Philip Yancey - Where is God when it Hurts?

There is this small book joint runned by mentally handicapped people at a hospital near the area I live at. They sell donated books at a relatively small price than what is to be had elsewhere. I frequently pass by the place and would be intrigued by certain books that catches my attention. Just a few days ago, I bought a book titled “Where is God when it hurts” by Philip Yancey. I suppose it is going to provide some consoling answers as to the problem of suffering. You know, I have been praying a lot for my tension headache to be healed, and I have friends and relatives who prayed for me as well. But it is there till today, so I am bitter about it. I really wish that I could do many other things in life rather than gripe and be paralyzed by this condition.

I suppose the first chapter of the book got me to reflect about how much worse a person’s suffering can be. So in the book, Philip Yancey writes about a friend of his who he has named Claudia. She and her husband were newly-wed. But not soon after, Claudia was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, cancer of the lymph glands. She was given a host of medical treatments, such as Cobalt treatment, which drained the vigour of life out of her. Like Job, she was visited by Christian friends who offered their words of wisdom which weren’t actually that encouraging. The first, a deacon from her church solemnly advised her to reflect on what God was trying to teach her. “Surely something in your life must displease God,” he said. I suppose he play those archetype biblical characters who treat suffering as necessarily a punishment for one’s sins. The second friend is the more optimistically inclined character who goes, “Sickness is never God’s will”. A woman in her church brought along some books about praising God for everything that happens. And another visitor said to her, “Claudia, you have been appointed to suffer for Christ, and he will reward you. God chose you because of your great strength and integrity.”

I suppose their empathy is appreciated, although their words fail to provide much consolation. There is sometimes really little that one can say or do for a friend who is experiencing suffering  to provide any consolation or reprief. There are some people who get all bitter about it and blame people for not being understanding or caring enough when they are suffering because they feel their friends should be doing more. I suppose it helps for understanding on all parties about the limitations of people when it comes to addressing a human’s suffering. If there is anything that one can do to show care and concern, perhaps it would be to pray, because there isn’t really much what one can else do sometimes.