A Powerful Look at the Nature & Character of God
“Disappointment With God” by Phillip Yancey offers powerful look into the nature and character of God. Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award and chosen as Christianity Today’s Book of the Year, it addresses with candor the age old question: Why does God allow suffering and setback?
Yancey writes:
“Is God fair? Why doesn’t He consistently punish evil people and reward good people? Why do awful things happen to people good and bad, with no discernable pattern?”
He then teases us and asks us to imagine “a world designed so that we experience a mild jolt of pain with every sin and a tickle of pleasure with every act of virtue. Imagine a world in which every errant doctrine attracts a lightning bolt, while every repetition of the Apostle’s Creed stimulates our brains to produce an endorphin of pleasure.”
Then he takes us on a walk through Biblical history, showing us that this was, in fact, God’s experiment with the nation of Israel. And it failed because they failed.
Turning our attention to the story of Job, he unlocks the mystery that lay within those wonderful pages and the pennies begin to drop. (It was at this point that I put the book down, wept and worshiped.)
Phillip Yancey is a wise sage in our generation. Throughout this book he gives us the the big picture of a loving, faithful God who walks with us through the storm.
This powerful book is a must read for anyone who has ever doubted God’s faithfulness. It will serve as a tonic for the weary soul. It will relieve the pain of unanswered questions. Even if Yancey’s effort doesn’t provide the ultimate cure for our restless souls, he points us to the One who can.
