Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God's Purpose & Provision in Suffering (Guthrie)

Since the beginning of humanity, the question of suffering-why it happens and how God works in it-has existed. What are you doing, God? Why is this happening? Where are you? These questions fill our thoughts when we experience deep pain and tragedy. Having lost two young children who suffered from a rare and incurable disease, editor Nancy Guthrie has put together this helpful collection of short readings exploring the question of suffering.

This anthology includes essays from both classic and contemporary theologians, Bible teachers, and missionaries such as John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Piper, Corrie ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Helen Roseveare. Each entry expounds on a Bible verse, leading readers to see and be comforted by God's perspective, purpose, and provision in suffering. 

Table of Contents:

Part One: God’s Perspective on Suffering

1. Suffering: The Servant of Our Joy – Tim Keller

2. The Gift of Pain – Philip Yancey

3. God’s Plan A – Joni Eareckson Tada

4. When We Don’t Know Why, We Trust God Who Knows Why – Os Guinness

5. Is There Such a Thing as Senseless Tragedy? – R.C. Sproul

6. Illumined by the Light of Divine Providence – John Calvin

7. A Profound Answer to the Pressing Question, ‘Why?’ – Wilson Benton Jr. 

8. Bearing Suffering – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

9. No Sorrow Like Jesus’ Sorrow – John Newton

Part Two: God’s Purpose in Suffering

10. The God We Had We Lose – Abraham Kuyper 

11. When Cost becomes Privilege – Helen Roseveare

12. Prepared for Usefulness – A.W. Tozer 

13. The Test of a Crisis – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

14. Too Good to Suffer? – St. Augustine 

15. Faith Tried and Proved – Charles Haddon Spurgeon

16. Choosing Trust – Jerry Bridges

17. Dying Well – D.A. Carson

Part Three: God’s Provision in Suffering

18. Just What You Need, Just in Time – Corrie ten Boom

19. Dark Valleys – Sinclair Ferguson 

20. Hoped for Healing – J.I. Packer

21. Happy in Affliction – Thomas Manton 

22. Power in Weakness – John Piper

23. To Suffer as Christ Did – Martin Luther 

24. Learning to Be Content – Jeremiah Burroughs 

25. Refuge and Rest in Christ – Jonathan Edwards 

Editor 

Nancy Guthrie teaches at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, speaks at conferences worldwide, and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Covenant Theological Seminary. She and her husband, David, are the co-hosts of the GriefShare video series used in over 6,000 churches around the country and host Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of a child. She is the author of numerous books including Holding on to Hope, The One Year Book of Hope, Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow and The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament. She is also the editor of a series of anthologies published by Crossway including Come Thou Long Expected Jesus and O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.