Book Review: “Be Still My Soul”

Though not every portion of Be Still My Soul: Embracing God’s Purpose & Provisions in Suffering, edited by Nancy Guthrie struck a chord, I was glad I read this collection of essays and excerpts—finding some especially meaningful. As opposed to being a guide through grief or suffering, or tackling a particular aspect of suffering in depth, the range of authors and viewpoints collected in this book makes its scope rather broad. So, if you are looking to delve into further study about biblical topics surrounding suffering, and you’re not sure where or with what authors to start, you’ll likely find portions of this book you appreciate. And this will provide you with a helpful starting point for further reading.

Eternal Perspective

I appreciated chapter 17, “Dying Well” from D.A. Carson. He writes on having eternal perspective:

One day we will stand in the presence of the King with resurrection bodies and see everything from a different angle than we can see now. We’ll see everything through the triumphs of Christ—even the cancer that took us, or the persecution—all these things will look very different fifty billion years into eternity (pg. 115).

I look forward to that day when the grief is truly gone from my body, my mind, my heart, and my soul, and I can look back to my days on this earth and think about them purely through the triumphs of my Lord. Perhaps my daughter Noelle and I will say to each other something like, Our Lord is phenomenal; He has won us this eternity, this existence, this victory over the death that used to separate us all. We love Him so!

My Own Death

Since my daughter has gone ahead of me, I have thought about my own death more. Later in this chapter Carson wrote,

We are all under sentence of death; we are all terminal cases…I am not pretending that this bare truth is immensely comforting. Our comfort turns on other factors. But full acceptance of this truth can remove a fair bit of unnecessary shock and rebellion; for we will have escaped the modern Western mind-set that refuses to look at death, to plan for death, to live in the light of death, to expect death (pg. 117).

In a way, I am grateful that now, after the death of my daughter, I can imagine the reality of my own death in a new way. I know that death might not evade me at this age, merely because I am young. I know that it can come as a surprise. I know that it is not kind to those who are left on earth, but very kind to those in Christ who go ahead. Yet, I know that Christ will comfort those in Him on earth with His sufficiency. And priorities become better set as I consider that my own death is expected at the Lord’s appointed, unknown-to-me time.

Life is So Short

Life being so short makes me want to live for what will last and seek to make both little and big decisions for the truth of Christ and His Word. It has made me feel a freedom to appreciate what God has given me this day. I don’t submit to death as if it has a sad hold on me. For as Sinclair Ferguson writes later in the book, “Christ has conquered death; it may touch us, but it cannot hold on to us” (pgs. 132). Instead, what I mean is that I can heed the biblical wisdom through my experience of child loss that this life is so short—and in that reminder make God’s salvation my theme.

God Will Provide for Future Sorrows

I also know that more sorrow on this earth will likely not evade me either. So, I also appreciated Corrie ten Boom’s words in chapter 18 “Just What You Need, Just in Time.” She writes,

Our wise Father in heaven knows when you are going to need things too. Today you do not need the strength to be a martyr; but as soon as you are called upon for the honor of facing death for Jesus, he will supply the strength you need—just in time (pg. 122).

Death has not only become a new reality for me personally, but I have also thought about it anew in relation to others I love. This quote speaks the wisdom that I do not need to worry about how I will survive or be enabled to lean on Christ during future difficulties. Has He not provided for me so far?

Christ, Our Family

Have we who love Him not been enabled thus far to be comforted and strengthened and provided for through our grief? He will provide for me again in the future sorrows of this life. As Jonathan Edwards writes later in the book,

If God in his providence calls his people to mourn over lost relations…it is a supporting, refreshing consideration to think that Christ has declared that he will be in stead of all relations unto those who trust in him. They are as his mother, and sister, and brother (pg. 169).

Nancy Guthrie wrote in the preface to this book,

Occasionally someone has said to me, ‘You must be a very strong person.’ But I know the truth—that I am not strong. However, I am tethered to Someone who is strong. I am not holding on to hope in terms of a positive perspective about the future or an innate sense of optimism, but rather holding on to the living person of Jesus Christ (pg. 11).

If you read this book, I think you’ll also find new perspectives, quotes, and nuances of thought that will help you reflect on how you, believer, are tethered to Christ in your suffering.  

Lianna is author of Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss (Hope Mommies, 2019). More of her writing can be found at her website.

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