For the past season I have been reading three books essentially in parallel; they are not really happy books, light reading.
Like I said, not light reading. A long term, good friend sent Verhey’s book about two years ago when this season of our life started. In the midst of what we have been walking through for the past couple of years I picked up Keller’s book. I have read about 9 of Carson’s works, I deeply appreciate his commitment to good theological method; plus he is quick to get to the point.
The interesting thing about these three books is that they align with what I have seen in the Word about dealing with suffering, difficulty, and evil.
One of the main, if not the main, things that I have found to be critical in dealing with really difficult, hard times, is a good handle on both the sovereignty and love of God.
As I have said before much of the content of this blog comes from my journals. I review what I wrote there, in this case last summer, and then respond to it here.
Look at Psalm 142:3 (here @ Bible Gateway). Based on the prefix to the psalm David is running for his life and hiding from Saul. He states that the Lord knows his path. In Psalm 139:3 (here @ Bible Gateway), David shares a similar point of view. The Lord not only knows but scrutinizes, knows in detail, David’s path.
Now look at Psalm 143:8 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway). David is asking the Lord to be led through his path. Look at how he frames the request, the basis from which he approaches the Lord. David asks to be led, revived for the sake of the Lord’s name. It wasn’t for the David’s sake he wanted to be revived, it was for the Lord.
Think through these. I want to share some of the things I have thought about this in the next post.
- Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, by Timothy Keller
- How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil, by D. A. Carson
- The Christian Art of Dying: Learning from Jesus, by Allen Verhey
Like I said, not light reading. A long term, good friend sent Verhey’s book about two years ago when this season of our life started. In the midst of what we have been walking through for the past couple of years I picked up Keller’s book. I have read about 9 of Carson’s works, I deeply appreciate his commitment to good theological method; plus he is quick to get to the point.
The interesting thing about these three books is that they align with what I have seen in the Word about dealing with suffering, difficulty, and evil.
One of the main, if not the main, things that I have found to be critical in dealing with really difficult, hard times, is a good handle on both the sovereignty and love of God.
As I have said before much of the content of this blog comes from my journals. I review what I wrote there, in this case last summer, and then respond to it here.
Look at Psalm 142:3 (here @ Bible Gateway). Based on the prefix to the psalm David is running for his life and hiding from Saul. He states that the Lord knows his path. In Psalm 139:3 (here @ Bible Gateway), David shares a similar point of view. The Lord not only knows but scrutinizes, knows in detail, David’s path.
Now look at Psalm 143:8 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway). David is asking the Lord to be led through his path. Look at how he frames the request, the basis from which he approaches the Lord. David asks to be led, revived for the sake of the Lord’s name. It wasn’t for the David’s sake he wanted to be revived, it was for the Lord.
Think through these. I want to share some of the things I have thought about this in the next post.
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