Introduction: What Does “Why” Mean?
 
Chapter 1: Be Prepared to Strengthen Others Who Suffer (2 Corinthians 1:3–5)
Chapter 2: Trust in God Who Raises the Dead (1:8–11)
Chapter 3: Display Jesus, Not Ourselves (4:7–11)
Chapter 4: Glorify God for His Abundant Grace (4:15)
Chapter 5: Yearn for the Future (4:16-5:10)
Chapter 6: Repent When Repentance Is Needed (7:8–10)
Chapter 7: Support Each Other During Times of Hardship (8:13–15)
Chapter 8: Experience God’s Provision (9:8–11)
Chapter 9: Counteract Conceit (12:7)
Chapter 10: Welcome Weakness for Spiritual Strength (12:8–10)
 
Appendix: More Purposes
Acknowledgments
Notes
Scripture Index

“As someone who has walked through years of chronic pain and disability, I found God’s Purposes in Our Pain to be both refreshingly honest and hopeful. This book doesn’t minimize suffering but instead looks to Paul’s most personal epistle (2 Corinthians) to show how the sovereign God of the universe is working in infinitely more ways in and through our suffering than we can see in any moment. Berding and Krell remind us that suffering is never wasted and that God will use it to deepen our trust in him, display his glory, and help us comfort others in their pain. Whether you're suffering now or will one day (and all of us will), may your heart be encouraged as you read these gospel-soaked words.”
Dave Furman, Chancellor, Gulf Theological Seminary; author, Being There and Embracing God in Your Suffering

“God’s Purposes in Our Pain points suffering believers to the glorious truths and promises of the gospel as revealed in God’s good word. I commend this resource to you as you walk the path of suffering with great hope in our crucified, risen, reigning, and one-day-returning Savior.”
Jon Nielson, Founding Pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church, Wheaton, Illinois

“Why is God letting me suffer? This insightful book offers biblical, compassionate answers straight from Scripture to that age-old question. Though suffering remains a mystery beyond our full comprehension, God is always at work in and through our pain. If you’re wrestling with why pain has landed unbidden on your doorstep, this book is a must-read. The principles laid out here have shaped my life, and I pray they’ll encourage you as you seek to understand God’s purposes in your own pain.”
Vaneetha Rendall Risner, author, Watching for the Morning

“What a necessary and hope-inducing corrective: A biblical response to suffering does not merely seek the causes (e.g., the fallen creation, sinful creatures) but actively seeks the purposes—more trust, less pride, ministry to others, and displaying Jesus, to name a few. Berding and Krell shepherd us to look through the lenses of Scripture to see God and his good intentions working in and through our suffering and pain. I cannot recommend this book enough! And I say this not from an ivory tower of biblical theories but as my wife prepares for death in hospice care after four grueling years of ALS. She cannot move, speak, or even embrace our three children. The loss and lament are overwhelming. Yet as Berding and Krell show from Scripture, ‘Suffering always has a purpose.’ God’s goodness covers our grief like a blanket on a cold night, and in ways not yet fully known, God is forming us through my wife’s disease to trust him, rest in his provision, embrace our weakness, suffer with others, and yearn for the glories of the new creation.”
Edward W. Klink III, Senior Pastor, Hope Evangelical Free Church, Roscoe, IL; author, The Local Church; John (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament); and The Beginning and End of All Things

“Kenneth Berding and Keith Krell treat the age-old problem of suffering with both freshness and faithfulness. They examine Paul’s teachings on suffering in 2 Corinthians and demonstrate how God has many ways of using suffering for our good. God’s Purposes in Our Pain is thoughtfully organized, crisply written, biblically careful, and pastorally helpful.”
Christopher W. Morgan, Dean and Professor of Theology, School of Christian Ministries, California Baptist University; Lead Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Highland, California

