Torn to Heal: God's Good Purpose in Suffering

Mike Leake wants you to know that God will do whatever it takes to make you complete, to give you lasting joy. He says, [T]he Lord, in his goodness, will rip us to shreds if that’s what it takes to replace our idols with lasting joy. He will stop at nothing to fully redeem us. He does this by changing our desires. And this is good. (p. 16)He starts the journey to unpack this truth in Hosea--a book that portrays in some of the most vivid and graphic terms God pursuing his people at all costs.What Mike wants you to know is that God is sovereign even over our suffering, even when we are being disciplined and all of it is for our good. He carefully separates the fibers of truth found in God’s sovereignty and makes pastoral application. Christ is central in understanding God’s sovereignty (pp. 47-48). If we can understand how God directs suffering in the life of his Son, then we can understand how he will work in our own life.He also attacks dualism and stoicism in the Christian life. He demonstrates how the biblical view of God’s sovereignty provides hope and comfort hand and fist over these bankrupt world views. “Yet at the end of the day the gospel proclaims (over against the dualist) an absolutely sovereign God and (over against the stoic) a God who incarnates himself and weeps for man’s suffering” (p. 68).He ends where the story ends in the new heaven and new earth--when we see Jesus. “It is a return to Eden, this time with no room for crafty serpents (see Revelation 21:8). Finally humanity will know the rule of God, rest in God, and relationship with God we were created to enjoy.” (p. 83)I found the constant reminder that God will restore us in the midst of suffering encouraging. Without that tenor through out, without the hope of final victory of pain and suffering, we would fall prey to despair. He ends with these words, “You and I are being un-dragoned. Take heart, suffering saint, Aslan is on the move. One day the tearing will be over and we will be swimming and splashing in the river of glory!” (p. 91)As suffering is common to us all, prepare yourself. Mike Leake will lead you to Christ and deepen your trust and hope in him in preparation for suffering.

Not an simple "read". But, well worth the literary journey. Will re-read when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

A grounded biblical theology of crucial. This book aides in that development in a short, easy to read manner. I'm thankful for having found this resource and encourage others to pick this up as you seek HIS heart in learning about HIS use of suffering.

Short yet concise look at God's purpose in suffering from a Biblical standpoint. Explains the ways we can distort suffering's purposes and in turn how this affects the we respond to it in our lives.

I was challenged by this short work on suffering. It is concise and Leake gives strong biblical examples to build his theology of suffering. Highly recommend.

This book was simple to read, honest, theologically sound and full of hope! This is a great resource to be used in Biblical Counseling.

TORN TO HEAL by Mike Leake is a biblical look at the role of suffering in our lives. The problem of suffering is inevitably one that everyone struggles with at some point, especially if you believe in an all-loving God who wants good for those who believe in him. Leake looks at suffering as a way in which God refines believers, developing their character and their faith. He does this by appealing to a story in the book of Hosea where God compares himself to a husband who has been cheated on by with his wife, the nation of Israel. In this particular story, God personifies himself as a husband who takes away all the good things that he gave his wife and strips her bare before all of her adulterous lovers. Honestly, it's a pretty intense and disturbing scene. Leake uses this story and several other passages of Scripture to describe a God who loves his people enough to "tear" them so that they can be healed. The goal of the book is to outline some surprising benefits to suffering.No doubt the Scriptures indicate that suffering tests our faith in God and provides an opportunity to grow. I like how this book encourages us to see suffering as an opportunity to grow. However, the book takes a deterministic approach to God's causation of every event that happens in history. This, of course, means that all suffering is ultimately intended by God, even if it is immediately caused by secondary agents. And if you believe that suffering is meant to help you grow, then it's not far off to assume that every instance of suffering that ever happens is meant to bring about some good in the world. As Paul said, "Everything works together for good for those that love him." But what about when people don't grow from suffering? What if it breaks them instead? What about unbelievers? Surely, suffering sometimes leads unbelievers to embrace Christ, but not always. Though I agree with the author that suffering can be opportunity for our faith to be tested and for us to grow, it seems like a deterministic approach to God's sovereignty would lead someone to honestly raise the question of why there is so much wasted suffering in the world. Why is there so much suffering that produces no good at all?Another concern I have with the common approach to suffering is that people begin to replace God's role in their lives as God with something I call "the event catalyst." What is supposed to cause us to change? God, obviously. That's his role as God. If God changes us and acts as the catalyst to our change, then he is indeed the God of our lives. But sometimes people only change as a result of suffering. I won't argue that some people are driven to God and change as a result of what they come to believe about God in the midst of their suffering, but I believe many people rely on suffering as an event catalyst to change. When suffering and not God causes us to change, the suffering replaces the role of God. Does God use suffering to bring about change in us? He can and does. But is it necessary? Only in so much as we, as fallen creatures, won't submit otherwise. God wants to us to place our faith in him and change as a result of our faith in him. I believe suffering is used by God, but may not be in every instance intended by God specifically to bring about change in us.Obviously, I've raised a lot of questions, and there are many others that I have on the subject, but as this is a review of TORN TO HEAL, I want to simply say that I appreciate Leake's heart toward helping people wrestle with this difficult issue. It raised some questions in me, especially concerning the episode in Hosea that I will continue to wrestle through, so I appreciate him facing the issue head on. Definitely check out the book and be encouraged to latch onto Christ in the midst of suffering.Review copy provided by Cruciform Press

Quote the author and title of this book when people ask you “If God is so good why does he let people suffer?”