I Come Quietly to Meet You, an Intimate Journey in God’s Presence, devotional readings from the writings of Amy Carmichael arranged by David Hazard – A missionary to India, Amy’s last 19 years were riddled with pain after a crippling fall. Yet throughout those years, Amy continued to fix her eyes on the light of God’s presence and God’s goodness (11) and write of her remarkable journey into God’s heart in the midst of her suffering.

A Chance to Die, the Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael, Elisabeth Elliiot – do we view every day, every circumstance as our chance to die to ourselves?

The Dance of Hope, William C. Frey

Spirituality of the Psalms, Walter Brueggemann – The Psalms invite us into an honest facing of our darkness . . .  a darkness that may be faced and lived {because} there is One {who is} in the darkness with us . . . and the darkness is strangely transformed . . . by the power of relentless solidarity. (xiii)

Psalms of Lament, Ann Weems

A Prisoner and Yet,  Corrie ten Boom

Amazing Love, Corrie ten Boom

The Five Silent Years of Corrie ten Boom, Pamela Rosewell Moore

A Place of Healing, Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty, Joni Eareckson Tada

Choosing to See, A Journey of Struggle and Hope, Mary Beth Chapman and Ellen Vaughn

Lament for a Son, Nicholas Wolterstorff – to comfort me, you have to come close. Come sit beside me on my mourning bench. (34) God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers. The pain and fallenness of humanity have entered into his heart. Through the prism of my tears I have seen a suffering God. Instead of explaining {or answering our questions} our suffering God shares it. (81)

Bright Days, Dark Nights with Charles Spurgeon, Elizabeth Ruth Skoglund

Stories from the Edge, Greg Garrett – stories of real people with real struggles: I asked Pamela a question, ‘Do you think God understands your pain? Do you believe God is walking beside you in your pain?’ . . . She replied, ‘I know he does . . . God knows pain, he knows my pain . . . . {God walks beside me}. But sometimes I forget. I get scared . . .’ (25) Whatever challenges may loom as we face suffering in this life, we serve a God of hope, a Christ who . . . has walked the path before us. (116)

Can You Drink the Cup, Henri Nouwen

The Tapestry, Edith Schaeffer

The Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross

Simply Jesus, N. T. Wright

God in Pain, Teaching Sermons on Suffering, Barbara Brown Taylor

The Suffering of God, an Old Testament Perspective, Terence E. Fretheim

What Good is God? In Search of a Faith That Matters, Philip Yancey – The sufferings of Jesus show us that pain comes to us not as punishment but rather as a testing ground for faith that transcends pain. In truth, pain redeemed impresses me more than pain removed. . . . all things can be redeemed . . . we can be more than conquerors through Him who loved us . . . who can redeem what now seems irredeemable. (31-32) The question ‘what good is God?’ is an open question whose answer God has invested in us his followers. We are the ones called to demonstrate a faith that matters to a watching world . . . in a way that assuredly releases the fragrance of hope and transformation. May that fragrance continue to spread. (287)