How Should I Approach Suffering?

How Should I Approach Suffering? offers pastoral guidance on the nature and purpose of suffering in the Christian life, helping readers face trials with faith grounded in Scripture and the promises of God.

Dr. R.C. Sproul addresses suffering not as an abstract theological problem but as a lived reality that tests and refines faith. Adapted from two earlier works, this booklet examines the tension between the weight of affliction and the assurance of God’s sustaining presence. Sproul draws on the writings of Paul, Peter, and the author of Hebrews to show that suffering, though painful and perplexing, falls within the sovereign will of God and serves a redemptive purpose.

The book moves through topics including anxiety, the Via Dolorosa of Christ, the example of Job, and the calling to die in faith. Sproul gives careful attention to how believers can be honest about their pain without surrendering to despair, and he frames suffering as a crucible in which the genuineness of faith is tested and purified. Throughout, he points readers to Christ as the Shepherd who accompanies His people even through the valley of the shadow of death.

This booklet is part of the Crucial Questions series published by Ligonier Ministries, designed for personal study, small groups, and conversations with family and friends.

Key Themes

• The sovereignty of God over all suffering and its redemptive purpose
• Christ’s presence and help as the ground of endurance under trial
• Biblical examples of faithful suffering, including Job and the Apostle Paul
• The distinction between perplexity and despair in the life of faith

Featured Quotes

“The promise of God is not that He will never give us more weight than we want to carry. The promise of God is that He will never put more on us than we can bear.”

“God will not send us where He refuses to go Himself.”