Through the Valley: Biblical-Theological Reflections on Suffering
Ebook
Overview
A diagnosis of a stage IV cancer is quite a jolt for any family. This is the news that came to Jeff Wisdom, a husband and father in his mid-forties. When the diagnosis of an advanced cancer comes to a family, it can challenge faith and hope. Through the Valley is a biblical-theological reflection on suffering. It details what Scripture says about suffering and what God has promised, both now and in the future. It draws comfort and encouragement from some lessons learned. And it acknowledges and wrestles with some unresolved questions and issues. Jeff’s reflections, as one who has endured cancer and chemotherapy, help to bridge Scripture’s message and the experience of living with a deadly disease. Excerpts from his wife’s journal are included to provide a window into this walk in a dark valley. This book does not address every aspect of the Bible’s teaching on suffering, but it makes an important contribution to the topic of the suffering that comes seemingly unexplained as the result of living in a fallen world.
”I once knew someone who, when diagnosed with cancer, somehow
managed to act completely unbothered by it. There was a theological
‘I-trust-God’ air about him but it revealed to me that stoicism
isn’t the way to respond to suffering. The biblical characters
don’t consign themselves to fate but wrestle with God because they
are both passionate about life and willing to face God with their
deepest desires. Jeff Wisdom’s book is filled with honest doubt,
genuine humility, and an open journey as he and his family faced
the dread stage IV cancer. I felt like I was reading the Psalms
come to life when I read this book."
--Scot McKnight
Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies
North Park University
“Avoid. It’s our one-word theology of suffering. But, albeit
grudgingly, if pressed, we would all acknowledge that suffering is
both ubiquitous and constructive. In this book, Jeff Wisdom
thoughtfully weaves an accurate biblical theology of suffering with
his own personal agonizing experience. As a witness to his
experience, he doesn’t bend, sugarcoat, or trivialize the text, his
experience, or the integration of the two. It won’t answer all your
questions, but it will increase your faith and confidence in a
sovereign and loving God even when the reasons for suffering remain
hidden from view. It will make you think. It will grip your heart.
It is real and raw. But it is a practical theology book that is a
valuable read for anyone who suffers. That means it’s for you. That
means it’s for me."
--Steven J. Hostetter
President, Oak Hills Christian College
"This is a most moving book, where the reality of suffering is
faced up to not as a theoretical possibility to be handled with
theological sleight-of-hand, but as a harsh and devastating reality
that drains energy and strains faith to the breaking point: The
honest extracts from Chris’s (Jeff’s wife) diary which begin and
end each chapter; the way the Psalms and Paul in particular spoke
to Jeff at a deeper and life-sustaining level; the lessons learned
through so much pain, but learned so well. This book will be as
much a challenge to those whose lives are (too?) comfortable as it
will be a comfort and source of strength to those for whom
suffering is all too real."
--James D. G. Dunn
Emeritus Lightfoot Professor, Durham University
"Seldom do we find an opportunity to walk beside someone who is
suffering, really suffering, and who, at the same time, experiences
the ravages of cancer against the backdrop of God’s cosmic work of
redemption. Jeff’s insightful reflections on God’s plan for His
world and people are woven into the fabric of his honest struggle
against the ‘thief’ that had invaded his body and presented with
the poignant excerpts from his wife, Chris’s, diary. Together they
help us understand not only what it is like to face disease and
death head on, but also how we, as Christians, are to understand
our suffering from the perspective of God’s word, including its
unanswered questions! This is a rare and moving book; it challenges
our view of God and of ourselves--both of which are much needed in
our day.
--Scott Hafemann
Reader in New Testament, University of St Andrews
Product Details
- Title : Through the Valley: Biblical-Theological Reflections on Suffering
- Author: Wisdom, Jeff
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Publication Date: 2011
- ISBN: 9781630875633
Jeff Wisdom (PhD, University of Durham) is the Director of the Pastoral Ministry Program and is instructor of New Testament and Greek at Oak Hills Christian College in Bemidi, Minnesota. He is also the part-time pastor of Sell Lake Community Church in Sevlin, Minnesota. He is the author of Blessing for the Nations and the Curse of the Law: Paul's Citation of Genesis and Deuteronomy in Gal 3:8-10 (2001).