If God Is So Good Why Do I Hurt So Bad

In this powerful book, Biebel leaves behind the all-too-familiar platitudes and instead offers the unvarnished truth about the pain of illness, death, divorce, financial ruin, and more. With keen insight and a Christian outlook, Biebel puts God right by your side to help you sort through your hurt and see the value in your trials. His real-life examples and honest approach will help you turn pain into a meaningful journey toward hope and happiness. "This book saved my life," one bereaved father said. A young woman wrote, "I kept this book on my nightstand. Late at night, when I was alone and afraid, I could feel its presence hanging over me like a lightly floating sheet making me feel safe." Over the past twenty-five years, this book has brought comfort and hope to hundreds of thousands of the author's fellow pilgrims on the way of suffering. Now, this major revision is even more practical and helpful for those who hurt and those who wish to understand. In these pages you will find: - Eight essential truths about pain and healing - Questions for personal reflection or group study - Insights into relevant biblical texts and themes - A pathway toward a deeper, more personal relationship with the One who shares our sorrows, and is acquainted with our grief One of the most profound, empathetic and beautiful books ever written on the subject of suffering and loss. - Sheila Walsh In this remarkable book, my friend Dave Biebel helps the reader understand exactly what's so good about God in the midst of suffering. - Joni Eareckson Tada

The author of this book challenges the contemporary view of God and suffering. Calling upon scripture, and the philosophical and theological tradition of the Fathers and Aquinas, he advocates the incarnational truth that the Son of God actually does experience human living, including suffering.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

"One of the most profound, empathetic and beautiful books ever written on the subject of suffering and loss." - Sheila Walsh In this powerful book, Biebel leaves behind the all-too-familiar platitudes and instead offers the unvarnished truth about the pain of illness, death, divorce, financial ruin, and more. With keen insight and a Christian outlook, Biebel puts God right by your side to help you sort through your hurt and see the value in your trials. His real-life examples and honest approach will help you turn pain into a meaningful journey toward hope and happiness. "This book saved my life," one bereaved father said. A young woman wrote, "I kept this book on my nightstand. Late at night, when I was alone and afraid, I could feel its presence hanging over me like a lightly floating sheet making me feel safe." Over the past twenty-five years, this book has brought comfort and hope to hundreds of thousands of the author's fellow pilgrims on the way of suffering. Now, this major revision is even more practical and helpful for those who hurt and those who wish to understand. In these pages you will find: - Eight essential truths about pain and healing - Questions for personal reflection or group study - Insights into relevant biblical texts and themes - A pathway toward a deeper, more personal relationship with the One who shares our sorrows, and is acquainted with our grief "In this remarkable book, my friend Dave Biebel helps the reader understand exactly what's so good about God in the midst of suffering." - Joni Eareckson Tada In this revised and updated version of a best-selling classic on the subject of loss and renewal, first published in 1989, the author comes alongside people in pain, and shows the way through and beyond it, to joy again. This book has proven helpful to those who are struggling and to those who wish to understand and help. Having lost his first son in 1978, Dr. Biebel became immersed in pain, again, in 1986, when his second son, Christopher, was stricken with the same genetically linked illness that had caused Jonathan's death just a few years earlier. The preface captures the book's honesty and practicality, "All around us, people are in pain. Emotional, physical, relational, spiritual - whatever its sources, the pain feels the same. Even born-again, sincere, evangelical, Bible-believing, church-going, church-leading believers are in pain.... Many who hurt have been nursing the wounds for so long they can't remember what it's like to be anything other than sad. Others denied the pain and submerged the anger so long ago that they are unaware how the resulting depression, even bitterness, has subtly impacted their ability to love.... Now I know it's possible you've heard a lot of principles and endured too much advice. So I'll skip most of that and try for something else: Truth - one pilgrim to another. And the truth is, pain has two faces, human and divine. The human face is haggard, drawn, contorted, and streaked with tears. The divine is calm, assuring, kind, and loving - but likewise streaked with tears."

The encouragement we crave—when we’re most in need Out of the deepest hurts of the human condition, Randy Alcorn brings into clear focus our most pressing questions about evil and suffering—including those that wrench our souls when we or someone we love is victimized by evil or assaulted by disease. He faces these questions with seasoned sensitivity, skillful insight, and a heart of compassion. He dodges none of the difficulties, and never lapses into platitudes, hand-wringing, or oversimplification. On this troubling but inescapable topic, you’ll find frank acknowledgment of the inherent limitations that set humanity apart from the God who has none. There’s also generous, real encouragement that brings God nearer in our understanding when we need His comfort the most. And amid our heavy doubts and swirling confusion on this topic, Randy Alcorn points us ultimately toward Jesus as “the only answer bigger than the questions.”

With honesty, sensitivity, and concern for biblical truth, Sproul addresses the afterlife and the role of suffering in human experience.