Listed below is a selection of links that will take you to some books, sermons, and blog posts that my wife, Debbie, and I have been encouraged by during our respective cancer journeys. These loosely fall into three categories:
God- A biblical understanding of who God is creates the foundation upon which all the other writings rest. A.W. Tozer wrote "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." Understanding what the Bible says about the sovereignty of God and His love for us have been critical to strengthen and sustain our faith as we are tested in the storms of life.
Suffering- Much has been written about trials and suffering, both because so many experience them but also because of the tremendous life shaping effects they have upon us as God uses them to mold us into the image of His Son- for our good and His glory.
Creation- Creation is communication, speaking to us about the One who created and sustains the universe. My trust and faith deepen as I see creation through the lens of scripture and consider the power, precision, care, and creativity of the God who made everything and yet still knows me, loves me and cares for me.
Ice Detail- Eastern Sierra
Books About God
Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
The Attributes of God by Arthur W. Pink
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
None Other by John MacArthur
Books About Trials & Suffering
Trusting God In Trying Times by Don Green
Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Paul David Tripp
Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain Of Loss and the Comfort of God by Tim Challies
Songs of Suffering:25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls by Joni Eareckson Tada
Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur
Don't Waste Your Cancer by John Piper (Free Download)
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper (Free Download)
Kiss the Wave By Dave Furman
Streams in the Desert By L.B. Cowman
The Scars That Have Shaped Me by Vaneetha Rendall Risner
Beside Still Waters By C.H.Spurgeon
Hope When It Hurts by Kristen Wetherell & Sarah Walton
God’s Grace in Your Suffering by David Powlison
Books About Seeing God in Creation
Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything by Steve DeWitt
Consider the Lilies by T.M. Moore
God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World by Andrew Wilson
Ice Detail- Yosemite National Park
Sermons & Resource Collections
Desiring God- Resource Collections
Truth For Life- Resource Collections
The Gospel Coalition- Resource Collections
Ice Detail- Eastern Sierra
Blog Posts- The Message of God In Creation
Christ is Like Sunlight- John Piper
The Spiritual Discipline of Sky- How the Heavens Shape a Heart- Scott Hubbard
A Psalm of God’s Joy- John Piper
We Are Never Without Beauty- Tim Challies
Ice Detail- Eastern Sierra, CA
Blog Posts- Trials & Suffering
Your Suffering Is Not Meaningless- John Piper
Five Reminders for the Weary and Burdened Soul- Sarah Walton
Light and Truth- Jacob Crouch
Did My Sin Cause My Suffering?- Tony Reinke
Words Spoken Out of Grief, Not Belief- Sarah Walton
Through the Valley of Miscarriage- Tanner Swanson
God Is Good and Does Good- Even in Our Pain- Garrett Kell
Sin Won’t Comfort You: How Satan Tempts the Hurting- Marshall Segal
Live Like Death Is Gain- Marshall Segal
When Hard Places Become Holy Places- Sarah Walton
If Jesus Triumphed Over Sin and Death, Why Does Our World Still Contain So Much Evil and Suffering?- Randy Alcorn
Ice, Wind, and Unanswered Prayers- Stephanie
How Much Thought Do You Give To Heaven?- Randy Alcorn
Worse Than Any Affliction: Why I Refuse to Grumble- Joni Eareckson Tada
Why Does a Biblical Theology of Suffering Matter?- Randy Alcorn
What’s the Point if the Pain Has No End- Sarah Walton
The Difficult Discipline of Joy: What Keeps Us From Seeing God?- Clinton Manley
