If God Is So Good, Why Do I Hurt So Bad? by David Biebel

This is a book written from the heart of a man who has suffered and desires to share what he has learned, giving hope to others.

Pastor Biebel and his wife lost their three year old son to an undiagnosed condition. He shares his pain, grieving, and his depression. They had another son a year later but then he came down with what was probably the same extremely rare disease.

But this is not a depressing book. It is full of encouragement. His message is that, as he made it through the pain, so will readers. He takes us through the stages one goes through, drawing from his journal and his correspondence with others. He describes the process as a spiral. Emotions may be revisited again and again. He writes of disintegration, reintegration, and then authentic living.

Biebel asks his readers to take a risk – to believe that God is more loving, understanding, and forgiving that we ever imagined. He reminds us that a crisis is both a danger and an opportunity. Much of how we emerge from a painful experience depends on our view. Faith is essential but he does note that first that faith will generate many questions before is provides the ultimate comfort. It will get harder before it gets easier. “The good news is,” he writes, “that walking with him by faith remains the only way to transform your pain into anything other than pain.”

Biebel encourages readers, reminding us that we know the love of God in a special way through suffering. Perhaps, he says, the only way to really learn about the love of God is through pain. He encourages us to let Jesus in our pain, helping us to see beyond now to eternity, “...transforming your chaos into coherence through his presence in the center.” But it will take time as the journey is long.

This is a book written from the heart of a man who has gone through the pain of loss. It is full of information on the journey with encouragement along the path. I highly recommend it.

David B. Biebel has a DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has authored or coauthored nineteen books. His books have been translated into dozens of languages worldwide. He founded Healthy Life Press to help new authors writing on wholeness get their books in print.

Healthy Life Press, 220 pages.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through the Book Club Network for the purpose of an independent and honest review.