So far I'm just over halfway reading this book by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estes. As the subtitle says, it's an exploration of "Why our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty."
As a breakdown of that sentence:
Almighty - Steve and Joni are honest in wrestling with the fact that God is almighty; he has power over everything that happens in his universe. As Joni bluntly asked Steve, "Did God put me in this wheelchair?" The answer that Steve gave was "Yes," and this sent them both on a lifelong journey of learning about God and growing close to him.
Sufferings - Steve and Joni are also honest with the fact that there is a lot of genuine suffering on this earth. Joni herself is closely acquainted with suffering, and through her ministry she comes into contact on a regular basis with people who suffer even more than she does. She doesn't pretend like it's not hard or that the trials of life are inconsequential.
Matter - But both Steve and Joni are adamant that our sufferings do matter to the Almighty. As a man, Christ himself was initimately acquainted with grief, pain, rejection, sorrow ... you name it! It is because Christ suffered so intensely that we know that he most certainly knows what we are going through. I just finished reading chapter 9, and she shows very clearly how well God knows our pain.
Why - We might never have a definitive how or why for our sufferings. There are many things about which we must commend ourselves into God's hands. But the Bible does give us answers about why God allows pain and suffering into our lives. The biggest point that I've gotten out of this so far is that he hand-picks trials for each of us; in other words, our suffering is tailor-made just for us! And it is done in love, with God's good and holy and loving purpose in mind for his beloved children for whom he suffered in the worst way.
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