This moment of tragedy and evil [referring to 9/11] shone its own light on the Church and what we came to see was not a happy sight. For what has become conspicuous by its scarcity, and not least in the evan­gelical corner of it, is a spiritual gravitas, one which could match the depth of horrendous evil and address issues of such seriousness. Evangelicalism, now much absorbed by the arts and tricks of market­ing, is simply not very serious anymore (David Wells, Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World, 4).

these are the words that John Piper chooses to open up the first chapter of this volume with. not his words, but the words of David Wells, and Wells could not have put it any better. the church is simply not very serious anymore. at least not when it comes to suffering and evil. sure there are rallies and money drives and things like that, but there is often no love, no ministering, no truly getting one’s hands dirty in order to “love one’s neighbor as himself.” this has resulted, in Wells’ words, in a lack of a spiritual gravitas, or a lack of spiritual weightiness, in matters of suffering and hardship. rather than deal with suffering, the church is content with increased programming. rather than deal with the incredible depth of sin, the church, by and large, would rather call for boycotts against companies like Disney and Wal-Mart. but this is nothing more than a band-aid mentality. worse yet, it’s like trying to put a band-aid on cancer. it just doesn’t do any good.

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God is the latest volume to result from the annual national conference put on by Desiring God Ministries, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. the book is divided into three sections, these being “the sovereignty of God in suffering,” “the purposes of God in suffering,” and “the grace of God in suffering.” the most helpful thing about this book is that, as Justin Taylor says in the introduction, this is a book on applied theology, rather than a book dealing with abstract ideas. each of the contributors of this book has dealt with their fair of suffering. two contributors are paralyzed and deal with chronic pain, two experienced the death of a parent when they were young, two have had children die in the past few years, and two are currently battling prostate cancer. through all these trials, each tells how they have found comfort and hope in the sovereign God, the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

the greatest thing the American church can take away from this book is that God is sovereign over all suffering, all evil, all schemes and devices of Satan. this is the subject of Piper’s first chapter in the book. Piper issues ten calls to celebrate the fact that God is more powerful than Satan and the evil powers. Piper calls us to celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s delegated rule, over Satan’s angels, and over Satan’s hand in persecuting the church. we are to celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s life-taking power, over Satan’s hand in natural disasters, and over his sickness-causing power. we are to celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s use of plants and animals, over his tempting us to sin, and over his mind-blinding power. finally, we are to celebrate that God is sovereign over Satan’s spiritual bondage. even though he may bind us through either misery and suffering or through pleasure and prosperity, we are to rejoice that Satan is not sovereign over his captives. only God is. and God is merciful in setting free those whom are His from this bondage through the gift of repentance and faith. what joy there is in this. what grace, and what mercy.

not only should we rejoice at this, but we should hasten to share this joy and this comfort with others in hopes that they too may be set free from their bondage to sin. that is what the church should take away from this book. not to run from suffering. not to ignore it or suppress it, but to look to God for comfort and freedom in facing our sufferings head on. not only for our sake, but for the sake of others as well, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians,

for as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

may this book serve to comfort those who are suffering, may it serve to deepen their love and awe of God, the sovereign Lord of all things, including evil and suffering. and may they, through their comfort, be better equipped to comfort others who suffer, sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, and calling them to rejoice in the God of all comfort.