Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

All of us at some stage will experience suffering in this life, and that's why we need this book, as there is a solid, biblical theology of suffering. This book is a written record of one of Desiring God conferences, and the authors in every chapter had expounded how God is sovereign in our suffering really well, which will produce hope and comfort us in the midst of our suffering. The good thing about this book is also that every author has experienced suffering in their life, so they do not just do exegesis on the text, but they have experienced the truth first hand. My favourite chapter is chapter 2, written by Mark Talbot, where he has done a great job in expounding Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility.

Piper and Taylor have gathered an excellent collection of articles that bring out both sound Biblical theology and practical application of the issue of suffering. Many may not be at ease with the strong affirmation of the sovereignty of God in all things, including the pre-ordaining of suffering, however the authors show this position to be rigourously based on Scripture. THe inclusion of authors like Joni Erikson and Steve Saint also bring a realism to the topic by bringing forth the testimonies of those who know the realty of extreme suffering in the face of God's grace and goodness. \\r\\n\\r\\nThis book is a timely panacea for the open theism and deism that sadly is to common in the church.