1 O Lord,
how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
King David – Psalm 13:1-4
Doubtless we’ve all been at points
in our life where we’ve felt like David did while writing this psalm. Where is God when it hurts? Why is God
ignoring me? Does he even listen to my prayers? Why do bad things happen to good people? We read the annals of the
Bible and see at God personally stepping down and manifesting Himself to His
followers and we wonder why he does not do the same for us today. In a concise
volume, Dr. Gary Habermas tackles these tough questions and works it out from a
Biblical perspective.
Dr. Habermas is not a psychologist
or counselor, rather he’s considered one of the leading scholars on the issue
of the Resurrection. Frankly, having read Dr. Habermas’s 18 (or in that range)
books covering that topic, it was refreshing to hear his thoughts on another
topic. And though he’s not “qualified” like a psychologist or counselor might
be. He, like you and I, has experienced that pain. Some years ago he went
through the pain of losing his first wife to stomach cancer. This served as a
catalyst for him to intensely study this topic.
Dr. Habermas makes the suggestion
that maybe God does work more in our lives than we at first imagine, and that
instead of focusing on the majority of times God in with us, we focus on the
negative and ask where He is. Second, he suggests that while God can and does
supernaturally remove some from pain, his modus
operandi is to walk with us through the pain. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not
fear, for You are with me… Lastly, Habermas suggests that the majority of
our pain is caused by our own poor thinking. We believe God is ignoring us, and
thus we exclude all evidence that says otherwise.
Why Is God Ignoring Me? is a succinct, well-written look at the problem of pain,
focused on the level of the layperson. With insight and clarity, Habermas
offers practical examples and real-life stories to mesh with his Biblical
principles. While not the philosophical end-all treatise on the issue, this
book is sure to comfort those who feel that God is ignoring them and lead them
to the Psalmists conclusion:
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
King David – Psalm 13:5-6
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