A Time for Weeping

Suffering is part of life. It could be the loss of a job, the death of a child, a violent partner, clinical depression, or a thousand other struggles, but for each of us the pain will be real and debilitating.

Our suffering raises philosophical questions (how can suffering exist in a universe with a God who is all-good, all-powerful and all-wise?) and pastoral questions (how do we live well in the midst of suffering?) It is this second set of questions that is the focus of this short work. The author, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and Leukemia, explores the wisdom of the Scriptures for living well through suffering. From Jesus we gain a framework for living meaningfully through suffering; in the story of Hagar we are reminded that God sees us; the psalm writers teach us how to pray while suffering; Ecclesiastes encourages us to grab hold of moments of joy; Job confronts us with the limits of our ability to understand why we suffer; the apostle Paul calls us to realise the fringe benefits of suffering; and in Revelation John calls us to hope for the end of suffering and a world made new. Through each of these we discover encouragement and wisdom to live through whatever life throws at us.