Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering

Randy Alcorn’s The Goodness of God: Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering is a condensed version of If God Is Good. Using Scripture throughout the book to support him, Alcorn examines the origins of suffering as well as our inherited sin. He urges his readers in the introduction to not let their feelings invalidate the need to hear the truth of God’s word.

Alcorn uses powerful illustrations and stories to help the reader understand his points. He tells of how very often when people are asked to create two columns and write in one the bad things that have happened in their lives and in the other the good things that happen in their lives very often one or more events will be listed in both columns. He equates this to being in the stands at a football game and seeing a marching band for the different shapes. If you are standing on the sidelines, you do not see the whole picture and it might not make sense to you.

Although there is a note to non-Christians at the end of the book, it is definitely geared towards those who do have a relationship with Christ. Alcorn encourages the reader to find perspective in their suffering. He writes, “Whenever you feel tempted in your suffering to ask God, ‘Why did you do this to me?’ look at the cross and ask, ‘Why did you do that for me?'”

***A copy of this book was provided to me free of charge by Multnomah Publishing. I was not compensated in any way for either a favorable or a poor review