# The Most Important Book I Read in 2025

> Book Review: SUFFERING by Paul David Tripp

**Published by:** [Philologist](https://paragraph.com/@philologist/)
**Published on:** 2025-12-22
**Categories:** book, review, resilience, christianity, suffering
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@philologist/suffering

## Content

Every Christian will tell you that suffering should bring us closer to God. Yet, more often than not, it takes us further away. That’s just reality. We, humans, are extremely talented at turning every problem into ultimate misery. When we face a painful experience (=a legitimate reason for suffering, such as illness, loss, financial difficulties, damaged relationships, etc.), we tend to look at it from the worst possible perspective and add tons of our mental and emotional baggage. That’s how we make ourselves feel desperate. I might sound harsh here, but Paul Tripp doesn’t sound like that. He is gentle and empathetic. This book will make you see what exactly you are doing to enlarge your troubles and show you how to reverse the process. You can get it from most internet bookstores, and it is available in many languages. I’m not sharing a link because I’m not writing this to sell you anything. I just want to spread the word about the book we all need. One more thing: this is not self-help. If you’re truly suffering, you must have realized that your “self” can’t help you and that mindfulness is ultimately rubbish. This is just help from a wise person who knows how to deal with pain, and it works because it brings you closer to the only person who has the resources and is willing to lift you up when you fall: Jesus Christ. Paul Tripp is fantastic in explaining how to turn suffering into opportunities for growth in faith, which naturally leads to joy. Not just explaining, but showing, so we can feel it, not just understand it. He shares his own painful experience and is open about all aspects of it, including an initially wrong mindset that made him feel worse. If you’re interested in the comprehensive theology behind the reality of suffering, enriched by historical and cultural context, read Tim Keller’s Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. But if you need immediate comfort, take Suffering by Paul David Tripp now. (Keller’s book is also personal and wonderful, but Tripp’s is more convenient if you have an urgent matter.) Your life is beyond your control. Even if you aren’t suffering right now, you certainly will at some point. (Unpopular opinion, isn't it? It's just that it isn't merely an opinion; it’s the truth.) That’s all. Feel free to ignore my post, but don’t ignore the book. No way you don’t need it.

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