God You're Breaking My Heart: What is God's Response to Suffering and Evil?

by Brian Grogan

Overview

Most of us puzzle all our lives over suffering. ‘Why should this happen to me?’ ‘Why should that happen to someone whom I love?’ ‘Is God out to punish me?’ ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ The problem of suffering and evil tortures the human mind.

Each of us develops our little philosophy of suffering. ‘I deserved it’ ‘God punishes those he loves’ ‘Darkness is the shadow of God’s outstretched hand’ etc.. From the beginning, we can presume, humankind puzzled over the things that went wrong – injury, death, famine…

Only when we meet God face to face will our complaints and queries be fully set at rest. In the meantime, we can be comforted – and comfort others – by the glow of light that the Christian tradition offers. On a dark night, even a small candle is a help until the big light is switched on. Divine light shines in the darkness of suffering, which the darkness cannot overcome.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781788122061
Publisher:	Messenger Publications
Publication date:	05/07/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	152
File size:	1 MB

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 6

Introduction 7

Part 1 Exploring the Problem of Evil 9

Starting Points 9

The 'disappeared' 13

Living With Mystery 14

Matryona's House 19

Our Experience of Suffering 21

How to Thank You? 28

Cam We Make Sense of Evil? 30

Alive and Happy 34

Evil Under the Microscope 36

Pure Diamond 43

Is Suffering God's Fault? 44

Strength and Courage: Malala 51

Part 2 Is Something Good Going On? 52

Is God Watching Out For Our Happiness? 52

Salvation Is Through Love 59

A Woman Talks With God About Evil 60

'You Cannot Help Us!' 62

Old Testament Insights on Evil 64

Celebration in Belsen 68

Part 3 God's Radical Response to Evil 69

The God of Jesus Christ 69

Let Us Save Everyone! 73

A Letter to the Ephesians 76

We Are Blessed and Chosen 77

Assembling the Jigsaw 80

My Life is Good! 84

When Your World Falls Apart 86

The Scars of the Years 88

The Dynamic of the Cross 91

God in the Dark 96

Deliver Us From Evil 98

Enjoy This Crazy World! 102

Part 4 How God Works in Our Lives 103

The Human Heart 103

Dead Perfect? 104

Me? Loved and Lovable?! 108

One Regret 111

Teaming Up With God Against Evil 112

Meeting Like Happy Thieves 118

Forgiving From the Heart 120

Remember the Bad? 127

Finding God in What Is Bad 128

I Leave My Littleness Behind! 132

The 'amen' of My Life 134

All I Ask of You 136

Is Dying All Bad? A Reflection 138

Part 5 The Unfinished Epic of Planet Earth 143

Will All Be Saved? 143

A Waiting God 147

The Great Epic 148