Suffering is never a fun topic. Yet the topic becomes immensely more complicated when you consider suffering in light of Who God is. After all, as the old adage goes, if God is supremely good, why is there so much pain in this world; if God is all powerful why doesn’t He put a stop to all the evil?
In this book, Randy Alcorn tackles this topic. The book is written for the lay person and Alcorn wrestles with the challenging topics without using overly challenging language. You don’t need a degree in theology or philosophy to understand the project Alcorn undertakes (although if you have one, I think you will still get a lot out of Alcorn’s work), and anyone who reads this volume will benefit from the author’s thoroughness and his thoughtful approach.
One caution – this book is more philosophy than devotional so if you are currently undergoing an intense season of suffering, I doubt this book would provide a lot of comfort or encouragement in a way that would be immediately helpful. But if you want to help someone who is wrestling with this question, or you yourself are considering how the resolve the tension between pain in the world and the goodness of God, this book will certainly help you come to a place of biblical understanding and personal acceptance.
