Customer Reviews

When Life Is Hard

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I have to disagree with the earlier review. As someone who is still emerging from one of the darkest hours of my life, I have to say that I found the "When Life is Hard" book and podcast series extremely helpful in shoring up my spiritual foundation again after a devastating loss. Last year in February my daughter (age 23) was admitted for "minor" surgery to drain an infected mass on her bladder. During the procedure a vein to her leg was cut, and a progression of events that followed resulted in her death that evening. In a few short hours she went from a healthy young woman with a minor medical issue to a tragic death due to a surgeon's mistake. I have struggled with this harder than anything I have ever had to deal with. Mr. Macdonald's book is spot-on for anyone who is facing a true life trial. Hebrews chapter 12 has been a constant comfort to me, and I was glad to see Mr. Macdonald expand on that theme. I highly recommend this book to anyone facing a hard trial.

"When Life Is Hard" by James MacDonald is a great and encouraging read for the Christian who is going through some kind of trial (relational, health, career, etc.).

Among the points covered include:

1. 3 things to remember when in a trial.
2. One of the fruits of genuine believers is that you endure hardships.
3. 2 good benefits of trials.
4. 4 actions to take when in a trial.
5. 4 ways to respond to a trial.
6. When in a trial, be careful of discouragement, dislocation, and bitterness.
7. 5 things to consider when going through a trial.
8. The devil wants to use our trial to paralyze us while God wants to use the trial for our own good.
9. 2 things to do when you are living with your "thorn".


MacDonald pulls no punches: trials are not necessarily fun to endure and they are sure to come to the Christian. However, with God's grace, you will endure and glorify God in the process.

Highly recommended.

This book has kept me reading it because of its easy style of writing while at the same time it provides very clear teachings about trials in life. It's one I have marked up as I have read it and will work through it a second time.

I have favored Phillip Yanceys books on hardship and in answering the questions of trials and hardship in this world. I liked reading James MacDonalds book. He doesnt pull any punches, but is very encouraging to the reader. He is bibically sound and he does a great job explaining trials. What I did like most about this book was the explanation differing trials vs. consequences. He did a great job explaining the difference between the two, the importance knowing which one we are experiencing, and the difference working your way through each one.

This book is very encouraging, but this book isnt about finding the easy fuzzys in trials. You will be pushed and questioned. The verses are very relevant. This book doesnt offer any easy solutions, but will help you to seek God during your trials.

James MacDonald provided a loving but realistic truth about life. I have no doubt that he will help others by sharing his own personal stuggles. His use of scripture was to the point and makes getting from one day to the next very practical. I have mentioned this book to others who either have purchased or will be purchasing it based on what I have shared wit them.

This book will help others not blame God for their trials but rather see Him as one to lean on and trust. The words James MacDonald shared will help anyone regardless of what they may be going through.

I am using this book in conjunction with the video series as a Bible Study for small groups at my church. The wisdom shown by James in print and on the video is stunning, and by the way, truly practical!
Highly Recommend!!!!!

When you need a reminder that life is not a bowl of cherries or a rose garden, this will help you.

I ordered this book because my Pastor introduced it to us during Bible Study. Pastor Smith highly recomended. I agree with him. Excellent reading. Very encouraging!!! The author's testimony is awesome. I highly recommend as well. The book was in brand new condition. The price was right!!!

Excellant Book ! We are using it in a small group Bible Study! The study is going well. James MacDonald shares when life was hard for him and how God brought him through those times. He tells it like it was, and tells that times were a struggle to get through. God brings through these hard times so that we may grow closer to Him, learn more about Him, and that we will claim victory over that hard time! He shares the hard times that he has gone through, cancer, finacial, loss, and more.

Pastor MacDonald begins at the beginning--what are trials and why does God allow them? His answer is foundational and scriptural: trials are painful circumstances allowed by God to change my conduct and my character. Exegeting Hebrews 12:5-11, MacDonald demonstrates that trials are God's parental perfecting love. The Lord disciplines the one He loves. Right from the start, readers learn the lesson that in trials God is not getting back at them, He is getting them back to Himself.

In chapter two, MacDonald wisely encourages his readers to candidly ask the "Why?" question. He also challenges readers to be prepared to accept God's answer, using James 1:2-8 as his text. That answer is the core of the book--God allows trials to deepen our faith and transform our character. MacDonald personalizes this by asking readers to ask God, "Why has this come into my life now? What do you want to teach me?"

Throughout chapters three, four, and five, MacDonald urges readers to reject the "self-help Jesus" who "came to build your self-esteem and maximize your human potential by Friday." Some readers, accustomed to this Western worldview of Christ may be taken aback and may wonder, "Where's the empathy in When Life Is Hard?" The empathy comes in the personal illustrations of pain and in the obvious passion for people in pain. However, MacDonald doesn't want to leave people simply with a written hug. He wants to teach people what the Bible says to do after the hug.

Believing that God's Word is sufficient for all life issues, Pastor James shares a myriad of practical principles drawn directly from Scripture. These are not trite behavioralistic "to do steps." Instead, they are core heart issues played out in our relationships with God and others. They are other-centered and God-focused applications such as "Grace Your Relationships," Give Away Your Gifts," and "Glorify God."

As only James MacDonald could say it, "some Christians treat God's desire to get holiness into their lives like He's giving them cod liver oil." That captures When Life Is Hard in one picturesque sentence.

God spanks us because He loves us. He loves us too much to allow us to get too comfy. Pain enters. Other hug us--rightfully so. And after the hug we get on with the business of becoming more like Christ. We make a conscious choice to count/consider our trials as joy--the joy of being formed and fashioned into the image of Christ.

Don't miss chapter six. MacDonald arranges sixteen principles from the four passages he has focused on (1 Peter 4, James 1, Hebrews 12, and 2 Corinthians 12). They are worth the proverbial "price of the book." In one-to-two brief pages, he outlines each principle and then suggests profound, practical, and personal applications. A reader could spend a lifetime in this chapter alone.

Having published about grief (God's Healing for Life's Losses) and growth in Christ, I wondered if I would learn anything new from When Life Is Hard. How arrogant of me. I was gripped again by the greatness of God's grace--a grace that does not wink at sin, but rather crucifies sin. When life is hard, cling to the cross of Christ and the Christ of the cross. Enter into the mortification process that our loving heavenly Father ordains so that the salvation won by Christ is applied deeply in our daily lives. That's the refreshingly candid and challenging message of When Life Is Hard.