God’s Purposes Prevail in Both Good News and Bad News- Randy Alcorn
When You Long to Know the “Why” Behind Your Sorrow- Tim Challies
Life Without Romans 8:28- Tim Challies
He Will Create Rivers in the Dry Wasteland- Sarah Walton
Seek God’s Face Before You Seek His Hand- Sarah Walton
Dancing in an Empty Theater- Brianna Lambert
When You Feel Depleted, Exhausted, and Discouraged- Marissa Bondurant
Because of How God Sovereignly Led Me Through Past Difficulties, I can Trust Him for the Future- Randy Alcorn
Who is Jesus? The Light of the World- Robb Brunansky
When God Gives Us a Platform- Tim Challies
Three Lessons from Joni Eareckson Tada on Resilient Joy in Pain- Joni Eareckson Tada
Five Purposes for Suffering- John Piper
Your Shepard’s Lovingkindness Pursues You- Randy Alcorn
When This Season Ends- How to Let Good Things Go- Scott Hubbard
Five Ways Affliction Helps- John Piper
What To Do While You Wait To Die- Tim Challies
Comforting Quotes for Those Who Are Suffering- Tim Challies
A Purpose in Chronic Pain- David and Krista Dunham
Grace Denied and Supplied- John Piper
You Could Be Faithful with Your Frailty- Glenna Marshall
Sustained in the Fire- Sara Walton
Let Suffering Lead to Gentleness, Not Bitterness- Lara D’Entremont
What Matters Is Not the Size of Your Faith- Tim Challies
As the Outer is Peeled Away- Tim Challies
Standing on God’s Promises When Circumstances Worsen- Sarah Walton
Singing in the Dark- Tim Challies
Earthly Loss Is Heavenly Gain- The Rewards of Faithful Suffering- Vaneetha Risner
Christmas Like a Christian: Five Glories the World Belittles- Marshall Segal
With You- Blake Long
Which Jesus Do You See In Your Suffering?- Blake Glosson
Giving Thanks for the Goodness of God- Kevin DeYoung
The Blessing of a Higher Purpose in Our Pain- Tim Challies
Five Reasons Death Is Gain- John Piper
Proven Faith Is More Precious Than Gold- Tim Challies
Life Is Fleeting- Tim Challies
Sin, Satan, Sickness, or Sabotage- John Piper
Can Death Ever Be Good? -Kathryn Butler
9 Lessons That God Teaches Us Through Sickness- Randy Alcorn
How Can I Return to Normal Life After Tragedy?- John Piper
The Beauty of Faithful Suffering- Melissa Kruger
You’re Not Waiting Alone- Brianna Lambert
The Meaning of Suffering- John Piper
If God Is Not Sovereign- Tim Challies
The Seminary of Suffering- John Piper
On What it Means to Trust God and 3 Ways to Start Again- Amber Thiessen
10 Bible Verses about Strength and Weakness- Truth for Life
God’s Word Sustains Us When Life Is Hard- Randy Alcorn
Grace Will Order All Your Pain- John Piper
The Joy of Imagining Heaven- Randy Alcorn
When Word of Comfort Feel More Like Salt in a Wound- Sarah Walton
Never Enough- Bob Allen
10 Bible Verses about Heaven and Hell- Alistair Begg
Stepping Through Darkness- Scott Hubbard
Seven Blessings for Empty-Handed Believers- Colin Smith
Six Reminders about Christian Hope- Alistair Begg
Lord, Help My Unbelief- Sarah Walton
Thank God We Do/Don’t Know the Future- Tim Challies
He Leads Me Beside Still Waters- Jacob Crouch
What No Eye Has Seen- Lee Hutchings
Testing Our Faith- Charles Spurgeon
We Wait, He Works- John Piper
What Does it Mean That God is Sovereign? -R.C. Sproul
Knowing God as Our Refuge- Hayley Satrom
Fighting For Faith When Doubts Abound- Sarah Walton
Emerging from Our Trials Unscathed- Tim Challies
Is something wrong with me if I don’t feel God’s presence in my suffering? -Ligonier Ministries (Video)
No Hand But His Ever Holds the Shears- Tim Challies
In the Beginning There Were No Canyons- Tim Challies
Anxiety: You Can Have Courage Because God is With You…- Martha Brady
How To Fight Anxiety- John Piper
Let Suffering Lead to Gentleness, Not Bitterness- Lara D’Entremont
When Life Seems Unfair- Sarah Walton
Bad News?- Charles Spurgeon
Six Encouragements in the Storms of Life- Sarah Walton
