Book Comment: Trusting God Even When Life Hurts

In Trusting God Even When Life Hurts (NavPress, 1988), Jerry Bridges makes some very startling assertions.  All of them are biblically sound and all of them are true.

Basically, Bridges’ point is that God can be trusted because of His absolute sovereignty in every instance, in every moment, in every detail, no matter how small.  Bridges quotes hundreds of verses of scripture which make the point that God has absolute control over who is in political power and over the decisions which they make.  He is in control of the weather, including tornadoes and tsunamis.  He is in control of illness and disease.  He is in control of the forces which hold a molecule together and which move gibberellins through a plant.  (Matthew 10:29)

God uses His people and also people who utterly reject Him; everyone serves His plan, which He established at the moment of Creation.  All things move as God purposes and everything works together (even bad things and bad people) for the good of those who love the Lord.  That is what the Bible says.  We do not always understand how that could be so.

Pastor bridges in his book is very careful to stress that God's sovereignty does not obviate human responsibility.  We are not God's puppets or chess pieces, but are free moral agents who are held accountable for our decisions and actions.  As the Bible declares "... they have no excuse."   (Romans 1:20)

Some Christians believe as does Rabbi Harold Kushner that God is loving but not all powerful. Kushner challenges the idea of the omnipotence of God.  God grieves with us over bad things which happen but is unable to do anything.  This is nothing more than Deism; a God who creates the world and then essentially walks away.

 Jesus in Matthew 10:29-31 declared that God is able and willing to sustain us and bring good to His people.  He can use miracles or other people (good or bad), or situations and events (good or bad) to work out everything to our good.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

John Ray: (b. 1627, England – d. 1705) Botanist, college lecturer, biological cataloger).  Ray is credited with laying the foRyan Hallundations for modern botany and zoology.

Mary of Lapland: (b. Lappland (Finland, aka: Milla Clementsdottir of Follinge)  Mary was a Sami woman who, in 1844, showed the Swedish Lutheran pastor, Lars Levi Laestadius, the need for a deeper, more personal faith.

Lars Levi Laestadius (b. 1800, Sweden – d. 1861) Swedish Lutheran pastor, author, botanist.

Ryan Hall: (b. 1982, California, USA) United States Olympic long distance runner (London 2012) who credits God as his only coach.

Oswiu of Northumbria: (b. ca 612 – d. 670; aka: Oswy, Oswig)  King of Bernicia, an early British kingdom.