Where is God When It Hurts?

This book is a classic on the topic of suffering. Following 9/11 in the USA, millions of copies were printed and distributed by ministries as well as the publisher.

The publisher describes this book as: "Many suffering people want to love God, but cannot see past their tears, says Philip Yancey. They feel hurt and betrayed. Sadly, the church often responds with more confusion than comfort. This current edition of what is perhaps Yancey's best-known book should speak to anyone for whom life sometimes just doesn't make sense. And it should help equip anyone who wants to reach out to someone in pain but just doesn't know what to say."

We particularly liked this description "Bethany" posted on Amazon:

This book is not only about how God views our suffering, and how much we struggle with God in the midst of our suffering (although it does thoroughly discuss those things). The most interesting aspects of this book, in my opinion, were the stories and comments that Yancey makes on how Christians, though mostly good-intentioned, often respond to other people's pain in very unhelpful ways. There is an example of a woman who was very ill and then examples of a few different people who came to visit her and how their different approaches affected her. It shows you how to best try and comfort someone in great pain (although of course there isn't one universally right way to do it). One of Yancey's most interesting observations in this book is that the only cards made for sick people are "get well" cards--and how that shows what society's view is on sickness and how often times people are only considered valuable if they are well. Otherwise, they are considered invalids (as he points out, that word suggests that the person is considered "not valid"). This book should be read by everyone experiencing chronic pain, anyone who experiences any kind of pain, and anyone who ever expects to know anyone who experiences pain. Therefore, everyone should read this book, because pain continues to be a significant part of life.

Another reviewer said this...
at no time was I left with that troubling feeling that I sometimes get after someone quotes that verse about God using all things for our good. Yancey allows that it is much more complicated than that, at least from the perspective of this lifetime. Instead Yancey (much like C.S. Lewis) confronts these pat solutions and champions the cause of all of us who struggle to reconcile the seeming paradox of a compassionate God who is Lord over a pain-filled world.

Zondervan, 320 pages, paperback

• When God Weeps (Large Print)
• When Life Hurts
• 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
• "He Cares" New Testament - with Psalsm and Proverbs
• Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as
  Usual
• The One Year Book of HOPE