Where Is God When We Suffer?
What the Bible Says About Sufferingsuffer

Why does suffering exist in the world? How does suffering fit into God’s plan for human history? What are we to think when a believer’s prayers are not granted? Is it biblical for a Christian to expect to be suffering free? Does the fact of suffering and evil defeat belief in a loving, all powerful God? How can we help hurting, grieving people?

Where Is God When We Suffer? faces these and other questions. The book gives biblical teaching about suffering. It provides a resource to help the church to give biblical teaching concerning suffering so that Christians can be more adequately prepared for dealing with suffering. It also gives encouragement to help sufferers and caregivers to deal with the experience of suffering.

The book begins with a recounting the author’s family’s experience with suffering. Old and New Testament teaching on suffering is summarized. Specific expository studies provide insights for facing suffering with faith, joy, and hope. The author wrestles with the question of harmonizing a loving, all-powerful God with the reality of suffering. The book concludes by addressing grief and what helps and what doesn’t help the hurting.

Currently being translated into Russian.

Purchase in your bookstore or from
College Press, Joplin, MO–1-800-289-3300, www.collegepress.com
or www.amazon.com

Reviews:

“I had already admired Lynn Gardner for decades when I read Where Is God When We  Suffer? (College Press, 2007).  I was preparing for some lectures on suffering for a retreat for furloughing missionaries, who probably know more about the subject than I do.

But not more than Gardner does. As his brother-in-law Sam Stone says in the Foreword, ‘When it comes to the topic of suffering, Lynn Gardner has earned the right to be heard.’ His brother was severely handicapped, his sister Gwen (Sam’s wife) the victim of complications from a near-fatal automobile accident. His wife, Barbara, is battling cancer. Lynn himself was rescued from a terminal illness only by a double-long transplant. And he and Barbara lost their adult son in yet another highway accident.

Through all this (and more) he has walked by faith and earned a sterling reputation for 34 years as Bible scholar, professor, and dean of Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri. Few have been hit harder by life’s exigencies. No one has complained less. When he speaks about suffering, we listen.

In these pages Gardner reveals the source of his strength. He shares enough of his and his family’s trials to establish his credentials, but his focus, in chapter after chapter, is on scriptural reasons for hope in spite of hurt. There’s no self-pity here, no dwelling on life’s injustices, nor any crying out for answers to life’s imponderables. What you find is an honest facing up to reality with courage and trust.

And with concern for others The last section, ‘Helping the Hurting,’  is vintage Gardner. He draws on his personal experience to help his readers know how best to respond to other people’s heartaches, including unwitting offenses to be avoided. He’s been there. He knows.

Leroy Lawson, Christian Standard (May 17, 2009)

“How I wish I had Brother Gardner’s book a long time ago. His insights on illness and death have blessed me. He emphasizes how we can cope with our suffering by putting our focus on God. This book is such a helpful tool, especially as I work as a hospice volunteer.”

Rita Cowardin, Hospice volunteer

“The issue of suffering is an ever-present concern in Christian ministry, and most of us touch on that issue from time to time in preaching. A new helpful resource is Lynn Gardner’s Where Is God When We Suffer? (College Press Publishing). A long-time Bible college professor, Gardner shares out of his own experience, then goes a good job of surveying biblical insights about suffering. This will be a useful tool as we preach and teach on the subject.”

PreachingNOW, Feb. 5, 2008

“All of us suffer, but some people seem to have more than their share.That’s Lynn Gardner.

Some people seem to handle suffering better than others.

That’s Lynn Gardner too.

This book provides a valuable overview of the biblical teaching on suffering, but it does much more. It is filled with practical counsel, drawn both from the teaching of Scripture and a lifetime of ministry.

Where Is God When We Suffer? addresses the topic from various perspectives. It begins with Lynn’s own personal story of loss and suffering. Dr. Gardner then guides us through a study of both Old and New Testament examples of people who suffered. Why did they? How did they deal with it? What can we learn from their experiences? The book also includes a philosophical discussion of evil and suffering for those who want an analysis of this difficult topic from a biblical perspective. How can an all-powerful, all-loving God permit such pain and tragedy in the world He created?

This book also lists scriptural principles that offer help and hope for those going through hard times and for the family and friends trying to help them.

Always the author points us back to what the Bible itself says about suffering. And in the end, that’s the best place anyone can go.”

Sam Stone, retired editor of Christian Standard, from Foreword

“Where Is God When We Suffer? is scholarly, sensitive and practical. Born of years of biblical research, tempered by personal crises and tested in the crucible of life, Dr. Gardner’s work is the best I’ve read on this topic. The format is pleasing. Retrieval of useful material is made easy by inset boxes, bold headings and extensive indexing. It is a welcome addition to every Christian’s library.”

Dr. Wayne Bigelow, retired medical doctor and minister to seniors in Adventure Christian Church in Rocklin, CA.

“I found Lynn’s book very helpful for two reasons. First, it is a transparent and inspirational perspective from one who has maintained a strong faith through horrible experiences. Secondly, Lynn does not take the typical Calvinistic approach that all suffering comes from God but acknowledges that much suffering occurs because we live in a fallen, painful world. It is helpful to be reminded that instead of being bitter against God we should be angry about the consequences of sin and the destructive work of Satan.”

Bob Russell, retired minister, Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY.

“Dr. Gardner’s honest and forthright account of suffering and God’s response should be helpful to each and every Christian. The mix of a careful review of the scriptures on what God has to say about suffering and the Christian matched with the practical, everyday, ‘What Do We Do Now’ creates a guide for all who have either experienced suffering personally or watched a loved one struggle. Lynn’s heartfelt work has the potential to impact the Christian brotherhood as Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life did a few years ago. We plan to use it as a guide for study in our Bible school class even if it takes us ‘Forty SunDays’ to complete. Perhaps Paul Claudel’s comment summarizes the message of the book: ‘Christ did not come to do away with suffering; He did not come to explain it; He came to fill it with His presence.’”

Kathryn Ransom, retired educator, Springfield, IL.