not my last. He explains areas of scripture in plain, easy-to-understand language, to encourage and help getting through some of the more difficult things in life. I highlighted so many things while reading, that I will definitely be using this as a resource on those days when it seems like everything is falling apart and life is just plain hard!

[Teresa]

Loved the lessons in this book and the reassurance we have when we believe in God. There are many topics from temptation to death covered. I found great comfort in the lessons along with my bible beside me. I highly recommend this book to anyone who faces the tough stuff in life. Mr. Swindoll talks to the reader throughout the book like a dear friend in need.

[Melanie]

Excellent book. Exactly what I needed to read right now. I loved the chapters on doubt and inadequacy. I also learned so much from the chapter on remarriage. If your going through some tough stuff, read this book. You will be encouraged.

[Jamie Leeper]

Life is full of tough stuff. This book is a great help!

[Ron]

Life is not always fair.

Problems happen and we all face difficult times.

I don't always agree with the author's theology, however this is a good study on how to deal with the bad times that often come our way.

Using the bible and his many years of Christian counseling, Swindoll presents messages of hope and ideas on getting through problems.

[Wallace]

The expectation didn't match the experience of reading!

There was inconsistency in the feel and flow of the book and different structures for chapters - some ended with a prayer others didn't! Some chapters were better than others, and I especially enjoyed/benefitted from reading chapter 1 on temptation, chapter 4 on shame, chapter 10 on prejudice, chapter 11 on hypocrisy and chapter 12 on inadequacy.

At best it sits between a 3-star and a 4-star rating.

[Gord Davies]

Excellent, cant recommend this book enough.

[Brittany]

A great resource for some straight forward explanation, advice and practical application when dealing with these different situations.

[Dustin]

Great book on dealing with the junk of life

[Jenny]

God is ever present in our lives

God has and is with us every day His love is so important. Even in facing death of illness or the loss of a child he knows a s cares

[Brooke]

This is such an encouraging and convicting book. I highly recommended reading it!

[Jeffrey Bush]

I enjoyed this book. Below are some of my takeaways from this book:


Getting through the tough times of Temptation
Jesus was tempted, but did not yield to the devil. We can have victory over temptation.

Getting through the tough times of Worry.
Worry wins when we eliminate prayer from our lives. Worry wins when we forget God’s presence in our lives. Worry wins when we forget cats God’s providence.
Worry does more harm than good.
Jesus reminds us to look at the birds and their carefree lives, knowing God cares for us.

Getting through the tough times of Shame.
The devil reminds us of our past.
Shame is much deeper than embarrassment.
Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. There’s no limit to the grace God can supply.

Getting through the tough times of Doubt.
Winning over fear and doubt means we walk by faith and not by sight.
The one who understands your deepest longings also cares about your pain.

Getting through the tough times of Confrontation.
Soon after Christ told Peter that He will build His church, He confronted Peter. We note two lessons about when to confront: a) when someone becomes a stumbling block to us or others concerning the gospel. b) or when people have their mind set on their own interests instead of God’s.
Have friends who care more about your character than they do your comfort.
Confrontations should be rare moments, ones you should not find satisfaction in. Be specific, don’t be vague. Be sensitive. Pray for help. Choose your words wisely.

Getting through the tough times of Difficulty.
No one stays closer to you than Christ.
You may think you’ll never get through the grief and difficulty, and you certainly will not on your own, but God is your help and strength.

Getting through the tough times of Inadequacy.
Because of so many responsibilities, we face feeling inadequate quite often.
Some people look like they have it all together, but to be human is to feel inadequacy.
The apostle Paul felt in adequate, but then he replied that his adequacy is from the Lord – to Corinthians?
Inadequacy, if we would let it, can force us to look to God and dependent up on Him.
You must first admit your inadequacy in order to receive God’s help. Claim God’s power.

[Dee]

Church assignment going well. Compared to the workbook, this is DRY, Dry, dry.

I'm imagining myself in seminary and attempting to be objective. The jury is still out.