Patience In Affliction- Charles Spurgeon
Rich in Poverty, Strong in Weakness- Charles Spurgeon
Wager on Getting Out of Bed- Alan Noble
Do the Next Thing- Justin Taylor
How To Pray For Someone Who Is Dying- Tim Challies
Shadows and Streams- John Piper
Truth to Cling to When Nothing Makes Sense- Sarah Walton
Living Well Among Thorns- Vaneetha Risner
The God Who Knows- Tim Challies
Two Truths for Deep Suffering- Brianna Lambert
Suffering That Strengthens Faith- John Piper
Through the Valley- Patsy Kuipers
Why Do Some People Suffer More?- Ligonier
What the Canyon Echoed Back- Tim Challies
O Me of Little Faith- Greg Morse
Grace for Every Need- John Piper
Standing Strong in Affliction- Karen Wade Hayes
I am Under the Unerring Care of God- Tim Challies
Why Googling Won’t Cure Your Anxiety- Bethany Broderick
Flowers Springing Up in the Rain- Tim Challies
Encouragement for Suffering Saints- Micah Colbert
Not Brave- Julie Lowe
Tell Yourself These Biblical Truths about Suffering- Randy Alcorn
No Further- Cassie Watson
Seeing Through Tears- Brianna Lambert
May We Be Overwhelmed by the Goodness of God- Randy Alcorn
The Voices We Hear in Suffering- Vaneetha Risner
Dear Anxious Heart, I Want You to Know… -Amber Thiessen
Getting On The Train: A Testimony of God’s Strength in Grief- Anna Patterson
The Sight That Changes Suffering- Vaneetha Risner
Mercy Swallows Any Sorrow- Struggling Beside a Sea of Blessing- Marshall Segal
Not Afraid of Bad News- Jacob Crouch
My Joy Depends on My Circumstances- Steve Bateman
When God Sets Sunsets Free- Imagining the World to Come- Marshall Segal
Faith For The Future- John Piper
When Life Feels Crushing- Vaneetha Risner
Calvinism Is Getting Me Through Cancer- Jenna Diprima
What We Regard as Little- Glenna Marshall
Living with “When” Between Groaning and Hope- Tim Shorey
Don’t Wait For Joy- Jacob Crouch
What You Need More Than Clarity- Blake Glosson
God’s Grace In Our Weakness- Betty-Anne Van Rees
God Is Good To Bring Afflictions- Justin Huffman
More Than You Can Handle- Seth Lewis
Not Dead Yet: Fighting Nine Fears of Old Age- John Piper
Have You Ever Felt Desperate for Hope- Vaneetha Risner
When the Miracle Doesn’t Come- Sarah Walton
Do You Trust Him?- Jacob Crouch
Treasures of Darkness- Donna Evans
I’m So Glad It’s You- Jacob Crouch
He Drew me Through Agony- My Painful Path to Faith- Kathryn Butler
How Does He Hold Us?- Brianna Lambert
The God Who Knows- Tim Challies
The Funny Thing About Hope- Kevin Carson
A Beautiful Savior for the Unattractive- John Piper
The Path To Glory- Tim Challies
The Funny Thing About Hope- Kevin Carson
Faith Is Not Anonymous- John Beeson
Then and Now- How God Gives Us Something From Nothing- Amber Thiessen
Flee the Gospel of Me- Marshall Segal
When A Good God Seems Far From Good- Sarah Walton
Fifteen Tactics For Joy- John Piper
The Day Is At Hand- John Piper
The Song That Sustains Creation- Joel Strand
Fifteen Tactics For Joy- John Piper
The Confession and Hard Providences- Jeffrey Stivason
Seven Sources of Joy- John Piper
The Great Exchange- John Piper
Why Might God Wait? What Grief Taught Me About Love-Vaneetha Risner
Trusting God with The I-Don’t Knows- Heath Lambert
Five Reasons to Be Fearless- John Piper
Weary One, Take Heart- Christa Threlfall
My Son’s Short Life Was Not A Waste- John Musyimi
The Bible Never Offers A Drink From Shallow Waters- Tim Challies
A (God-Centered) Path From Anxiety to Peace- Dorothy Griffin
When We Fear the Worst- Sarah J. Hauser
Don’t Waste The Days When You Feel Little Need for God- Tim Challies
Reading Resurrection in the Book of Nature- Joe Deegan
The Cosmos Keeps Preaching- Kevin Harnett
Mercy for Today- John Piper
“Where Is Your Faith?”- Mary Nolte
No Further- Cassie Watson
Trusting God with Creation But Not Providence- Tim Challies
What Will Make You Resilient?- Jon Bloom
