The right to speak

Doug Herman, having lost his wife and baby, faced the prospect of raising their little boy as a single dad. He lost his church, his wife, his daughter, and his brother in a matter of months. Was he bitter? No, but he was crushed and deeply wounded in spirit. The title of his book What Good is God?, which deals with finding faith and hope in troubled times, reflects his pain. The last sentence of Doug’s book answers the question he poses in the title, “What good is God?” He writes, “He allows us to live again. His goodness knows no bounds.”

In recent days a lot of folks have had God on the witness stand. “If He is good,” goes their reasoning, “why didn’t He prevent...?” Many turn on Him with anger and vengeance rather than turning to Him for comfort. Few acknowledge or think about the fact that ours is an evil world, and God’s children are not immune from the rottenness and filth wrought by a depraved and evil person. This means that children can become victims of sadists and perverts, and innocent individuals can become casualties. The innocent suffer but God is good.

In the Upper Room, Jesus told the disciples, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything” (John 16:22-23).

It is only natural that our hearts cry out, “Why, God?” when things go wrong and we lose someone we love. But Elisabeth Elliot has written, “God will see to it that we understand as much truth as we are willing to obey.”

Today Counts is available in bookstores nationwide. For more information, write to Guidelines Philippines, Box 4000, Makati;

e-mail [email protected]; website www.guidelines.org.