Having risen from poverty to the halls of power, Barry C. Black has discovered that wealth and prestige do not offer immunity from difficulties—nor do they necessarily make it any easier when tough times do come.

Rather, suffering is universal and demands the same response regardless of circumstances or station, if someone is to find hope and meaning, he says in The Blessing of Adversity, to be released next month from Tyndale House Publishers.

Subtitled "Finding Your God-given Purpose in Life's Troubles," Black's book draws from his 30-plus years in ministry, including his duties since 2003 as the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate. He shares what he has learned serving as a counselor to the rich and powerful, as well as from his own impoverished childhood and military service.

"I've seen enough anguish to convince me that evil is real; sin is pervasive, and death is a regular and frequent intruder on humanity," he writes. "Yet in spite of the brokenness and suffering all around me, I believe that God can use our pain and enable us to benefit from affliction."

Read more in the April issue of Christian Retailing.

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