“God’s Purposes in Our Pain is a rare and deeply needed book—biblically grounded, pastorally sensitive, and unmistakably Spirit-filled. In a world aching with unanswered questions and silent suffering, Kenneth Berding and Keith Krell offer not trite solutions but ten powerful, Scripture-soaked truths drawn from Paul’s most personal letter. With wisdom born of personal trials and seasoned ministry, they guide readers gently but firmly toward hope—not by minimizing pain but by magnifying God’s purposes in it. This is not just a book to read; it’s a companion to walk with through the valleys. I commend it with gratitude and prayer that it will comfort many and strengthen more.”
Mike Ansari, Founder, Heart4Iran

“In God’s Purposes in Our Pain, Berding and Krell grapple with a most necessary question: Why does God allow Christians to experience pain and suffering? With exegetical fidelity and pastoral sensitivity, the authors take us on an important journey to better understand one of life’s perplexing mysteries. May we learn and find healing through these ten lessons on Paul’s theology of weakness and suffering—and participation and ultimate redemption in Christ, to the glory of God.”
Matthew D. Kim, George W. Truett Endowed Chair in Preaching and Evangelism, Truett Seminary, Baylor University; author, Preaching to People in Pain

“Pain! It’s something we all experience while living on a cursed planet among sinful people. Pain is everywhere! And it hurts—all the time. You’d think we would develop a plan to handle it. Well, this book is a field manual for profiting from pain. Listen carefully. ‘Even if the process feels painful in the moment, in the end we will come to know it as a lavish and extravagant mercy from a loving and merciful God.’ So concludes one chapter. This book is a map filled with scriptural navigation tips for traveling down a very rough road. Travel well, reader.”
Stu and Linda Weber, authors; speakers

“Most people ask ‘Why?’ during or after some experience of pain. What they often mean is ‘Who or what caused my pain?’ And God often emerges as primarily responsible. After all, God is God. God’s Purposes in Our Pain explores the same question but from a different angle. When Berding and Krell ask ‘Why?’ they mean ‘What is the purpose of suffering?’ It is the right question, of course, and for one simple reason: It points us forward, showing us how to live for God in our pain, rather than backward, blaming God for our pain. In short, it draws us into the story of redemption. Berding and Krell do a magnificent job of mining 2 Corinthians to provide a road map for finding purpose in the pain that God allows. The book is informative, to be sure—the authors are both scholars—but the book is also accessible, encouraging, and empowering, which reflects their pastoral callings too. Finally, the book is profoundly human. Berding and Krell tell stories of real people, including stories about themselves. This book informed me, filled me with hope, and inspired me to seek after God.”
Gerald L. Sittser, Professor of Theology Emeritus, Whitworth University; author, A Grace Disguised and Water from a Deep Well

“This book radiates profound authenticity, in part because of the genuine faith and enduring hope with which both authors and their families have walked through seasons of deep pain. Now we are blessed with a careful and practical exposition of one of my favorite New Testament books. The truths of 2 Corinthians sustained me through some of my darkest days in ministry. I am confident they will draw you closer to the Savior and strengthen your trust as you read this excellent exposition.”
Daniel Henderson, President, Strategic Renewal; Global Director, the 6:4 Fellowship

“Written by pastor-scholars, this book will be a satisfying meal for hungry souls—those who ask, ‘Why am I suffering? What good can come from my suffering? How can I not lose my hope and joy when the world caves in?’ Berding and Krell answer those cries of the soul with solid biblical teaching from 2 Corinthians, and when we have some answers to the question of ‘why,’ we can bear almost any ‘how.’ Eat and be nourished.”
Jeffrey Arthurs, Chair, Pastoral Ministries Department, Dallas Theological Seminary

“In the school of life, adversity is not an elective but a required course. How we respond to suffering will either make us bitter or better. God’s Purposes in Our Pain provides a practical and biblically based approach to cultivating an eternal perspective, choosing gratitude, growing through repentance, learning the power of humility, and receiving the grace of other-centered support.”
Kenneth Boa, Founder, Reflections Ministries; author, Shaped by Suffering