The Covid pandemic has exposed the illusion of the control we think we have over our lives.

What we once thought were certainties have been wrested from our fingers.

And we have become regular witnesses to the vulnerability and fragility of life.

With the whole world at the mercy of the coronavirus, the past year has been an emotional, intellectual and theological battle for many. 

Work and other responsibilities easily become the solution via distraction, deflecting our attention from the turmoil that lies within us.

Where is God as we struggle? 

Can we still trust Him to be our rock of refuge and strength?

Here are six books to read, especially when going through times such as this.

1. The Struggle Is Real by Nicole Unice

There are days when we feel that everything that can go wrong goes wrong.

Our issues may not be major, but our struggles make us feel awful and we feel guilty for stressing out when other people have “real” and far more serious problems. 

And it can be so easy to believe the stories we tell ourselves – that we are doing life wrong, and that God does not love us.

We struggle to practice gratitude, to make godly choices, and to live our daily lives with confidence and contentment. 

In this book, Bible teacher and counsellor Nicole Unice offers practical tools to help the reader navigate daily ups and downs, and ways to rewrite their struggles into a new, God-centred story. 

The Struggle Is Real is an invitation to take hard, hurtful and confusing moments and turn them into opportunities to grow in wisdom, strength and joy.

2. How To Ruin Your Life: And Starting Over When You Do by Eric Geiger

Author Eric Geiger offers a sobering reminder that many great and godly people have imploded, and none of us are above the risk.

Looking at the story of David’s infamous implosion, readers will learn how to guard themselves against ruin, and also how to find hope if they do.

A short and easy read, How To Ruin Your Life: And Starting Over When You Do explores the three precursors of a fall: Isolation, boredom and pride.

Striking a good balance between redemption and instruction, this book, anchored on the Word of God, points us towards God’s grace and grandeur. 

3. A Shelter In The Time of Storm by Paul David Tripp

Offering 52 brief and engaging meditations on Psalm 27, A Shelter in the Time of Storm instructs and encourages believers to worship God through the ups and downs of life.

Honest about the fallenness of this world, Psalm 27 places joyful and self-sacrificing worship right next to the trouble.

The juxtaposition makes this Psalm gripping, practical, challenging and encouraging – a balm for the weary soul.

Reflection questions at the end of each chapter are designed to fill the heart with a patient hope that grows stronger as trouble-spotted days go by.

4. Dialogues On Ethics by KL Chua

Dialogues on Ethics is a lively look at Christian ethics, using the scenario of a teacher and his students discussing values and viewpoints. It dissects heavy topics like forgiveness, disharmony and judgement into bite-sized conversations to whet the reader’s appetite for deeper thinking.   

The author, Dr Chua Kit Leng, was brought up in a family that believed in another faith. He was educated in a Christian mission school and was exposed to the essence of ethics at an early age.

He later studied medicine at the University of Malaya in Singapore, and worked as a specialist in internal medicine at various hospitals. The chapters in his life sustained his interest in ethics.

5. Before You Lose Your Faith edited by Ivan Mesa

“I’m deconstructing,” reads yet another social-media post announcing a departure from the Christian faith. 

Deconstructing need not end in unbelief, write the various contributors to this book. In fact, deconstructing can be the road toward reconstructing. That is, building up a mature, robust faith that grapples honestly with the deepest questions of life.

While it might be tempting to leave the church in order to find answers, Before You Lose Your Faith shows why the church is the best place for people to ask hard questions and share honest doubts. 

Editor-in-Chief of The Gospel Coalition, Collin Hansen, praises the book, written with “sympathy and understanding”, for helping “anxious readers reconstruct a stronger, lasting faith in our trustworthy Saviour”.

6. Providence by John Piper

Providence is pastor and author John Piper’s longest book to date.

Spanning 750 pages and 200,000 words, it is a reference book for all of life. Piper draws on a lifetime of theological reflection, biblical study and practical ministry to lead readers on a stunning tour of the sightings of God’s providence, from Genesis to Revelation.

Exploring the goal, nature and extent of God’s purposes for the world, this book offers an invitation to know the God who holds all things in His hands and yet remains intimately involved in the lives of His people.

These books and other titles are available from Cru Singapore Media Ministry, which is offering a 30% storewide discount until May 26, 2021. The 30% discount on titles listed in this article will be valid until 16 June, 2021, while stocks last.

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