Book Review: Therefore I Have Hope: 12 Truths That Comfort, Sustain and Redeem in Tragedy by Cameron Cole
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’”—Lam. 3:22-24 ESV
Book Information:
Author: Cameron Cole
Pages: 208
Publisher: Crossway
Year: 2018
Sooner or later, we will encounter tragedy in our lives, simply because we live here on this side of Genesis 1-2. However, we also live on this side of the cross. How does the Gospel change the way we approach and walk through suffering? Would I stand firm in my faith—or would it fail?
Throughout the pages of this book, Cameron Cole shares his very tragic story—what he calls the Worst, the unexpected death of his healthy 3-year-old son who died in his sleep—to highlight twelve key truths that are made possible for believers of the Gospel. This is not a book about just looking at the bright side or thinking positively. It is a book about our solid hope made possible because of Christ.
The book is divided into three sections:
Section 1: “The Initial Shock”: pivotal truths you need in the moments of trauma when your Worst enters your life—grace, gospel, resurrection and faith.
Section 2: “The New Normal”: when the initial shock wears off and living with your Worst becomes a daily challenge: empathy, providence, doubt, presence, and sin.
Section 3: “The Long Haul”: help to persevere meaningfully and hopefully when you consider living the rest of your life with the wound that the Worst has afflicted on you: joy, service, heaven.
At the end of each chapter, he condenses the truths into a paragraph. Collectively, these twelve truths become the Narrative of Hope, also gathered together in one place at the end of the book. These are wonderful to read when you need it in your darkest moments.
Though this is a book with great content, I would encourage you to share it wisely. It is, of course, suitable for parents who have also lost a child. It can also be shared with people who have undergone other kinds of suffering.
However, I would give a warning. Be wise when to share this book. Better yet, read it yourself so that you are prepared to walk with others who go through tragedy.
I have found myself more often in the position of comforter than sufferer. Though my world is not rocked, it is still affected. I want to help, but I also don’t want to be insensitive. So it is easy to do nothing.
Instead, let me suggest something else: equip yourself for these times that are sure to come by reading this book ahead of time. Let it equip you to walk into the suffering of others not with a saccharine hope, but a deep, secure one. Pray through the Narrative of Hope over others in their time of need, then let God guide you into what to share so that they can receive the comfort from God they need.
One more thing to note: the promises in this book are truly blessings—when you are a believer. However, I would say that this is also a book for those who have yet to believe. If you do share it with an unbeliever, be prepared to follow up. Tell them the gospel story that frames their pain and loss and gives it a new purpose and meaning. This book is a wonderful tool that you can use for those who, in their pain, are open to spiritual things.
What makes suffering different for the believer is this characteristic of hope. “Hope is the substance that assures you that life is worth living when you simply cannot find a reason to make it to the next day. Hope is that expectation that maybe things will be better down the road. Hope is what tells you that—no matter how bad it seems—redemption is possible.” (p. 19)
Whether you are in need of hope—for whatever reason—or someone you love needs it, this is a wonderful book to equip you for those hopeless days.
How This Book Helped Me
Right before the pandemic, I had the opportunity to hear Cameron Cole share his story in person at the CCEF conference in 2019. As I listened to him, I marveled at the way he handled pain and hardship in his life. I wished I had heard his story before we adopted Anah. It would have helped me to look at my suffering in a far different light.
Well, as things turned out, I needn’t have worried. God was giving me another chance to find out how I would respond to hardship. Early in the morning of January 7, 2020, I got an early morning text from my youngest sibling. It cryptically read, “Please call me when you can.” I knew something was wrong—especially when it came at 5:00 a.m.
I remember calling her and then sitting down in shock. Her husband, my brother-in-law in his mid-40’s, was dead from what we would later learn was a brain hemorrhage. He was out enjoying a beautiful afternoon on his motorbike—and then, God took him.
A few weeks later, we heard of the tragic deaths of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter and the rumblings of a virus dubbed the “Coronavirus” began to grow stronger. Before we knew it, by March of that same year, the world found itself in a pandemic lockdown that none of us are going to forget too soon. The reminders of our mortality were coming fast and thick.
It was at this time that I remembered and started reading Therefore I Have Hope. People were looking to me for help in their struggles, and I found myself at a loss for words. Though not all these tragic losses were mine, they still impacted me and challenged my faith.
As usual, the best way for me to internalize this book is to read it with others and as I did, I began to process my struggles with Anah—made worse by the shelter in place order—in a different light. Though my trials were by no means to be compared to the author’s, it was hard for me. Learning how to look at and process them differently was critical.
I am sure I’m not alone in saying that I try to avoid suffering like the plague. Though we are not to pursue it, we do have a choice when it comes.
While we might think the best way for God to deal with it is to remove it from our lives and restore us to what life was like before, that is not always His answer. His goal is ever our sanctification. He sometimes allows suffering into our lives so that we might become more like Christ. That is something we can trust.
This doesn’t automatically happen. With suffering also comes an invitation: Will I trust God to help me through it? Will I trust Him to accomplish His greater purposes in my life through my pain?
That is our choice. And this book helped me a lot as we went through that difficult year of 2020. Though not tragic, these words became an anchor to my soul. I hope it will also be for you as well in your own suffering.
A Quote and A Question:
“In reality, all hope flows out of the person of Jesus Christ. Doctrinal truth offers no value whatsoever if it does not connect us to the heart of the precious Healer and Redeemer. This book is worthless if it does not elicit trust in and worship of the true and great Savior, Jesus Christ.” (p. 19)
Where do you place your hope? Can you explain how your hope in Christ gives you hope?
