Suffering

  • The Book of Job by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2007

    In the arena of biblical studies, there are five books that are generally included under the heading of “wisdom literature” or “the poetic books of the Old Testament.” They are the books of Proverbs, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and …Read More

  • The Letter to the Church in Smyrna by Paul Gardner

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2009

    How wonderful it would be if our church received an encouraging letter from Jesus, especially if it contained no criticism. Jesus has no censure for the church in Smyrna but reveals His deep compassion for a people who are faithful …Read More

  • Pain: God’s Megaphone by Alistair Begg

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2008

    For sixty years, successive generations have been helped by what C.S. Lewis wrote on the subject of pain and suffering. The sustained benefit is due in large measure to the fact that he brought to the “problem” a solid …Read More

  • I Will Sing an Old Song by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2008

    Trouble comes to the people of God. If it is not here now, it will be here soon. Those who promise that the Christian life is a breezy walk through the meadow not only have not taken up their cross …Read More

  • The Dark Night of the Soul by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2008

    The dark night of the soul. This phenomenon describes a malady that the greatest of Christians have suffered from time to time. It was the malady that provoked David to soak his pillow with tears. It was the malady that …Read More

  • Glory Versus the Cross by Gene Edward Veith

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2008

    Mother Teresa was a living saint, according to the popular mind, compassionately caring for the sick and dying and projecting a love that brought cynical secularists to their knees. After her death, the Vatican put her on a fast track …Read More

  • Dying Well by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2007

    Sarah lived 127 years…. And Sarah died…. And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her” (Gen. 23:1–2). Sarah and Abraham had been married fifty-two years. He would live almost four decades without …Read More

  • Fire and Rain by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2007

    I can’t help but love my doctor. Any man who commits himself to serving those suffering from cancer probably has a large heart himself. He was a gracious help to my wife a few years ago, and he was …Read More

  • Following Christ by Mark Dever

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2005

    Have you ever been tempted to surrender control of your life to any of Christ’s enemies? May 30 is Memorial Day in the United States. This month we remember those who’ve fought to establish and defend the freedoms …Read More

  • Why Do We Suffer? by Robert Rothwell

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2005

    Throughout my life I have always been a voracious reader. I can remember being enamored by books at a very young age and becoming excited during my preschool years as I was first taught to read. Even today, hardly a …Read More

  • Participating in Suffering by Mark Dever

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2005

    The bell rang, and as I left the classroom a young man in the class pulled me over to ask me to pray for his grandmother who was very sick in the hospital. Though shocked, I happily complied. Minutes before …Read More

  • The Suffering Servant by Donald Macleod

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2005

    John Murray, with good reason, argues that obedience is the most inclusive concept available to us for describing the redeeming work of Christ (Redemption Accomplished and Applied, p. 19). Other categories such as sacrifice and satisfaction cover some of the …Read More

  • Transforming Love by Jerry Bridges

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2004

    A deeply distressed father sat for two weeks in a pediatric ICU, watching his three-year-old son slowly die. During those two weeks he read through, quite surprisingly, a book on the Gospel. He later wrote to me, “I want to …Read More

  • The Wait of Glory by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2004

    My family has been blessed mightily in the last six months or so. My dear wife Denise and I have suffered through two miscarriages. (And three more in the years before that.) Our daughter Shannon, who is mentally retarded, began …Read More

  • Patience in Suffering by Michael Beates

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2004

    I hate pain. I try to avoid suffering, and I don’t go out of my way to look for affliction. But pain, suffering, and affliction find me. They find all of us. If you are free of these things …Read More