Book Review: The Question That Never Goes Away by Philip Yancey

Suffering is not an easy subject to write about nor preach. As American Christians, we think suffering should not happen because God is a god of comfort. The reason I lower cased "god" is to point out that people have turned God into a false god which means a god of their own minds. Yes, God is good and gracious and does gives us comfort, but not that way we think about comfort. The comfort normally people refer to is a pain free life.

Philip Yancey knows about suffering. He shares his story of how his father died from Polio. At age 27, he wrote, Where's God When It Hurts? as he explores the issue of suffering and pain. 35 years later, Yancey has written, The Question That Never Goes Away, which serves as a sequel to his 1977 classic book. Yancey returns to the question of "Why, God?" and "Where are you, God?" in the midst of our suffering.

Going into this book, I have a little disadvantage because I did not read the prequel to this book. However, I understand where Yancey is taking us a he tells stories of people who have experienced suffering. He also shares how recent tragedies, such as the Sandy Hook shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings, have caused people to wonder why and where is God. Yancey knows that no book will ever solve the issue of suffering, but does say he felt "compelled to pass along what I have learned from the land of suffering. If Christians have good news to share, some message of hope or comfort for a wounded world, it must begin here" (pg. 24).

In this book, Yancey says that we are free to doubt and gives scripture to support because many in the Bible did doubt the goodness of God or even questioned Him as to why you chose me for this task. He also takes time to point out the goodness of God in the midst of a broken world. He even reminds readers that Jesus suffered as well by dying in our place for our sins. He goes on to say that if the church does its job people will not torment themselves on wonder where is God in their suffering. He reasons is the church needs to be the church and comfort those who are suffering just as the Corinthian church did with the Apostle Paul. The Bible says,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

This book is a small book which has stories of people going through suffering yet Yancey points his readers back to the Bible to know that suffering is no surprise to God. Some of these stories would make you want to grab some tissues while others just make you shaking your head. Even if you have not read Where is God When It Hurts?, you will not be lost in the book.

Thanks Booklook Bloggers (formerly known as Booksneeze) for letting me review this book.