In the last few years, 9/11, a tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and many other tragedies have shown us that the vision of God in today's churches in relation to evil and suffering is often frivolous. Against the overwhelming weight and seriousness of the Bible, many Christians are choosing to become more shallow, more entertainment-oriented, and therefore irrelevant in the face of massive suffering. In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, contributors John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Saint, Carl Ellis, David Powlison, Dustin Shramek, and Mark Talbot explore the many categories of God's sovereignty as evidenced in his Word. They urge readers to look to Christ, even in suffering, to find the greatest confidence, deepest comfort, and sweetest fellowship they have ever known.

In this eloquent account of her current struggle with physical pain, Joni Eareckson Tada offers her perspective on divine healing, God’s purposes, and what it means to live with joy. Over four decades ago, a diving accident left Joni a quadriplegic. Today, she faces a new battle: unrelenting pain. The ongoing urgency of this season in her life has caused Joni to return to foundational questions about suffering and God’s will. A Place of Healing is not an ivory-tower treatise on suffering. It’s an intimate look into the life of a mature woman of God. Whether readers are enduring physical pain, financial loss, or relational grief, Joni invites them to process their suffering with her. Together, they will navigate the distance between God’s magnificent yes and heartbreaking no—and find new hope for thriving in-between.

One thing has saved her: the heaven-sent hope found only in Christ. If hope is scarce in your life, this special booklet will draw you-toward a fresh perspective on suffering, true scriptural encouragement, and this beloved author's hard-won insights about the goodness of God. In her life's journey Joni has learned to meet suffering on God's terms. She has learned that joy is for real. And most of all, she has learned that hope is the best of things when we give it a chance. This book powerfully communicates all these truths from someone who has lived them, so that you can live them too, no matter what you're going through.

The book of Job is God's commentary on the suffering and trials of his people. God speaks to our trials from the viewpoint, first, of his own interactions with Satan, then from the viewpoint of Job's interactions with his friends and finally as the one who appears to Job and his friends in a tornado. The book describes suffering on a scale seldom seen but shows our weaknesses and the temptations we face when under the hand of God or when called to bring comfort to others who are suffering. For that reason it is instructive and corrective but is also of great comfort, for it points those who are suffering to God's sovereignty in trials and to his faithfulness and saving grace to his own. Those who have read the book of Job often find the book repetitious and difficult to follow, especially the interaction of Job and his friends. This work is not meant to be an exhaustive, verse-by-verse explanation of the book of Job but is an attempt to show how the book fits together and leads up to its grand climax in the appearance of God. It also attempts to show that Job has often been misunderstood and maligned, and though guilty of sin, as we all are in suffering, is nevertheless one whose faith and hope in God are sure. May it be of help to all who love God as Job did, especially when the God they love chastises and corrects them as he does all of his children.

John Flavel wrote extensively on the subject of human suffering and how it relates to divine sovereignty. He himself experienced great suffering through the deaths of three wives and a son and continual persecution from state officials. Because many of his writings deal directly with the theme of suffering and because of his own experience with it, Flavel is a significant resource for understanding a Puritan theology of human suffering and divine sovereignty. In this book, Brian H. Cosby examines John Flavel’s teachings on suffering and how that theology translated into practical application for suffering believers. Serious consideration is given to issues related to the origin and nature of suffering, how it relates to divine sovereignty, God’s purpose for it, how people were encouraged to respond to it, and the benefits of comfort and consolation such understandings produce in believers. Cosby ably gathers these elements together so as to present a Puritan theology of suffering drawn from Flavel’s writings. Table of Contents: 1. Toward a Puritan Theology of Suffering 2. Origin and Nature of Suffering 3. Divine Sovereignty and Human Suffering 4. God’s Purposes in Ordaining Suffering 5. The Right Response to Suffering 6. Assurance of Salvation 7. The Cessation of Suffering

New from Best-Selling Author John Piper From Genesis to Revelation, the providence of God directs the entire course of redemptive history. Providence is "God's purposeful sovereignty." Its extent reaches down to the flight of electrons, up to the movements of galaxies, and into the heart of man. Its nature is wise and just and good. And its goal is the Christ-exalting glorification of God through the gladness of a redeemed people in a new world. Drawing on a lifetime of theological reflection, biblical study, and practical ministry, pastor and author John Piper leads us on a stunning tour of the sightings of God's providence—from Genesis to Revelation—to discover the allencompassing reality of God's purposeful sovereignty over all of creation and all of history. Piper invites us to experience the profound effects of knowing the God of all-pervasive providence: the intensifying of true worship, the solidifying of wavering conviction, the strengthening of embattled faith, the toughening of joyful courage, and the advance of God's mission in this world.