“Suffering awakens us out of our haunted sleep of spiritual self-sufficiency into a serious search for the divine.” – Tim Keller
When life is going great, theology is sort of a fun thing to casually ponder, play with, discuss at coffee shops, and debate online. I think that’s how we ended up with an entire industry of out-of-context verses on coffee mugs, eye-roll generating muscled-up American Jesus on t-shirts, and meme-generating influencers. But, I digress.
My relationship with theology became completely different as my family endured some of the worst emotional torture this broken world can dole out. Overnight, theology went from something I studied, latte-in-hand, to something I grappled with in a jiujitsu-like way. Theology became too big and grimy for coffee shop discussion. It was a subject better suited for a wrestling mat or boxing ring. If you find yourself on the wrestling mat of life…or sitting battered and bloody in the corner of a boxing ring looking a bit like Rocky Balboa waiting for the bell to ring for round 387, here are a couple books I’d recommend. I can’t say I enjoyed wrestling with the content in these books, but they certainly hydrated me, re-taped my gloves, and helped shove me back in the ring of life. Perhaps they’ll resonate with you as well.
God on Mute by Pete Greig
Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller
A few quotes/notes from these two books:
“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.” – Parker J. Palmer
“I have only to turn my thoughts to God and I suddenly feel a strength which bursts into my soul, into my entire being. And what is it? Psychotherapy? No, it is not psychotherapy, for where would I, an insignificant, tired old man get the strength which renews me and saves me, lifting me above the earth? It comes from without, and there is no force on earth that can even understand it.” – Anatoly Emmanuilovich Letivin (a Russian Orthodox believer) in a letter written from prison
One of my notes from Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering: Secular books on stress management never encourage people to think about the bigger questions of life like “What are we here for?” They advise people to not think so hard about everything but to relax and find experiences that give pleasure. The Bible seems to teach the opposite: reckon, ponder, study, wrestle, meditate, think big and high. Keller defines “stupid peace” as refusing to think about your overall situation and to distract yourself by whatever means. He contrasts “stupid peace” with “smart peace” where you think about the big picture and find peace. In Christianity, bad things turn out for good (even when we can’t understand), good things can’t be taken away; and, the best is yet to come.
“The ultimate answer to humanity’s greatest questions have come to us through the agony of Christ’s own unanswered prayers.” - Pete Greig