Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

This book sharpened and clarified my thinking on the subject of suffering and evil, and God's sovereignty over it. I'm a United Methodist pastor whose theological education (by way of a mainline Protestant seminary) failed to equip me to answer important questions related to sin, suffering, and evil. Having read this book, I now gladly say that God uses suffering for our good; that if we suffer, God has his reasons for permitting it, whether we know what those reasons are or not. Similarly, because God permits sin and evil (because if he didn’t, what would become of free will?) he chooses to enfold it within his good purposes as well. This is completely consistent with Joseph’s words to his brothers in Genesis 50:20 and Paul’s words in Romans 8:28.

Personally, I find these ideas deeply comforting.

Besides, what’s the alternative? That God doesn’t really have the power to change things in our world? If we pray for God to intervene or change something in our world—like, say, to cure a disease—and he doesn’t do it, is it because he doesn’t have to power to do so? I hope not! Most Christians would say that he has the power, but he often chooses not to. And when he chooses not to—even in spite of our fervent prayers—we can trust that he has good reasons. If that’s the case, then, there is a good answer to the question, “Why is this happening to me?”—even if we don’t know what it is.

I would place this book alongside other masterpieces on the subject like C.S. Lewis's "The Problem of Pain" and Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning."

I bought and read this book because I have relished other Keller books, even though I am not an Evangelical Christian as Keller appears to be, and because I love books that deal with the suffering issue in the light of God's supposedly being all good and all powerful. While Keller doesn't offer a good reconciliation of these concepts in this book, he does present a first rate argument of why we shouldn't expect to have such an explanation that human minds can understand. He also contrasts the Christian approach to dealing with suffering - dealing with it in our actual lives rather than just intellectually - to the approach advocated in other world religions and philosophies. I expected to be put off by this type of analysis, but found him to be fair (though I think his characterization of Buddhism falls just a little short of accurate). The last half of the book talks about how to practically deal with suffering by using Christian concepts and practices, and again, I expected to be put off by this but actually found some very useful practices that I plan to apply in my squishy, liberal way (rather than in an Evangelical way). As with all Keller books, the writing is excellent and the reasoning very sound. The book is fun to read, and helpful. But I'm still looking for that book out there somewhere that provides an understandable explanation of why our good God allows so much suffering, and especially why S/he created a universe in which life evolves through the ultra-painful process of natural selection.

Tim Keller shows with great insight and skill the ways in which cultures and philosophies deal with the problem of pain and suffering. Helps the reader understand the various cultural narratives driving societies in explaining why bad things happen and what are the consequences of refusing to acknowledge evil.

I really liked the book. It was extremely helpful to a hurting heart full of doubt but not wanting to be.

Keller did a great job of explaining the why's behind the book of Job; a story that has never sat well with me. He did give meaning and purpose to the pain and suffering we all face and gives hope where none existed.

So many around me are or have suffered from cancer and this book was given to them. All responded that the spiritual guidance provided assisted them in their daily struggles and to continue living life.

Both the framework for understanding during and the resources for enduring and indeed thriving in during are provided. Some may find the cultural context chapters slow going. Persist or jump ahead of necessary. You will find rich rewards in the complex treatment of pain and suffering.

Tim Keller writes well with both wisdom and compassion. Someone who is suffering needs people around them with compassion not a book, but this would be a good preparation for those who will either suffer themselves and/or comfort and encourage someone who is suffering.

I recommend this book for everyone ! It explores how God teaches us through his Word why and how we need to trust in His unconditional love and promises . The author supports all his detailed strategies for coping with life's trials with biblical scripture.

The book is easy and enjoyable to read .

The author puts suffering into an historical framework. How other traditions have dealt with suffering across the years are compared and contrasted with Christian responses. He also spends time developing the themes of secular responses to suffering and how this has impacted modern Christian understanding of suffering. I also appreciated the personal stories of how real people deal with suffering which are a part of the chapters.

Thought provoking, profound and extremely useful. This is the best book on the topic of pain and suffering I have ever read. It is clear, accessible, not pedantic and saturated with Scripture and theological soundness. This is Keller's best book so far, in my opinion. This is an essential read for anyone who will suffer in life, is suffering in life or will be ministering to anyone who is suffering. That's everyone!

