Elisabeth Elliot offers the most durable definition for suffering I've ever heard:

Suffering is Having What You Don't Want

This covers everything from cancer to a flat tire.

Or Wanting What You Don't Have

A spouse, a child, a new job.

Life on a fallen planet includes suffering of all types and intensities, and it's one thing to have a snappy definition for it, but what about a theology of suffering?

What does God have to do with our pain?

Are there lessons to be learned or is suffering just a thing to be gotten through so we can continue with the business of life?

And what about suffering in the life of the believer? It's clear we're not offered immunity or exemption from the world's woes, but search the internet for five minutes and you'll find teachers who would say otherwise and support their claims with Scripture.

In her long career as an author and speaker, Elisabeth Elliot lingered long on the topic of suffering. Widowed as a young mother, committed to a missionary calling, widowed again in middle age, and then, finally, subjected to the indignity and disappointment of dementia at the end of her life, Elisabeth spoke from experience, but more than that, she spoke from a sinewy faith that God does not abandon us in the midst of our pain.

Published nearly four years after her death, Suffering Is Never for Nothing has been adapted from a six-part series Elisabeth taught and which was recorded on CD at a small conference. Readers familiar with Elliot's message will recognize her voice in the printed page as she asserts that it has been through "the deepest suffering that God has taught the deepest lessons." (1) "And let's never forget," she continues, "that if we don't ever want to suffer, we must be very careful never to love anything or anybody." (9)

"In Acceptance Lieth Peace"

Beginning with lessons drawn from the life of Job, Elisabeth Elliot challenged believers to rejoice in the possibility of presenting our "whys?" to God, and to be ready to receive God's answer in the form of His presence with us in our miserythe answer we need more than any other we might have sought.

Then, taking her cues from her lifelong mentor, Amy Carmichael who said, "In acceptance lieth peace," Elisabeth shared that leaning into what she knew about the character of God released her from the notion that when we suffer, we are "adrift in chaos." (44) By doing the next thing, giving up our notions that we deserve a happy ending, and then saying "yes" to God, we are empowered to take the cup of suffering that God offers, in faith that He knows the end of the story.

While it seems ironic (or even masochistic) to thank God for suffering, that is exactly the advice Elisabeth offers. We do this, trusting the wisdom of the Giver who knows and attends to what we need; and we give thanks because it honors God. During her second husband's battle with cancer, God gave Elisabeth a testing ground for putting all her theories into practice, challenging her in regard to their shared suffering to:

Recognize it;

Accept it;

Offer it to God as a sacrifice;

Offer yourself with it.

Deliverance in Suffering

While it makes for a much better story line for someone to be delivered or rescued out of their suffering, the truth is that often God chooses to save His people in or through their trials. The psalmist outlines this miracle:

"He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way aright I will show the salvation of God!" (Psalm 50:23 RSV)

Suffering sets the table for salvation.

Receiving the gift of suffering is the first step. Offering it back to God is the next step, and it's an act of total obediencethe highest form of worship. Loneliness, sorrow, loss, or weakness of any kind can be offered back to God like a bouquet of smashed dandelions in the clenched fist of a tiny two year old. "It means everything in the world because love transforms it." (83)

The paradox of suffering linked to glory is a theme that runs through Elisabeth's writing and teaching because it runs through Scripture. "The wilderness into pasture. Deserts into springs. Perishable into imperishable. Weakness into power. Humiliation into glory. Poverty into riches. Mortality into immortality." (104)

A biblical theology of suffering finds God there in the midst of the pain, always present, always active, as He makes beauty from ashes, because our suffering is never for nothing.

Many thanks to B&H Books for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.

When I'm walking through a dark valley of suffering, I want to hear from someone who has been down that path and has come through to the other side. Elisabeth Elliot is such a guide. This book is full of faith and hope and grit and real emotion. She doesn't offer glib truths or easy words. She recognizes the very real pain we experience and points us to the one who gives it purpose and meaning.

I found her example of offering up her emotions to the Lord to be very compelling. "I put my feelings on God's altar. I can't handle a lot of my emotions. And so I just say, 'Lord, here it is. You take it and You make something out of it if You can.'" (location 1009).

I was encouraged and challenged by this book. While I am not eager to experience suffering, she reminds me that God has great purposes in it, that He will be with me through it, and that He gives grace to endure to those who trust Him. This is a book I will return to again and again.

Thank you to B&H Publishing Group for providing me with an e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Excellent presentation on suffering as it is the challenging experiences in our lives that we must seek God in prayer for guidance. His love and compassion is never ending. "It's not the experiences of our lives that change us. It is our response to those experiences." I have purchased another copy for a friend.

Most of us know her, a wise older women with twinkles in her eye and a never ending supply of tea and cookies. She, who looks you in the eye and asks one simple question and all of a sudden you're telling her your life's struggles while she listens and rocks her chair. When you fall silent, she doesn't have any answers really, but instead she tells some of her own stories. She tells of her life and her suffering, and then tells you how she copes and holds unto faith while handing you another cookie.

This is exactly what this book is. A conversation between you and a very, very wise woman named Elisabeth Elliot, who has suffered so much. She tells you to just do the next thing. To keep rejoicing. She doesn't give answers for the why's, but she gives answers to the how's. How to cope dat by day, how to keep faith in an Almighty God, and how to give your suffering to God. The answers aren't easy but they are very worthwhile.

It is a fast read with 120 pages, so it makes for a perfect gift or an afternoon read. I recommend to have tea and cookies for the full experience. Thank goodness, I don't think most people can bear to wrestle through 500 pages to find some lifesavers. This book is easy to read with a ton of wisdom packed in every chapter.

And even though I read the e-arc, I'm pretty sure the book will visually be stunning too, which is always nice since we usually like to give nice looking gifts lol!

Also, the reason I call this a conversation is because it very clearly is! This book is derived from a series of talks, and it reads like that. Nothing wrong with the concept of course, but it isn't as streamlined as a normal book would be, as conversation tends to sometimes get a little sidetracked. I really liked that aspect because it feels real, but I just wanted to point it out because knowing in advance will help create the right mindset.

I've been given an a-erc through Netgalley, for which I'm really grateful!

"Suffering Is Never For Nothing" by Elisabeth Elliot teaches us that suffering always has a loving purpose. When trials and troubles come our way, we know the One who knows why. Suffering is a mystery that we cannot plumb. Through the deepest sufferings come the deepest lessons. We trust the One who knows to lead us through the dark into the light. Suffering and love are inexplicably and inextricably linked. God's love for us sent His Son, Jesus to die for our sins on the cross to give us eternal life. Jesus carried our sins, griefs and sufferings on the cross. We don't have to carry the heavy burdens ourselves. Some burdens are so heavy that we will sink under its weight. That's why Jesus carried our burdens for us. Christ died for our sins and won victory for us. We can bear suffering because we trust God to bring amazing good out of it. "Suffering Is Never For Nothing."