A dear friend who suffers excruciating pain from cancer suggested this book as a source of encouragement after my recent accident. Truth be known, I was feeling exactly as the title of this book states; that life doesn’t make sense. Why me, why now, why would God allow this when I serve as a helper to my disabled husband, and why now when I can also help with my grandchildren?

From the first page of Paul Tripp’s book, I identified with his sudden suffering. He casually walked into the hospital emergency room at the advice of his physician with mild but persistent symptoms. Quickly there were four specialists examining him, talking about dialysis and ordering tests. Soon his body was going into full-body spasms with pain so intense he was screaming in despair, “God help me!” This would be the first of six hospital stays, each with kidney surgery, over the next two years.  Tripp was discouraged, disappointed, and in spiritual battle, asking why, in the prime of his career, when he was doing God’s work, would God allow this set of circumstances which would leave him physically damaged forever, devoid of energy, and without a major source of his income.  

Many good books have been written on suffering, but this one draws you in as Tripp recounts his personal story and also uses examples of suffering beyond physical pain from his years as a counselor, including relational, spiritual, and circumstantial suffering. And because at the time of his writing, he was in a place where his life didn’t make sense, he offers practical and hopeful theology for every sufferer’s struggles.

Tripp suggests that our lives are shaped both by what we suffer and by the background we bring to our suffering.  For him, pride in his physical health and in his numerous accomplishments made him self-reliant, an idol he was not happy to face. Further, his new physical weakness was a surprise disruption to his carefully planned out and executed life. These realizations tugged at his heart, exposing what was really inside.  

The first half of the book delves into the various trappings that can control our thoughts, namely fear, envy, doubt, denial, and discouragement. He reminds us that nothing we suffer is ultimate or eternal. God is eternal, he is present with his children forever, his power does not wane, and he alone determines our destiny.  He is the good news that every sufferer needs. Our suffering is not in the way of God’s plan; it is part of God’s plan. He never leaves us alone in our suffering, and his presence changes everything.

The second half of the book provides instruction for preaching these truths to yourself when you are suffering. Our instinct is to seek answers as to why suffering is happening. What we really need to do is seek God intimately. If we don’t work hard to remember that we are children of God, our identity moves toward our struggles and no further, redefining who we are. God’s comfort is explained in terms of his grace. Our suffering is not an indication of failed love from our Savior. His grace may be uncomfortable, nevertheless he intervenes for us, he is trustworthy to never leave us in our suffering, and to deliver on his promise, not of good things in this life, but of redeeming grace for eternity. These chapters quote Scripture and provide clear theology of the Word of God. Bad theology crushes hope and leaves you empty.  Proper theology teaches the presence of God, his commitment to his children, his never-ending love, and the power of his transforming grace. As a tool, Tripp includes thoughtful questions on which to reflect at the end of each chapter, along with additional passages of Scripture to look up for a “heart reset.”

Suffering reveals just how much we are not in control.  God has a redemptive plan for each of us, but he does not provide the details or reasons why he rules as he does. Peace in our heart does not come from knowing why, but from knowing who. Our suffering actually prepares us for how he will use us to minister to others and to display his glory in our weakness. Suffering, according to Tripp, is a “workroom of grace.”

If you are not suffering now, you will be. We live in a fallen world. Tripp has written an excellent book to prepare us for the inevitable. In our darkest moments, when life doesn’t make sense, may we run to Jesus.