The personal experience of human suffering is a relentless assault on faith and fortitude. Keller's book is an excellent treatise that aids in comprehending the good that often is found only through suffering without condescendingly making light of the evil that is the essence of the experience. The overall effect of the book is consistently uplifting, augmented very effectively by the personal stories at the close of many chapters. I just finished reading it and have already given copies to two friends.

This book was very helpful. The first section was a little tough but still productive reading, the rest of the book was well written. It is a resource for now and in the future, something I will refer back to and read again and again. Thanks.

I'm still not completely finished with it. I watched Keller's live online talk about this book, and just had to buy it. Godly wisdom throughout. I'm reading a little bit every night before I go to bed.

This books is masterful. Worth reading, and re-reading. This is a book to get for yourself, and your neighbor, and your friends, and your sister etc. this book helps give tools for processing some of life's most challenging moments and issues. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Typical of Tim Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering does a masterful job of capturing the philosophical arguments about pain and suffering that have been presented for millennia, and it develops for the Christian thinker a Biblical framework from which we might better understand the power and the purpose of it. As a leading apologist for our time, Rev. Keller clearly identifies our culture's questions and offers meaningful answers to them.

I just recently was introduced to Timothy Keller's writings, and have found them, and this book in particular, to be very easy to read, and to give me better understanding of my walk with God. I am grateful

The book helped give me a more clear understanding of why we suffer and that our suffering is not always caused by mistakes we make in life. At some point, we will go through trials if we live long enough and Timothy Keller has summarized very well how we can navigate through the hardships that will inevitably arise in this life.

*****
From such a gloomy and difficult topic as pain and suffering comes a beautiful, even glorious book. This book is not mainly for theologians and seminarians (although they will appreciate it too) but for laypeople and average Christian people--people like me. I am an ordinary Christian who has never really understood or made full sense of the role that pain and suffering was intended to make in my life. This book goes beyond this topic and for me gave meaning to my entire Christian experience in a way that no other book ever has.

I found my reading experience to not be grim and boring (as I expected with such a topic) but intriguing and eventually fascinating because everything I have been taught as a Christian came together and began to make sense. I initially purchased it because I am going through an intensely painful illness and needed some encouragement. This book provided it. It is not light reading, but it is important and meaningful reading; thus I would not recommend it for someone who is grieving so deeply that they cannot focus enough to handle a deep and intense book. But I would recommend it for those who love them.

So much of what the Bible says about suffering is against our Western culture's admonitions and we don't even realize it. As Christians, we have even adopted a lot of these cultural beliefs. This book will pull you back into a Biblical worldview and remind you of what you know to be true.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part of the book gives a background on pain and suffering, a general history of how different cultures--including our culture--views suffering. There is some philosophy in this section, and I found it a tad hard to get through. Persist, reader, as it is worth it! The first part addresses different theodicies (explanations for the problem of evil and suffering) in a systematic and logical way. The second part of the book discusses what the Bible says about suffering and how it teaches us to address it. I found this part very rich--I kept wanting to stop and ponder what I was reading. The last part deals with practical information and Biblical ways of coping with evil, suffering, and pain. It discusses how to walk with God through suffering and how to know His presence when things are hard.

I purchased this book for my Kindle so that I could read it soon after it came out. I ended up buying two hardback copies--one for myself and one as a gift for someone who has turned away from God because of suffering. My friend is still a Christian but has lost the intimacy with God he used to experience; this book will provide the healing he needs, of this I am certain.

I recommend this book for every Christian to read NOW in order to be prepared for suffering and remain faithful. I also recommend it for Christian readers who have loved ones dealing with painful circumstances. I recommend it for non-believers who want to understand why Christians have hope and comfort. To quote from the book: "Nothing is more important than to learn how to maintain a life of purpose in the midst of painful adversity." So true. Nothing is more important! I recommend this book for its life-changing perspective on faith. The author defines an orthodox, Biblical view of pain, suffering, and hard times; I found sincere relief to finally, finally understand.

Highest recommendation possible.
*****

This book has seriously rewarded me for the time spent in reading. Excellently written, covers an expanse of material that is all directly related to the main points, and kept my interest from beginning to end. I so loved the God-honouring core that shows the compassion of the God who speaks out of the storm.

Keller once again explores in depth a difficult topic for both Christians and non-Christians seeking to learn more about faith. His explanations are clear and from the heart, citing both personal experiences and the experiences of others who have suffered many types of difficulties. This makes his thoughts more believable and real to the learner. I recommend this book for seekers, sufferers, and pastors who counsel individuals experiencing life's traumas.