Wrestling with God: Loving the God We Don't Understand

Fast becoming one of my favorite authors and cultural commentators, James Emery White hits a home run with this book. First published as Embracing the Mysterious God (which I gave away to a friend without reading), Wrestling with God is all about walking in obedience to God trusting in His goodness even without seeing or understanding it at times. I've heard it said before that in Psalm 23 it says that we walk through the valley of the shadow of death - we don't stop and rest there, we march on through many difficulties and trials in life - and the one thing that keeps us going through the trials is our faith in Christ, our hope in His redemptive plan, and our obedience to a loving, merciful and almighty God. White reminds Christians that they "are called first and foremost to Someone, not to something or to somewhere." Following the example of Lewis, White looks to have an open and honest dialogue about the difficulties of following God in this dark and decaying world. He reminds those who look but do not see God, that it is not God who is absent...silent maybe...but not absent. White also gives comfort that God's silence comes not from His apathy, but from His wisdom and grace. It is an outstanding book for all believers on this journey that is filled with potholes and speed bumps along the way. The book is especially poignant for those followers of Christ who are truly struggling to see how an omniscient and omnipotent God could allow so much pain and suffering in this world...especially in the lives of those He loves as His children. But a copy for yourself...and a couple of copies as gifts for others.