Companions in Suffering: Comfort for Times of Loss and Loneliness
Ebook
Overview
2020 The Gospel Coalition Book Award - Christian Living
Have you experienced an ongoing trial that left you wrung out emotionally? Do you feel alone in your pain?
Though suffering often leaves us feeling isolated, God invites us into the community of the Trinity and offers us many companions in Scripture. We experience loneliness alongside the exiled Israelites. We journey with David as he pleads to God for rescue. With Asaph we confess our unbelief. With Job we learn to lament. With Mary and Martha we learn to wait.
In God’s community, there is sweet fellowship, even in the hardest of circumstances. Journey in these pages with Wendy Alsup through her story of suffering, and more importantly, with the God who walks with us in the wilderness.
This warm and contemplative book also includes a helpful appendix for those who companion a suffering loved one.
Foreword by Trillia J. Newbell
1 On the Outside Looking In
2 Our Suffering Savior
3 Fellowship of the Suffering
4 Pleading for Rescue
5 Help My Unbelief
6 Ambiguous Loss
7 Learning to Lament
8 Finding Rest
9 Waiting on Jesus
10 Fellowship with the Cloud of Witnesses
11 Fellowship with the Rock
Conclusion: Limping Forward
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Offering Companionship to the Suffering
Notes
Suggested Reading
Scripture Index
"No one who is really suffering is interested in trite answers or simple formulas; we want something substantive. We want to hear from someone who has been there and is honest about the pain but offers genuine insight into what it looks like to persevere through the pain. That’s what Wendy Alsup does in this book. While it’s personal, it isn’t personality-driven or all about her personal story, though her personal story gives her writing credibility. Instead, this book is saturated with insight into Scripture, presenting meaty truths that make a difference, helping to make sense of and bring peace and rest in the midst of the lowest days and the hardest things."
"Wendy welcomes us into her tent of suffering, encouraging us to enter into others’ tents and welcome them into ours. She doesn’t do so with empty platitudes or false promises but with the hope of the gospel and the truth of Scripture. In your own sufferings, be comforted by God through Wendy’s witness."
Product Details
- Title : Companions in Suffering: Comfort for Times of Loss and Loneliness
- Authors:
- Alsup, Wendy
- Newbell, Trillia J.
- Publisher: IVP
- Publication Date: 2020
- ISBN: 9780830843855
Wendy Alsup began her public ministry as deacon of women's theology and teaching at her church in Seattle, and now lives on her family farm in South Carolina, where she teaches math at a local community college and is a mother to her two boys. She writes at theologyforwomen.org and is a member of the Pelican Project. She is the author of a number of books, including Is the Bible Good for Women? and Practical Theology for Women.
Trillia J. Newbell is director of community outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. A frequent conference speaker, her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, and more. Her books include Enjoy, Fear and Faith, United, and God's Very Good Idea. She and her family live near Nashville.