In Suffering Redeemed, Karis Meier explores what it looks like to suffer well by chronicling her own compelling story of physical illness. She processes the raw struggle, endless questions, cycles of disappointment and hope, and the treasure of intimacy with God through her journey. She offers practical applications from Scripture and strategies to keep going when it feels too hard. Karis invites her readers to process their suffering with her as she fights for faith and clings to hope that only God can bring. This part memoir, part spiritual growth, and faith-based book is perfect for anyone going through hardship or suffering and who wants to find hope and help to keep going. Even when life feels too hard.
This book is raw, an individual still in the midst of the struggle allowing readers to relate and find themselves within the pages. But it also offers unexpected hope to endure in the trials of this life. Everyone suffers at some point, the question is how do we respond and how do we emerge from our suffering? This book will equip you to suffer well and be transformed in the process—not because of denial or minimizing the pain, but embracing the fullness of life and eternal hope we have in God.
If you have suffered, are suffering or will suffer in the future (everyone!), I encourage you to read this book. It was not my idea to write this book, but I felt called by God to share with others what he has done and is continuing to do through what seems like meaningless pain and suffering. He can redeem yours too. Our world is dying in hopelessness, and you have the opportunity to be a voice of hope. This book will help because it is filled with God's words and truths that I desperately needed and still need to hear when life feels unmanageable. I hope and pray that you will be encouraged, gain hope, and find strength for whatever you face through the words of this book.
In prolonged suffering, we can get lost. The details of the pain and suffering can blur our vision so that all we see is the hardship and struggle. We become defined by our problems. Instead of God’s story, we can give in to the narrative of the enemy. We forget who we are and whose we are. We need to remember to remember. Remember who God is. Remind ourselves what he has done. And recall God’s broader story in which we each have a part.
We need to ask him to reframe how we see our individual stories within his broader story. It’s not just about my good or your good; God’s plan for goodness includes all he has created, from the beginning of time to eternity. We must keep this in mind. And then believe that he will ultimately redeem all the brokenness and suffering in our stories. He who started the work in us will complete it on the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).
Whatever small or great suffering we go through, the outcome could produce a sweeter and stronger bond with Jesus, but we must position ourselves near him. We must trust that he is walking with us, however dark or deep the valley may be.
God patiently waits for us to turn to him in our need. When we open ourselves to God in our pain, we allow him to provide comfort in the deepest places of our souls.
Sometimes, it can feel like our suffering has all but destroyed our closest relationships. How can we love others when pain is overwhelming? Suffering can virtually suck us down into ourselves. At times, it makes us unavoidably self-centered. But this will not last forever. And through the process, there come opportunities to use the suffering we have endured to touch the lives of others.