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Why God Lets People Suffer by Nancy C. Gaughan AUTHOR’S NOTE This book was written to let people know God always has a reason and often more than one for the suffering in our world. In the Bible God gives us twelve different reasons He allows suffering, ten of which are covered in Why God Lets People Suffer. This book has three goals. In it are interwoven the Bible and people’s lives to show that the Bible is a trustworthy handbook for living. Helping people know God and to trust Him in the midst of a world filled with suffering is the second goal. The source of joy in suffering that the apostles knew came from knowing God and trusting Him. In understanding His purposes for our suffering, we learn God really is there through it all. The third goal is the as we learn what the Scriptures say about suffering we learn about God, about ourselves and how to live as His children. I begin every chapter with
a Bible verse on which the chapter builds. But there is one verse that
is the message for the whole book. I repeat it throughout the book for
the faith in that promise will sustain us through all suffering: Romans 8:28 God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS Preface: The Preface explains why this book was written, and what I hope the reader will from reading it. ----------------------------- Chapter
1:
On Suffering
and God
Chapter one examines the nature of suffering and begins to look at the Scriptural basis of suffering. Using Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 and Romans 8: 28, we establish God’s control and His care. ----------------------------- Chapter 2: To
Teach Us About God
Chapter two explores why we need to use the Bible to learn about God. Job’s plight, Jonah’s life and Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus illustrate that when people ignore or close their hearts to the truth in the Bible and when they devise their own ideas of God, God allows and sometimes causes them to suffer to teach them about who He is. ----------------------------- Chapter 3: As
the Result of Freedom of Choice
Chapter three demonstrates that, since the Garden of Eden, God has given us freedom of choice. Studying the life of Samson and looking at our own lives illustrate that often our suffering comes as the natural consequence of our choosing not to do things God’s way. ----------------------------- Chapter 4:
As the Result of Others’ Sin
Chapter four uses life experiences, and experiences of Achan and of David to establish two principles. First, the Bible can be trusted as a handbook on life. The second principle is that whenever someone sins, others will suffer as a result of that sin. This second principle impresses on us our responsibilities as individuals, as leaders, and as people who elect leaders. ----------------------------- Chapter 5: For
Discipline
Chapter five begins with “The Lord disciplines those He loves.” During the course of this chapter, we look at God our Father and learn about parenting from contrasting His role model to those of an ungodly human parent and about being a child of God from His relationship with His Son. ----------------------------- Chapter 6: To
Show Us Our Need for Him and Perfect Our Faith
Chapter six looks at events and wisdom in the Old and New Testaments and at events in lives today to show how suffering gets people to turn to God. In this chapter we explore the meaning of a perfect or complete faith. ----------------------------- Chapter 7: To
Make Us Like Him
Chapter seven uses Scripture and life accounts to establish that we learn by suffering. The Gospel accounts of the crucifixion detail what it cost Jesus to be obedient, what He suffered willingly. The chapter then looks at three epistles to leave us with the knowledge that no matter what suffering we may endure, Jesus, having suffered more, can comfort and sustain us. ----------------------------- Chapter 8: So
We May Comfort Others
Chapter eight focuses on a reason for suffering which most people acknowledge, once it is brought to their attention. Throughout the Bible and throughout our lives we see that suffering enables us to help others who are facing similar suffering. We learn to look at our own suffering through the filter of whom we can help as a result of what we have endured. ----------------------------- Chapter 9: To
Bring Others to Faith Through God’s Work
Chapter nine reveals God’s use of suffering to show His glory so that others will be brought to faith. We see this in a man miraculously cured of a brain tumor and in the Lord’s power to heal the blind man and to raise Lazarus. This and the next chapter end with the realization that God will use our suffering to save others. ----------------------------- Chapter 10: To
Bring Others to Faith Through Our Testimony
Chapter ten uses many parts of the Bible to establish that, as believers, we are different. We look at our own lives to find that we have hope and strength that others do not possess. That difference is a testimony to Him who gives it to us and the way God can use us to bring others to faith. ----------------------------- Chapter 11: To
Contrast This Life to Eternity
Chapter eleven connects Genesis, Deuteronomy, and Revelation to show that the New Testament lifts us from the focus of our limited time in this world to a focus of eternity with God. Some lives show this new focus is a gift that sustains us. ----------------------------- Chapter 12: From
Faith to Trust to Joy
Chapter fourteen examines what we trust and looks at the impact a trust in God has on a life. We end by looking closely at 1Peter 1: 6-9 and returning to Romans 8:28. ----------------------------- THE FOLLOWING TWO CHAPTERS WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE FIRST PRINTING OF WHY GOD LETS PEOPLE SUFFER: Chapter 12: As
a Sign of the End Times
Chapter twelve establishes the reliability of the Bible by looking at fulfilled prophecy and foreshadowing. It then reveals a picture of the suffering that will occur as a sign if the end times, primarily from the Gospels. It looks at the question of what makes this time different from all the other times people thought the Lord was coming back. ----------------------------- Chapter 13: To
Bring About His Plan
Chapter thirteen reasserts
the promise of Romans 8:28, that God has a plan for each of us and examines
how God uses people to bring about His plans. We look at the life of Joseph,
at Jesus’ death and at the Holocaust to illustrate that sometimes people
must suffer to bring about God’s full plan of redemption. We contrast Leah
and Rachel in the midst of their suffering to Joseph in the midst of his
suffering to highlight the difference in Joseph. His faith, that he was
part of God’s plan, made all the difference.
You may order
an inscribed autographed copy of
Why God Lets
People Suffer from His Truth Ministries. The
book is also available from directly from
the publisher, Magnus Press
or from amazon.com,
and is carried by many Christian bookstores. |
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