The Most Encouraging Books

Looking back upon almost forty years of enjoying a saving relationship with Christ and enduring a very painful chronic illness, I can see more clearly now the sovereign hand of God directing so many things throughout those years.  The effects of my illness limited my physical activities, and consequently gave me a lot of precious time in which to read.  I knew that I needed continual spiritual encouragement to counter the disheartening effects of living with almost constant pain.   I devoured Christian books from authors of differing points of view.  Over time, I began to realize that the books which afforded me the greatest encouragement were all from authors who emphasized the sovereignty of God over all of life.  I didn’t know why these particular books were so encouraging. I just knew that I had to read them.  Whenever I would teach on the things I was learning, people in my church would tell me how encouraging the sermon was.  I cherished the volumes that made God real to me in the midst of my affliction.  Gradually, I came to understand the reasons why these particular books spoke so powerfully to my heart, and why others did not.  In His wonderful mercy, from the very beginning of my Christian pilgrimage, the Lord had directed my attention to the writings of the English Puritans of the 17th century.  These teachers, and others like them—Charles Hodge, A.W. Pink, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jonathan Edwards, B. B. Warfield, Charles. H. Spurgeon—all placed a strong emphasis on God’s sovereignty.  Basically, they were all very God-centered.  That is what made them so encouraging to read.  The emphasis in their sermons and writings did not end with me and all the things  I needed to do as a Christian, but with the grace and mercy of a loving God, available to meet my every need.  What a world of difference that makes!