When Suffering Is Redemptive

Stories of How

Anguish and Pain

Accomplish God’s Mission

Edited by larry j. waters

Foreword by joni eareckson tada

When Suffering Is Redemptive: Stories of How Anguish and Pain Accomplish God’s Mission

© 2016 by Larry J. Waters

Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

LexhamPress.com

First edition by Weaver Book Company

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Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version.

Print ISBN 9781683591924

Digital ISBN 9781683591931

Cover artwork: Dawn Waters Baker (dawnwatersbaker.com)

Cover design: Frank Gutbrod

Contents

Foreword

Preface

1. Redeeming the Worst Pain Known to Medical Science: My Suffering and the Mission of God

Larry J. Waters

2. Redeeming a Life of Paralysis: Broken Wholeness

Mark R. Talbot

3. Redeeming Chronic Pain: When Surgery Fails

Mark McGinniss

4. Redeeming Disability: Parenting a Child with Special Needs

Mary Klentzman

5. Redeeming Trauma: The Trials and Triumphs of Emergency Responders

Steve Calvert

6. Redeeming the Loss of a Spouse: God’s Crucible of Affliction

Rick Rood

7. Redeeming the Homeless: One Man’s Experience and Vision

Wayne Walker

8. Redeeming a Life after Suicide: The New Normal

Bill Bryan

Contributors

Foreword

When I first leafed through the book you hold in your hands, two sentences quickly caught my eye: “Sometimes we are unwilling, shunning the very thing that will move [God’s] redemptive purpose forward. That ‘thing’ is suffering.”

In those few words, Larry Waters described me perfectly. Decades ago when I broke my neck in the diving accident that left me a quadriplegic, I couldn’t have cared less about God’s redemptive purposes. I hated life in a wheelchair. All I wanted was the use of my hands and legs. Yet when I finally found ...

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About When Suffering Is Redemptive: Stories of How Anguish and Pain Accomplish God’s Mission

When Suffering is Redemptive offers hope when life is difficult. The eight stories of this book do not seek to explain the “why” of suffering but rather the present ways that God transforms and redeems suffering, particularly how suffering leads to ministry opportunities. Though the stories are personal and sometimes difficult to tell, the authors are transparent with their struggles and honest in their questions. Yet they have not lost sight of Christ and his purpose for their lives. This book will challenge readers to develop a richer sense of God’s sustaining grace in the midst of suffering and disability, hopefully resulting in the compassionate involvement of church ministries with those who are in the trenches of their own personal pain or struggles. Along with the personal stories, this book includes discussion questions and suggested resources at the end of each chapter.

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