Meeting God In The Darkness

A closely argued book about what the negative tradition in Western theology involves.

Christians are supposed to be “the light of the world.” Yet we seem to spend most of our time stumbling in the dark. We want answers carved in stone, and instead we get uncertainty. We want a clearly marked path and a panoramic view of the future, and God gives us only fleeting glimpses of what lies ahead—and just enough light to take the next step. So what do we do? We take the next step. In her much anticipated follow-up to Looking for God, Nancy Ortberg takes readers on a journey that began thousands of years ago. From an ancient cave in Turkey to the California coast, Nancy highlights the often unexpected, sometimes imperceptible, yet always extraordinary means God uses to light our way through even the most painful and challenging moments in life.

Treasures of Darkness: Finding God When Hope Seems Hidden People generally consider dark times in life as times that are filled with pain, fear, anxiety, depression, loss, or sadness. Tara Soughers recognizes such moments in her own life. When hope seemed hidden, however, she encountered God. She tells us that she does not always recognize her times of darkness as grace-filled. “There are times when God seems absent in the darkness. There are times when I feel lost and even abandoned. But my journeys through the darkness have revealed God to me in ways that I could never have imagined.” She shares personal stories about dark times in her life and how she encountered God through the experiences. She invites us to embrace the darkness as an opportunity to experience the treasure of God’s love, presence, and power. Soughers invites us to explore several biblical stories in which darkness plays a major role, and each of the scripture readings offers a unique treasure in the darkness. Psalm 139:12 proclaims a powerful truth about God. “Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.” God creates in darkness (Genesis 1). God gives us “life . . . the light of all people” in Jesus Christ (John 1:4). Abraham, Paul, Jacob, Job, Nicodemus, and Jesus encounter treasures from God in the darkness. As Soughers explores each biblical account, she offers a unique point of contact for contemporary Christians, treasures that can sustain us as we encounter darkness in our lives. Book contents contain: Prologue: Discovering Treasures in Darkness 1. Darkness is as Light to You (Psalm 139:7-12) 2. Let There Be Light: Creation and Creativity (Genesis 1:1-5) 3. Count the Stars: Hearing God's Promise (Genesis 15) 4. Who Are You? Overcoming our Blindness (Acts 9:1-19) 5. Why Have You Forsaken Me? Bringing Life Out of Death (Matthew 27:45-56) 6. Wrestling with God: Transformation (Genesis 32:22-32) 7. Listen to this Dream: Enlightenment through Dreams (Genesis 37:1-11; 41:1-36) 8. Out of the Whirlwind: God as Mystery (Job 3:1-8; 38:4-21) 9. How Can These Things Be? Being Born Again (John 3:1-10) 10. Gate of Heaven: Encountering God Where Least Expected (Genesis 28:10-22) 11. The Light Shines in the Darkness: God's Self-Revelation (John 1:1-15) 12. The Night Is as Bright as the Day (Psalm 139:7-12) Epilogue: Treasures of Darkness Each chapter includes questions for reflection and discussion.This book is ideal for use in local church book groups.

John Piper examines depression from a spiritual perspective, guiding and encouraging those for whom joy seems to stay out of reach.

We live in a broken world. Amid the daily realities of sickness and isolation, disappointment and pain, it can be profoundly difficult to grasp the real goodness of God. But this is where God breaks into our darkness with beauty. In the wonder of creation, in art or film, story or song, in the kindness of his people and the good they create, God breaks into our pain in a tangible way, teaching us to trust his kindness and hope for his healing. Beauty is a voice singing into our suffering, beckoning us toward restoration. In This Beautiful Truth, Sarah Clarkson shares her own encounters with beauty in the midst of her decade-long struggle with mental illness, depression, and doubt. In a voice both vulnerable and reflective, she paints a compelling picture of the God who reaches out to us in a real and powerful way through the "taste and see" goodness of what he has made and what he continues to create amid our darkness. "To recognize and trust God's gift in pain," she writes, "empowers us to create and love as powerful witnesses to God's healing love in a hopeless world." If you want to renew your capacity to recognize and encounter God's beauty in your life, this hope-filled book will show you the way.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

This book lays out the source of healing and charts the path toward healthy relationships and spiritual maturity.