Trusting God

by Jerry Bridges
1988 / 368 pages

Since the apostles Peter and Paul, and indeed Jesus, warn the Christian to expect suffering in this life on account of our faith, it would be wise for us to prepare our hearts to be able to suffer well. Trusting God is a great resource for such preparation.

Bridges spends the first few chapters exploring hard questions like “Can I really trust God?” and “Is God actually in control?” Much of the value here is that Bridges doesn’t require that readers be in the depths of a trying event, but instead invites us to reflect on how well we trust God in even the smaller difficulties in life – the “stubbed toe” frustrations of daily life, or the far-away wars, that make us long for heavenly explanations.

Bridges uses many examples from the Old Testament to prove to the believer that God does control the course of this world, He is very in tune with our sorrows, and He truly weeps with those who weep.

While Bridges is writing for the layperson, he reminds us that we are dealing with heavy and complicated topics. Therefore, while this book is very useful for preparing our hearts to suffer well, it may be too “on the nose” for those are hurting, depressed, or struggling right now. This is best read before you ever need it.

Trusting God concludes with several chapters on the love and faithfulness of God, which gives balance to the topic as a whole. Discussion questions are included at the back for each chapter, making this an excellent recommendation for a book club study.