The Lord of Endurance and Encouragement: Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

Joel R. Beeke (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) was the president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary from 1995 to 2023 and now serves there as the chancellor and professor of homiletics and systematic theology. He is a minister of the Heritage Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Paul M. Smalley (ThM, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary) is a research and teaching assistant to Joel Beeke at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He previously ministered as a pastor of several Baptist churches in the midwestern United States and currently serves as a teacher at Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

"Living as we do between Genesis 3 and Revelation 22, sorrow and suffering are universal human experiences. This book describes such experiences but, far better, interprets them in the light of Christ's work. It is steeped in Scripture, grounded in sound doctrine, and consistent with Reformed theology. It will inform, comfort, and encourage all who read it." 

—Tim Challies, author of Seasons of Sorrow  

"Another book about suffering? Yes and no. It’s not just ’another’ book about suffering but one etched in the realities of the Christian life written from the experience of the godly. Paul’s first lesson that he learned following his first missionary journey was ’we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God’ (Acts 14:22). What have the saints learned from ’much tribulation’? The consolations of God! Paul again: ’For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ’ (2 Cor. 1:5). Deeply experiential, eminently practical, soul-refreshing, these essays will prove of enormous value. Not just another book about suffering—this is top shelf and worth careful reading. You will be blessed, I promise you." 

—Derek W. H. Thomas, author of Strength for the Weary 

"Imagine for a moment sitting comfortably with a half dozen Christian men who have been walking with God for decades, deeply experienced in the workings of His providence in both trouble and in joy, listening intently while they speak humbly, one by one, of what they have learned from their pilgrimage of finding peace when passing through dark, deep valleys and also how they have ministered to other needy disciples of Jesus Christ. If you can envisage that scene and wish you had been an eavesdropper during such golden hours, then this book will be your blessed experience as you savor what these servants of God, with their understanding, observations, and advice, will share with you as you read these helpful chapters on God’s fatherly sovereignty in relation to your suffering." 

—Geoffrey Thomas, author of Knowing the Cross