GOD’S GRACE IN YOUR SUFFERING
By David Powlison
Crossway Books. 128 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 433 556 180
The late David Powlison taught (and modelled) bringing the gospel to bear into areas of suffering in life, and the confusion it causes.
An American, Powlison was one of the main drivers of the Biblical Counselling movement which is growing in the UK. He would begin every lecture with an explanation of a hymn, explaining the ideas but also how the phrasing might be directed to God in praise, or to others for encouragement, or to the singer as we remind ourselves of the truth. The hymn would then be sung, Powlison leading in a quite unselfconscious manner unaccompanied by instruments.
A hymn before a lecture highlighted a distinctive of Christian counsel, which is that it has in view the end of worship. In his teaching (and life), Powlison demonstrated a Christ-centred gentleness and resolve.
God’s Grace in your Suffering uses the same methodology in book form, using the hymn How Firm A Foundation to press gospel truths into the suffering heart. Powlison has the intention of using our own circumstances as a means to explore the topic of suffering.
Read with pen in hand
This is not a disengaged contemplation of theodicy; rather, you read this with your pen in hand, actively reflecting on your own life as a means to learn about the Lord’s grace to sufferers. We are helped by the train of Biblical writers, and the Lord Himself, who have gone before us in the furnace of suffering. Powlison aids us on the journey, too, willing as he was to share experiences of his own life to illuminate a point (and not in a way in which he is the hero of the story, rather the focus is on the Lord’s care in varied situations, for instance his own health challenges, or the decline to death of a parent).
Bible teachers will find the Introduction to be one of the best brief summaries of Job out there. All Christians will find the necessity of pausing to reflect on the promises of Scripture to be challenging but richly rewarding. There are so many gems that caused me to stop reading and think about my life with Christ (for example: ‘The sovereign God does not intend that you maintain the status quo while suffering. Pain disrupts normal’). The central thrust of the book is the lesson of the hymn: ‘Fear not, I am with you … my grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply’.
A small quibble with the book is that it could churn up a number of matters for the reader, and perhaps one or two ‘next steps’ could have been helpful for those who may lack a community in which these things can receive further attention, or lack the range of wise Christian friends that benefitted Powlison (and whom he benefitted, too).
This brief but amazingly rich book is highly recommended.
