| Introduction | 8 |
| Part 1 | The Furnace Of Affliction | |
| Chapter 1 | Refiner's Fire | 13 |
| God is a fire | |
| God is a refiner | |
| God's purifying fire | |
| Buying gold | |
| God's initiative | |
| The value of buying | |
| Is infirmity from God? | |
| Why infirmity and affliction? | |
| Salted with fire | |
| Aflame for Jesus | |
| The last days' fire | |
| Chapter 2 | The Perseverance Of Job | 23 |
| Holy man and prophet | |
| Job's three friends | |
| Stop and listen | |
| Theological crisis | |
| My own theological struggles | |
| Noah, Daniel, and Job | |
| Notes on Job | |
| Elihu | |
| The turning point | |
| The Creator God | |
| Judgment begins at God's house | |
| Sharing Christ's afflictions | |
| Deciphering God's will | |
| Why did Job suffer? | |
| How God changed Job | |
| Greater fruitfulness | |
| Chapter 3 | Prison Theology | 45 |
| Satanic bondage | |
| A divine prison | |
| The church at Smyrna | |
| Imprisoned with a purpose | |
| Paul the prisoner | |
| Cut off from the mainstream | |
| Joseph's jail | |
| Imprisoned for obedience | |
| The word of the Lord tested him | |
| Wisdom is fruitful | |
| Joseph's wisdom | |
| Fruitfulness | |
| Breaking off the yoke | |
| A prisoner of hope | |
| The source of hope | |
| Character produces hope | |
| Chapter 4 | David's Cave | 61 |
| David's delay | |
| David's depression | |
| David's loneliness | |
| Ministry hiatus | |
| A sense of significance | |
| The purpose of the wilderness | |
| A broken faith | |
| Balancing brokenness and faith | |
| The Lord's deliverance | |
| David and Achish | |
| Return to Ziklag | |
| Why so much pain? | |
| David and Solomon | |
| Teaching Versus Training | |
| David and Doeg | |
| Chapter 5 | When The Lights Go Out | 77 |
| Walking through the valley | |
| The valley's purpose | |
| Learning to listen | |
| Five phases of the valley journey | |
| Through the valley with the Psalms | |
| Double-minded? | |
| Assurances for those in darkness | |
| Morning light | |
| Chapter 6 | Jesus' Teachings On Delay | 87 |
| Delay during Jesus' ministry | |
| Lazarus | |
| Washing Peter's feet | |
| Jesus' teachings on delay | |
| To be found watching | |
| The unjust judge | |
| Parable of the ten virgins | |
| Wise servant/evil servant | |
| Chapter 7 | Comfort For The Afflicted | 99 |
| There must be more | |
| Precious insight | |
| Sometimes God uses affliction to: | |
| Bring us back to obedience | |
| Bring us to a greater knowledge of Christ | |
| Strengthen our faith | |
| Bring us to greater spiritual maturity | |
| Bring us to a place of greater dependence & brokenness | |
| Catapult us into another dimension in God | |
| Reveal His love for us | |
| Give us a greater sense of compassion for others | |
| Encourage others | |
| Remove judgmentalism | |
| Restore real Christianity | |
| Produce an appetite for heaven | |
| Establish a sign of kingdom visitation | |
| Birth in us a radical willingness to obey | |
| Reveal His glory | |
| The certainty of God's work being completed | |
| Chapter 8 | Brokenness | 117 |
| Weeping | |
| Emptying | |
| How Jesus cultivates brokenness | |
| The testings of God | |
| The prodigal's older brother | |
| Unbroken strength | |
| The Lord's mercy | |
| Childlike dependence | |
| Strength perfected in weakness | |
| Man's strength constricts | |
| Strengthen your brethren | |
| Chapter 9 | Desperate Dependence & Heart Enlargement | 131 |
| Four kinds of dependence | |
| King Hezekiah | |
| The furnace of affliction | |
| Here comes the test | |
| Knowing the heart | |
| Spiritual pride | |
| A second dynamic: An enlarged heart | |
| What is an enlarged heart? | |
| How God enlarges our hearts | |
| Some principles regarding heart enlargement | |
| Back to Hezekiah | |
| A heart for the next generation | |
| Why the angioplasty was unsuccessful | |
| Manasseh | |
| Persevering to completion | |
| Part 2 | Quietness And Confidence (Isaiah 30:15) | |
| Chapter 10 | The Assyrians Are Coming! | 149 |
| Background to Isaiah 30:15 | |
| Looking to Egypt | |
| Quietness and confidence | |
| Torn between the two | |
| God can wait | |
| Cease from anger | |
| Discerning the source | |
| Chapter 11 | Dance Of The Two Camps | 161 |
| Dance of the two camps | |
| The quietness camp | |
| Pros and cons | |
| Does God want us infirm? | |
| The confidence camp | |
| Divine healing and God's will | |
| Limited maturity | |
| The dance | |
| When God increases the pressure | |
| Embracing both camps | |
| Concluding journal entry | |
| Chapter 12 | Waiting For Delayed Answers | 175 |
| The middle squish | |
| Psalm 34:19 | |
| Jesus on quietness/confidence | |
| A quick work | |
| How God prepared Moses | |
| Connecting verses 15 & 18 | |
| How God is exalted | |
| A God of justice | |
| Succumbing to unbelief | |
| Demanding immediate relief | |
| The blessing: When God speaks | |
| Two observations | |
| Abraham | |
| David | |
| Learning to wait | |
| Samuel and Saul | |
| Elijah and the famine | |
| Chapter 13 | Quieted By His Love | 195 |
| Quietness | |
| He will quiet you | |
| Quieted with His love | |
| Perfected love | |
| Offended by God | |
| The love test | |
| "Do you love Me?" | |
| Peter's love test | |
| He loves me! | |
| A longing to know His love | |
| Chapter 14 | Confidence In His Ways | 207 |
| Under seige | |
| Restoration | |
| God's ways | |
| Knowing God | |
| Hurt, then healed | |
| Jacob | |
| The straight ways of the Lord | |
| Paul's thorn | |
| Strength perfected in weakness | |
| Was the thorn removed? | |
| Why do some prayers remain unanswered? | |
| A testimony! | |
| My parents' testimony | |
| Martha theology | |
| Chapter 15 | Don't Cast Away Your Confidence! | 221 |
| After God | |
| Maintain your purity! | |
| The Psalm One man | |
| Marks of godliness | |
| Zacharias & Elizabeth | |
| Barren | |
| Blameless | |
| Pursue God! | |
| Mustard seed faith | |
| "I believed, therefore I spoke" | |
| Don't cast away your confidence | |
| Order Form | 233 |
