Why: Trusting God When Your Heart Is Breaking

Rating:
Summary: 4.5 Stars... Highly Recommended, and not just for Christians
Review: At a recent Sunday sermon, the minister in our church spoke to us again about why bad things happen, in the context of "Avoiding the Ultimate Disaster" and Luke 13:1-9. As if by coincidence, a few days later I saw this book, and I picked it up. It's one of the most common questions that I hear raised by those people that aren't religious: why does God let bad things happen, why doesn't he do something about (fill in the blank/take your pick of the latest world disaster). It is indeed a perplex question, but one that has an answer.

In a short amount of space (115 pages), Anne Lotz not only explains why, but gives guidance on how to deal with the issues of suffering and pain ("trust in God" being the key factor). Very helpful is that the author writes about these complex issues in very plain-spoken English. Most importantly, this book provides a message of hope, namely that even though this is far from a perfect world (as the result of humanity having received the gift of choice, which inevitably includes the freedom of bad choices by many), there is HOPE, as long as one trusts in God. Excellent book, and highly recommended for everyone, not just Christians.

Rating:
Summary: "When You Need to Understand the Mind of God..."
Review: What a great title for a book which seeks to answer the question we all ask!

This book presents, in a user-friendly way, Bible theology on why bad things happen to good people. The author puts her heart and soul into this discussion, and, with John 11 as the focus, never strays from what God would have us learn.

While I enjoyed the format Lotz used for the work--and feel the principles addressed were theologically sound, to me the work was a bit limited. The same genre of discussion on understanding the mind of God--plus numerous other such topics (suffering, integrity, spirituality and gifts, etc.) are much more broadly discussed in earlier works such as "Where is God When It Hurts", and particularly "With Joseph in the University of Adversity" (my favorite--IF you can get your hands on it).

All in all, Lotz is a warm and capable writer who knows her stuff. There is little to fault in this work, and perhaps I was looking for a bit more 'meat and potatoes', while I was served precisely what was advertised. RECOMMENDED.