Hope in the Dark

“Believing God is Good When Life is Not” is the sub title of Craig Groeschel’s book “Hope in the Dark.”  When tragedy strikes and life gets hard, it can be a struggle to find God.  Sometimes difficult times have a way of compounding and developing into an ongoing ordeal that seems like it will never end.  Where is God?  Will He ever step in and end this pain?

Craig does a good job uncovering all the Bible has to say about God’s role in our darkest times.  He starts by looking for answers as to why God would allow bad things to happen to good people.  He looks at our tendency to stop trusting God when the road gets tough and considers how this can impact our faith.

After supplying a good bit of deeper understanding of how God works, Craig offers some detailed suggestions as to how to respond to difficult times.  Rather than sit around waiting for things to get better or complain about how unfair your circumstance might be, his suggestion is to occupy your time by actively seeking to move closer to God.

Finally, Craig tries to give some meaning to what might be happening during these times of crisis.  Most of us can look back on our lives and see where God has faithfully brought us through difficult times before.  Craig suggests we need to trust God to once again provide our every need.  God is good, all the time.

He finishes the book with a list of questions for reflection relating to every chapter.  This gives the reader an opportunity to work through each step in a detailed way and thereby achieve a much deeper understanding of this excellent teaching.

Reading Hope in the Dark is like sitting down with your pastor for a private one-on-one counseling session that does not end until every detail of your situation has been worked out.  It is as if Craig is taking you by the hand and walking you back toward Jesus.  This book will be a comfort when you’re down in the valley looking for a way back to God.  It is also a useful tool for those who are looking for a way to help someone in distress.

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