Table of Contents
Foreword by Joni Eareckson Tada
Introduction
PART I: FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE
You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13–14)
1. The Scars That Have Shaped Me 1
2. The Wounds of Bullying 5
3. Is God Really There? 9
4. Burying a Son 13
5. My Failing Body 19
6. A Crumbled Marriage 25
PART II: LOOK ON MY AFFLICTION
Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. (Psalm 119:153)
7. Lament: Beauty from Bitterness 33
8. Crying Out to God
9. Has God Forgotten Me? 45
10. Talking Myself through Suffering 51
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? (Psalm 42:5)
11. How to Pray When Life Falls Apart 57
12. When Disappointment Comes 63
13. When the Detour Becomes the New Road 67
14. Shattered Dreams and Shaken Faith 71
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)
15. The Agony of Waiting 77
16. Begging God 81
17. Unfulfilled Longings 85
I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high! (Psalm 69:29)
18. Dependence 91
19. Why Doesn’t God Heal Everyone? 97
20. Wheelchairs and Worship 103
21. When the Pain Never Ends 109
I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. (Psalm 69:20)
22. What If the Worst Happens? 115
23. The Loneliness of Suffering 121
24. The Comfort of Others 127
25. When You Struggle to Believe God Loves You 133
PART III: JOY COMES WITH THE MORNING
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5)
26. The Lens of Thanksgiving 139
27. Ever on Display 143
28. Grace Always Heals Deeper 149
29. Suffering Is a Gift 155
30. Sustaining Grace 161
31. The Staggering Promise of Heaven 165
