When Trouble Comes

What will you do when trouble comes?

It’s not a question of if, but when—at some point, everyone faces grief, pain, broken relationships, sin, or persecution. What hope do we have? Sharing honestly from his own life and looking at stories of men and women in the Bible who experienced many kinds of trouble, Phil Ryken offers hope from Scripture aimed at reminding us that we’re never alone in our pain. Though hardships and trials will come, God is our very present help in times of trouble.

“Written by a sufferer who is also a skilled theologian-exegete, this book is honest, tender, full of grace, and bursting with the street-level wisdom of God’s Word. With story after story from Scripture, Dr. Ryken shows how the Bible accurately portrays our sufferings and how God meets us in the midst of them. Since suffering really is a universal human experience between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet,’ this is a book worth getting and living with. I found it to be enormously helpful, and you will too.”
Paul David Tripp, President, Paul Tripp Ministries; author, What Did You Expect?

“Dr. Ryken is serving as the president of one of the most important Christian institutions of our time. Even in my work in the Middle East, I have been blessed by Wheaton College through my ongoing relationships with professors there and also through the many Wheaton graduates who have worked with me over the years. Dr. Ryken is there through both good times and difficult times, always leading with integrity and wisdom, so that Wheaton College can truly be ‘For Christ and His Kingdom.’ In this book, Dr. Ryken shows his characteristic integrity in his ability to be vulnerable before others in order that they might find solace in Jesus Christ. I am so pleased to fully endorse this book, written by a man I hold in highest esteem.”
Canon Andrew Wright, Vicar Emeritus, St. George’s Church, Baghdad, Iraq; President, Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East    

“When trouble comes, most Christians want to escape it, deny or divorce it, or medicate or avoid it—we do everything but actually try to live with it! Thankfully, Dr. Ryken takes great pains in this remarkable book to show us how to live gladly and gloriously through our troubles. Rather than take us on a detour around our hardships, he serves as our guide through them. If you are finding it hard to ‘welcome trials as friends,’ this is the book for you.”
Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder and CEO, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

Prologue: Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen (Psalm 37:39–40)

1. “Woe Is Me!”: Isaiah’s Sin and Guilt (Isaiah 6:1–8)
2. “I’ve Had Enough”: Elijah’s Desperate Depression (1 Kings 19:1–18)
3. “Where You Die I Will Die”: Ruth’s Grief and Poverty (Ruth 1:1–18)
4. “You Are the Man!”: David’s Deadly Temptation (2 Samuel 11:1–5; 12:1–15)
5. “Cursed Be the Day I Was Born!”: Jeremiah’s Disheartening Persecution (Jeremiah 20:1–18)
6. “A Sword Will Pierce Your Own Soul Too”: Mary’s Troubled Soul (Luke 1:26–38; 2:22–35)
7. “Now Is My Soul Troubled”: The Savior’s Suffering unto Death (John 12:20–33)
8. “We Are Afflicted in Every Way”: Paul’s Light and Momentary Troubles (2 Corinthians 4:7–18)

Epilogue: Here Comes Trouble! (John 16:25–33)
Study Guide
Notes
General Index
Scripture Index