When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty

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Harper Collins, 1997 - 254 pages
It's easy to trust God when things are going our way and the world makes sense. But when suffering strikes--especially seemingly senseless suffering--we are filled with doubt and stunned by events spiraling beyond our control. In the midst of suffering, we often question the very foundation of our faith--our belief in the God who says he loves us. Since our trust and obedience rest on God's character, the questions that life's tragedies force us to face are difficult, even frightening. Who is God? Can he really be trusted? What are his purposes in the face of suffering? If he can stop suffering, why doesn't he? Joni Eareckson Tada, a woman who has lived in a wheelchair for more than thirty years, and Steve Estes, a pastor and one of Joni's closest friends, explore the answers. When God Weeps is not so much a book about suffering as it is about God. It tackles tough questions about heaven and hell, horrors and hardships, and why God allows suffering in this life. Through a panoramic overview of what the Bible says about suffering, the authors make clear who God is, why he permits so much heartache and pain, and how it is we can trust him. With both a practical edge and heartfelt warmth, When God Weeps offers dependence on his love and mercy in spite of our doubts, fears, longings, and questions. It's a message much needed. Despair and discouragement are rampant. At the same time, fewer people are able to balance God's purposes and his mercies. Instead, attempting to avoid tragedy and suffering, many Christians confuse simple formulas for faith. But where does that leave the family who loses a son on a military mission? Or the young mother who isn't healed of cancer? When God Weeps is for people like these . . . and for thousands more who need more -- much more -- than answers.
 

Selected pages

Contents

Im Hurting Bad
15
Who Is This God?
31
The Suffering God
41
What Is He Up
97
How Can I Hang
147
Appendices
219
Scripture on Gods Purpose in Our Suffering
232
Can God Experience Grief?
241
Notes
249
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About the author (1997)

In 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. She has gone on to paint, write several books and a monthly column for Moody Monthly magazine, record musical albums, and have a daily radio show. She is the founder and president of JAF Ministries, which works with disabled people and their families, and held a presidential appointment to the National Council on Disability. She has earned titles such as "Churchwoman of the Year" (the Religious Heritage Foundation) and "Layperson of the Year" (the National Association of Evangelicals). Her autobiography, Joni, was adapted as a movie.

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