Making Sense of Suffering
Suffering is miserable. When you're overwhelmed by pain and problems, it's easy to feel helpless, hopeless and sinking into a whirlpool of self-pity. Making Sense of Suffering is a Scripture-based pamphlet that will bring hope and comfort to those who are going through personal difficulties and will be a great help to groups dealing with grief, disabilities, emotional and physical trauma, divorce, and more.
Joni Eareckson Tada knows about the emotions that come with suffering firsthand. A diving accident in 1967 left her confined to a wheelchair as a quadriplegic at the age of 17. Joni knows what it's like to suffer chronic pain. Yet she has found comfort and meaning in the God of the Bible.
Joni says, “Somewhere after the first five years of life in my wheelchair, I noticed a change in my hardships. I was beginning to see how my quadriplegia was working for my good and God's glory—simply put, it meant becoming more like Christ.” With this pamphlet you will:
- Understand the answers to common questions about suffering
- Get insights into struggles that suffering may bring on your faith and how to deal with them
- How Jesus learned to cope with suffering
- Understand God’s role in our greater stories and his purpose for pain
- And much more
We’re all familiar with the popular passage in Colossians “I rejoice in what was suffered for you,” but what does it really mean? How can suffering cause any rejoicing. Dig deep into questions like these with this easy-to-read pamphlet.
Key Features of this Pamphlet
- Bible-based: scripture-focused, this pamphlet will guide you through your journey using relevant verses
- Practical: have practical advice and solutions to help yourself or those you serve
- Compassionate: this pamphlet was written by an author that has wrestled and made peace with God over chronic pain
- Easy-to-Understand: avoids complicated theology and boils down biblical principles in an easy-to-read way that you can grasp in minutes
About the Author
Joni Eareckson Tada offers hope to people struggling with health and emotional challenges. After a 1967 diving accident left her a spinal cord-injured quadriplegic, Tada embarked on a lifelong study to make sense of suffering from God’s perspective. Joni Eareckson Tada is now an international advocate for individuals with disabilities, and the founder of the non-profit organization, Joni & Friends.
Top Highlights
“Suffering increases my faith. Faith is like a muscle that is strengthened when put to the test. If there is never an opportunity for faith to be proved, it will not grow. Suffering provides the gym equipment on which my faith can be exercised.” (source)
“Scripture is constantly telling us to view life from an eternal perspective. What is transitory, such as physical pain, will not endure, but what is lasting, such as the eternal weight of glory accrued from that pain, will remain forever.” (source)
“Stuck in a wheelchair I wondered, Lord, how in the world can you consider my troubles light and momentary? I will never walk or run again. I will never use my hands... my back aches... I'm trapped! Maybe you see all of this achieving an eternal glory, but all I see is one awful day after the next of life in this stinking wheelchair! My pain screamed for my undivided attention, making me anxious to find a quick fix or an escape hatch.” (source)
“Afflictions increase my awareness of God's sustaining power. God is the one who upholds me through my afflictions. Realizing this gives me a deeper appreciation for his grace and power that sustain.” (source)
“Suffering allows the life of Christ to show up in mine. Suffering causes me to die to myself, including my wants and wishes, thereby allowing the life of Christ to be revealed through me.” (source)
Product Details
- Title : Making Sense of Suffering
- Author: Eareckson Tada, Joni
- Publisher: Rose Publishing
- Publication Date: 2012
- ISBN: 9781596365933