Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow

June 8, 2009
Guthrie, author of bestselling Holding On to Hope
, continues her theme of suffering in her newest book, written for “those of us who find ourselves in places of deep sorrow and suffering.” She mines with skill the many treasures found in Jesus' words that “we might have skimmed over in the past, the ones we're so familiar with that they have little impact.” Ten chapters tap into 10 phrases of Jesus, from “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death” in the gospel of Matthew to “My grace is all you need” in 2 Corinthians. She doesn't offer platitudes, but instead speaks honestly from her own broken heart (she's buried two infants). “We want to see the ways God is using our loss for good. Sometimes God... draws back the curtain and shows us;... other times we have to wait.” Chapters end with paraphrased versions of Jesus' words, with discussion questions at the end of the book. Guthrie's work is an important study of suffering that offers readers an honest, provocative, grace-filled and soothing salve to their souls.