6 Books for Discouraged Christians


We all know what it is to be discouraged and sometimes even depressed.  These are night seasons when we long for the morning.  In such times it is hard to find our way out.  Reading becomes difficult and often in my experience adds to the sense of failure and futility.  I am one who loves biographies, but there are times when I can hardly bear to get through one.  When I am confronted with my own weakness and failure and feeling low it is almost too discouraging to read of men (or women) whose lives were marked by such consistent faithfulness and fruitfulness.  I believe my discouragement in such times is due - at least partly - to pride (and perhaps as R. Erskine said "a legalistic spirit"), so I try to read anyway.  But in those 'night' seasons I don't read with the same relish or edification.  Still, there are books that have helped me immensely in those times, and I want to share a few of them here.  

I have selected just 6 that stand out:

  • A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge.  There is no better book for the discouraged or depressed believer.  I have been helped immensely by this book. 
  • The Sympathy of Christ by Octavius Winslow
  • Heaven Opened edited by Octavius Winslow.  This is a collection of his mother's letters.
  • Sermons Concerning the Throne of Grace by Robert Traill.  This one can be found in volume 1 of his collected works published by Banner of Truth.  Actually, I think Traill may be greatly underestimated.  
  • Jehovah-Jireh: A Treatise on Providence by William Plumer.  Particularly helpful if you are facing hardship of some kind.  My favourite of the great preachers and theologians of southern Presbyterian Church.
  • Counsels and Thoughts For the Spiritual Life of Believers by Thomas Moor.   In the past we have given all new members at Faith Presbyterian Church a copy of Robert Shaw's Reformed Faith.  I am seriously considering replacing that one with this.  It is a collection of short pieces by an elder who laboured alongside Charles Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle.
*Updated May 23, 2023




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