Those bruises are mine. They disrupted my plans three weeks ago. But God had other plans. He gave me time with Him – a different kind of time than I had planned on. A time of resetting priorities. A time of prayer and accepting help from others.
Are you bruised and broken today? Has COVID-19 shattered your health? Has your bank account dwindled? Did hope flee from you?
Continue reading Bruised and Broken? Pray Like Job!
Why, God? What do I have to learn, Lord?
Is there some sin that I haven’t confessed?
Elizabeth and Zacharias had prayed for a child, but no child came. They were old now.
In those days, it was a disgrace if a woman could not have children. Elizabeth was probably looked down upon, and some may have thought that there was a hidden sin or two that she had not confessed. Imagine the smirks, the heads shaking, the gossip!
Continue reading From Suffering to Ministry
Simple and profound. The Christian walk was meant to be simple and profound. It’s a walk through good times and hard times.
Matt and Beth Redman tell us how it can be a worship walk even in the times of suffering. Worship is a choice, and the choice is ours.
“In the life of every worshiper, there will come times when worship meets with suffering. And these moments shape what kind of worshipers we will become.” (p. 27)
Although the slaves cried out to God in their Gospel songs of worship, Redman found that there were only a few modern worship songs stemming from suffering. “Blessed Be Your Name,” came shortly after that revelation.
Finding God in the Hard Times, formerly named Blessed Be Your Name, grew from the song.
From David’s and Joseph’s troubles to the Redmans’ trials, we learn that on the road of suffering, we have a choice to turn our thoughts and voices from our problems back to praise.
At the end of each of the five chapters, there are questions for reflection.This is an excellent tool to use in a small group Bible study. In fact, the Redmans have also provided a small group discussion guide at the end of the book.
This second edition includes two letters from women who have written to the Redmans to share how greatly the song “Blessed Be Your Name” helped them on their road of suffering.
“So often the soil of our suffering will become the fertile ground for our seasons of fruitfulness.” (p. 63)
The soil of the Redmans’ suffering has produced many seasons of fruit through this one worship song and this one book.
I will purchase several of these books to give to others on the road of suffering.
I received this book from Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.
Father, thank You for Your great grace in showing us how others have suffered and chosen to trust in You and praise You through their suffering. Thank You for Matt and Beth Redman. Bless them with much joy and fruitfulness. Bless Your children with the knowledge of the simple truth that You are in control and that You have plans for them, and Your plans are always good. Blessed be Your Name!
If the Creator of the world is good, why is there evil? Randy Alcorn tackles an age-old question with unique insight and logic. I have asked “Why?”many times. Like Job, never an answer to the question, but a refocus on the greatness of God. Alcorn writes:
Grace and forgiveness, both expressions of God’s eternal character, are moral goods, but without evil they wouldn’t have become clearly evident. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit don’t need compassion, mercy, grace, or forgiveness. These qualities could only be fully expressed to finite and fallen creatures.
Perhaps that is why the angels desire to look into the Gospel, 1 Peter 1:12,; the angels in Heaven have not sinned. They see God’s compassion, mercy, grace and forgiveness, and that prompts them to desire to look into the Gospel.
Alcorn also reminds readers that we cannot understand God’s ways or thoughts. He suggests that maybe an explanation from God for the reason of evil and suffering might lead to greater misunderstanding.
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
I appreciated the pithy subtitles. I frequently reread them, highlighted them and tweeted them.
True-to-Scripture, If God is Good was filled with stories of people who suffered greatly and, yet, said that their faith in God was strengthened in their time of testing. For some of the people Alcorn wrote about, their great trial was over and they understood why they had gone through the trial. For others, there was no answer, but there will be an answer in heaven.
Alcorn claims that the “Health and Wealth Gospel” perverts our understanding of evil and suffering. He acknowledges that God still miraculously heals people from sickness and that God uses doctors and medicine to heal people. Sometimes, God does not heal miraculously or through medicine. Sometimes, God has a better plan.
When you pray only for healing, what are you praying to miss out on? Christlikeness? Shouldn’t we learn to pray that our suffering causes growth, that God will give us little glimpses of Heaven as we seek to endure, and that He would use us?
When I had fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, I thought that I was to shine for God through my pain, and I believe that was my purpose in that season. Two years before God miraculously healed me, God impressed upon my husband and me that He would heal me. Two years of praying for the promised healing. Two years of consuming the Scriptures and Christian books on healing, all the while, asking what God had for us to learn.
My fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue were a gift from God. God’s healing was also a gift. God has given me little glimpses of Heaven through each of these gifts, directing this life’s path on an unexpected adventure that unfolds the great goodness of God.
Footnoted and hefty, If God is Good, is a resource for those who have endured suffering or evil and for those who are in the midst of suffering or evil … in other words, this is a resource for everyone who asks “Why?”
This book has been a great blessing to me … a gift from God.
Thank you, Randy Alcorn, for your diligence and commitment to this subject.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
For further information about Randy Alcorn and the book, you might want to visit these websites:
Father of Lights, thank You for revealing Your great goodness to us. We thank You for Your mercy, grace, and redemption. Thank You, for Randy Alcorn and his ministry. Bless him and give him greater glimpses of Heaven and of Yourself. Father, You are good; You are great; You are awesome.