There is Something Better Than Never Suffering- Jared C. Wilson
What God Can Make from a Shattered Life- Scott Hubbard
If God Would Outsource His Sovereignty- Tim Challies
Yes, a Loved One is Watching from Heaven- Katie Polski
Struggling with the Struggle- Melissa Edgington
8 Ways God Works Suffering for Our Good- Tim Challies
The Grief of a Child’s Diagnosis- Marissa Bondurant
A World God Could Admire: Recovering His Pleasure in Creation- Marshall Segal
3 Reasons I’m Glad that God is Sovereign Over Tragedy- Jacob Crouch
The Gap Between Our Greatest Grief and Our Greatest Joy- Tim Challies
Meet the Resurrected You- Randy Alcorn
Does Jesus Love Me?- Keith Evans
On Loving and Losing Good Gifts- Hayden Hefner
When God Unfolds His Will In Pieces- Tim Challies
God Works Through Good Resolves- John Piper
Do You Want To Die Well? -Marshall Segal
What Will Man Be Like For Countless Future Ages? -John Piper
How Long Have You Been Battling?- Tim Challies
God Regards the Lowly- John Piper
All Things New: When Our Long Night Will End- Brian Tabb
I Sing My Way Through Pain- Joni Eareckson Tada
The Four Biggest Assets in My Grief- Randy Alcorn
Does Jesus Love Me?- Keith Evans
Two Infinitely Strong and Tender Truths- John Piper
A Life-Giving Brain Cancer- Rachel Ho
What Does #Blessed Really Mean?- Vaneetha Risner
What We Really Need in the Wilderness- John Piper (Podcast)
How Unanswered Prayers Have Shaped My Faith- Ruth Davidar Paul
Suffering Proves We Are Real- Marshall Segal
Faith in the Wilderness of Waiting- Scott Hubbard
What Does #Blessed Really Mean?- Vaneetha Risner
What We Really Need in The Wilderness- John Piper
What the Father Gives, We Must Receive- Tim Challies
To Whom Shall We Go?- Jon Hunt
Five Purposes for Suffering- John Piper
When Hope is Actual, but Not Yet Perceived- Timothy McCracken
How to Pray When the Prognosis Is Grim- Christy Gambrell
Surviving the Winter of Suffering- Lara d’Entremont
Five Ways Affliction Helps- John Piper
Will God Provide for Your Needs?- Garrett Kell
In Suffering, God Isn’t (Simply) Teaching You a Lesson- Blake Glosson
On Eagles’ Wings- Warren Peel
The Battle to Remind- John Piper
When God Allows Your Children to Suffer- Amy Payne & Katie Faris
Strains of the Season: Sickness- Katie Tumino
For the Christian Who Is Afraid to Die- Tim Challies
A God Who Is With Us- Aaron Sironi
The Long and Lingering Tail of Suffering- Vaneetha Risner
I Am Not My Own: How Heidelberg Healed Me- Kathryn Butler
And Then There Was One- Tim Challies
God Has Not Given You a Stone- Jacob Crouch
Trusting Through Trials and Tragedies- James Williams
Grace Denied and Supplied- John Piper
I Want Him Back (But Not the Old Me Back)- Tim Challies
Only A Little While- John Piper
The Pleasures of God in His Creation- John Piper
Steadfast Hope in Seasons of Suffering- Donna Evans
The Year of Our Dreams or the Year of Our Nightmares- Tim Challies
Suffering is About Knowing Jesus Better- Randy Alcorn
Unraveling the Riddle of Rejoicing Always- Joe Allen
Advent: The Hard Season of Waiting- Vaneetha Risner
Christmas Hope for the Broken-Hearted- Tim Challies
My Anchor Holds- Brianna Lambert
Miscarriage Led Me to Mercy- Monica Geyen
What I Long for More Than Miracles- Tim Challies
When Praying Hurts: How to Go To God in Suffering- Vaneetha Risner
8 Ways Trials Help Us- Katie Faris
Trusting God Through Terminal Illness- Steve Napper
Faith Lifts Our Eyes Up- Adam Kareus
Much Will Be Required- Tim Challies
Hope in Not Knowing What to Do - Lee Lewis
The Strong Comfort of God- Clarissa Moll
In The Beginning There Were No Canyons- Tim Challies
How Can I Cast My Cares on God?- John Piper
When God’s Providence is Bitter- Abigail Thompson
In the Shadows It Is Well- Poem by Abigail Thompson
A Hymn of Home and Hopefulness- Poem by Abigail Thompson
Morning Light on Ice Detail- Yosemite National Park
