available July, 2009
In times of deep sorrow and disappointment,
everything we believe can be called into question.
In this paradigm-shifting book, Nancy Guthrie gently invites readers
to lean in along with her to hear Jesus speak understanding and insight
into the lingering questions we all have about the hurts of life—what
was God’s involvement in this, and why did he let it happen? Why hasn’t
God answered my prayers for a miracle? Can I expect God to protect
me? Does God even care?
According to Nancy, this questioning is not a bad thing at all, but
instead, an opportunity. It’s a chance to hear with fresh ears the
truth in the promises of the gospel we may have misapplied, and in
the purposes of God we may have misunderstood.
In Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow, Nancy shines a light on eleven
statements Jesus made, mining them for meaning for those who hurt.
“Honestly, I’ve chosen many of these statements because they are the
ones that have been most challenging for me to understand and apply
to my own experiences,” Nancy writes. “They are the ones that have
caused me to say, ‘I just don’t get it’ as I read them and tried to
fit them into my established understanding of the nature and purpose
of the ministry of Jesus. Over and over I find that the passages of
Scripture that on the surface seem indiscernible to me hold some of
the richest truths—life-changing, perspective-shaping, hope-giving
truths.”
As you explore those truths with Nancy through the pages of this book,
you’ll find that Jesus speaks life into death, hope into despair, truth
into delusion, meaning into futility, peace into panic. And from his
lips you’ll receive wisdom, compassion, companionship…and so much more.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Hear Jesus
Saying, I, Too, Have Known Overwhelming Sorrow (Matthew 26:38)
Jesus understands the crushing weight and agonizing loneliness of grief.
Chapter 2: Hear Jesus Saying, I, Too, Have Heard
God Tell Me No (Matthew
26:39)
Jesus shows us what to do when God doesn’t give us what we want.
Chapter 3: Hear Jesus Saying, I Am Willing to
Heal Your Deadliest Disease (Mark 1:41)
Jesus knows what we need most of all.
Chapter 4: Hear Jesus Saying, I Will Save You
from Yourself
(Matthew
16:23)
Jesus saves us from a wasted life of trying to get our own way.
Chapter 5: Hear Jesus Saying, I Will Keep You
Safe (Matthew 10:28)
Jesus protects us from eternal harm.
Chapter 6: Hear Jesus Saying, I Have a Purpose
in Your Pain
(John 9:3)
Jesus gives us insight when we wonder why.
Chapter 7: Hear Jesus Saying, I Will Give You
a Heart for Forgiveness (Mark 11:25)
Jesus empowers us to forgive people who don’t deserve it.
Chapter 8: Hear Jesus Saying, I Am Enough for
You
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
Jesus supplies what we need when we need it.
Chapter 9: Hear Jesus Saying, I Am Giving Life
to Those Who Believe in Me (John 11:25-26)
Jesus asks us to believe that death is not the end of life.
Chapter 10: Hear Jesus Saying, I Am in Control
of Your Life and Your Death (Revelation 1:17-18)
Jesus soothes our fear of death.
Conclusion: Hear Jesus Saying, I Will Give You
Rest (Matthew 11:28)
Jesus opens his arms to us.
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Endorsements
Nancy writes with both conviction and compassion in Hearing
Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow. She takes on the hard questions that arise
from ongoing suffering and undesired outcomes; then she responds to
them with Scripture--which she applies to the issues with laser-like
clarity. Not only does Nancy lead us to the Word, she also helps us
connect with the living Word--Jesus. Each of the ten chapters ends
with a few paragraphs of Jesus speaking into our struggles.
I highly recommend this thoroughly biblical book to all those who
are suffering and/or helping others in their struggles. I found it
a source of strength and encouragement.
— Sarah Young, author of Jesus
Calling
Postmodernity seeks to deny death by driving it into the closet, to
trivialize it by treating it irreverently, or to circumvent it through
the use of clever clichés. In sharp contrast, Nancy Guthrie writes
with the realism and perspective of one who has been refined in the
cauldron of life’s tragedies. She does not offer up a panacea but the
peace that comes from hearing Jesus speak into our sorrows.”
— Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute
and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast
A mutual friend introduced me to Nancy Guthrie as I was going through
a personal crisis of my own. My friend felt certain I would draw strength
and hope from hearing how Nancy and her husband, David, were coping
with devastating loss. He was so right. She spoke to me where I was
living, inspiring me to keep pressing on in spite of my pain. Nancy’s
style is straightforward, raw and yet full of faith. Her latest book,
Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow, is for all those who find themselves
unable to sleep in the middle of the night due to an ache in their
soul. She takes us even further into the existential question most
of us ask when we’re hurting: Does Jesus really know what it’s like
to have a broken heart? This is a book I’ll refer to and recommend
often to those struggling with unanswered questions about suffering.
—
Kay Warren, Executive Director HIV/AIDS Initiative, Saddleback Church
When
it comes to tragedy, despair, and discouragement, what better person
to listen to than the Words of Jesus. My friend Nancy Guthrie has
experienced two of the most profound losses that a human heart should
ever have to bear, but out of her valley, she’s heard His Words. Really
heard. And she wants to share what she’s heard with you. This is
no theoretical treatise, but a compelling book hammered out on the
anvil of a mom’s heart. You WILL benefit from hearing these Words
too!
— Dennis Rainey, President, FamilyLife and
Host of FamilyLife Today
We live in a world of hurt…yet we are not alone. Jesus was a man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and those of us who have the divine
joy of following Him, can expect nothing less from the One who has
called us to a cross. But how do we ‘suffer well’? How do we manifest
His power, His grace, His sufficiency in our sorrow? How are we
kept from being overwhelmed? How are we able to ‘count it all joy’?
What a treasure of truth you have in your hands. The Word of God
has the answers and that is exactly where Nancy Guthrie, a woman acquainted
with sorrow, takes us. If you will let Nancy take you by the hand,
lead you where she has been, share with you Truth which never changes,
and cry “Heal me O’Lord” (Jeremiah 17:14), you will find yourself “hearing
Jesus speak into your sorrow”…and there you will find healing.
— Kay
Arthur, Co-CEO, Precept Ministries International
From a crucible of
personal tragedy, Nancy Guthrie confronts deep, disturbing questions
with unflinching candor. Never content with the usual answers, she
digs and digs, for her own soul and ours. Her authentic message of
hope challenges and nourishes both mind and heart.
— Harold Myra, former
executive chairman of
Christianity Today International and author of
One Extraordinary Day
Nancy Guthrie invites us to join her on her journey
of grief and loss as she seeks a deeper understanding of Jesus through
her pain. Those who read her story will be moved by the tenacity of
a grieving mother’s faith as she clings to Jesus despite unanswered
questions and a sorrow that won’t go away.
— Carolyn Custis James, author
of The Gospel of Ruth
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