Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“Suffering” by Paul David Tripp has truly been one of the most precious, eye-opening, encouraging and practical books I have read. It was hard to put the book down. I underlined and highlighted numerous passages as so many insights and truths brought comfort and illumination on how suffering at any dimension can be transformed into opportunities to experience God’s grace and presence. I’m so thankful and touched at the author’s candid and transparent approach in presenting not only his own experience of suffering but also his sensitivity to the suffering we all experience throughout our lives. I highly recommend this beautiful book. Now that I’m done, it’s time to go back and read it again to further soak up and saturate my soul in its comforting and transformative truths. Thank you, Dr. Tripp!

I have underlined many passages, jumped into scripture, and nodded “yes” a lot during the study of Tripp’s book. Incredible wisdom and humble, Godly advice is here. He packages the following scripture in a helpful way to demonstrate God’s battle for us: Psalm 139, Habakkuk, 1st and 2nd Corinthians. His suffering moved his personal experiences and ministry to a new level of understanding and mystery, than would have been possible in the absence of his health challenges.Suffering gets our attention so we can more clearly hang out with God in this fallen, messed-up world. Interruption is our friend.So many quotes, but my favorite:“Here is the comfort for every sufferer: hope is a person, and his name is Jesus. Life is a person called Emmanuel. God enters your life by grace and by grace makes you the place where he dwells. So he goes wherever you go; he’s there with you in whatever you’re facing, and he lovingly provides you with everything you need. You don’t have to search for him; you don’t have to wonder if or when he will come; you don’t have to earn his presence. His presence with you has been purchased by his own blood. In your suffering he gives you the best of gifts, the gift of himself. To be in him and he in you is infinitely better than having an easy, predictable, trouble-free life. And if hardship has been the tool that forges in you an unbreakable trust of him, then your hardship hasn’t been for naught,” Chapter 14.

Paul Tripp wrote this book while experiencing extreme physical suffering, and the “realness” comes through clearly. This is not a sterile theological treatise on how a believer ought to suffer well because of A, B, and C. This is a gritty and insightful application of lifesaving truth for those who are hanging on by their fingernails. Hope is real and unchanging because Christ is real and unchanging, which is what you need to hear when “all around is sinking sand.” What does it look like practically to grab onto that truth? Read the book to find out!

I love this book and have been going through it with a friend. Paul Tripp, the author, is so open and honest about his own physical suffering that I believe was needed for a book like this to be written. However, it is not just for those who suffer physically but for those who have any other sort of trial. It is written for those who are heartbroken over divorce, loss of a loved one or a myriad of other problems. I have more lines underlined than there are those not underlined. My book is also filled with my comments and thoughts in the margins. The questions at the end of each chapter are very helpful as are the extra scripture he includes.GREAT BOOK!

Good book so far

I already love Paul David Tripp and have read several of his books but this one truly helped me to see how much we are dependent on God and that we are not alone in our suffering. I read it after the death of my husband when I was still very angry with God and this book helped me come back to Him.

Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make SenseWhy would God let someone, at the height of his ministry, suffer? Paul David Tripp, who has written over 30 books related to counseling, parenting, and marriage, is a well-known speaker and pastor. He was healthy. He often took ten mile bike rides. What was supposed to be a routine checkup for some pain he had ended up leading to numerous surgeries in regards to Tripps kidneys. Tripp doesn’t go into any specifics in his book as to what his issue was. To do so might lead some to say that because they don’t have that problem, they’re fine. Yet in the midst of lying on the hospital bed writhing in pain, Tripp wanted to die. He writes, “Suffering has the power to expose what you have been trusting all along” (21). His “faith” was actually just self-reliance.We all either are suffering, have suffered, or will suffer, and we usually know someone who is suffering. Tripp writes to help us come alongside others while they endure their own suffering.“This book is about how, in suffering, to identify and defend yourself against the dangers while you celebrate and seek the comforts of God’s grace” (56).This suffering actually helped Tripp:1. It exposed Tripps’s idol of self2. It exposed his own unrealistic expectations. We will not always be strong and healthy; at any moment we could suffer or die.“Weakness simply demonstrates what has been true all along: we are completely dependent on God for life and breath and everything else” (29). We don’t need to fear weakness, but our “delusional strength” (29). Tripp wasn’t being punished for his choices or his way of thinking. We live in a broken world, and in the brokenness he realized he relied more on himself than on God.He notes that suffering is never only an attack on our body. It is also an attack on our minds and souls. When Our bodies are exhausted from working out, we have to be mentally focused to finish the work out. Suffering leads us to think about a way out. “What must I do to get away from this?” It can either drive you away from God (“What a waste of time. He isn’t doing anything for me”), or it can drive you to him (“The God of all life sent his Son to suffer for me. I don’t know what he is doing, but he is with me right now”).Suffering is “never just an assault on our situation, but also an attack on our soul” (46). Suffering is spiritual warfare “you are not a machine” (46). Why is it important to bring our troubles to God? Because depending on how we think of our suffering, they can and will swallow us up.Throughout his book Tripp directs your thoughts to God. Some of these may seem basic, but when you are discouraged, depressed, and suffering, these are the things you need brought to mind. Discouragement creeps in, and you think, “What does it matter if I do X? Why not just do Y?” Tripp encourages you to take the time to remember all the ways the Lord has come through for you.God’s people are not perfect by any stretch. God’s people are also wonderful. They care, and they want to help. Many are always ready to complicate their life to give you the help you need (195). Don’t suffer alone. Find someone or a few people you can trust, and talk to them humbly and honestly. They can see things that you don’t see, and the better they know you the better than can truly understand your situation.Recommended?It’s much easier to read a book on suffering from a guy who has suffered than from one who has not. someone could write a very theoretical book on suffering and have many true points. But for Tripp, the passion from his all-too-real experience comes out in different places in his book, and you are confident he can be trusted. He has suffered, and he is still battling with the issues. He brings the gospel to you to plant it into your life. A great book.

Every Christian should read this book! So good for help in understanding suffering.