Life does not always make sense. But then, if you’ve walked this earth for a few years, or listened to the news, you already know this. Life happens to us all, on a daily basis, at times bringing the unexplainable and unwanted:
- health crisis
- divorce
- straying children
- financial problems
- death
- disappointment
- rejection
- betrayal
The question then which often comes to us is: “Where is God?”
In his most recent book, When God’s Ways Make No Sense, Dr. Larry Crabb brings insight for those difficult days which test our faith. God’s thoughts aren’t like ours and do not fit easily into our minds. We would prefer easy, comfortable, and successful. A life filled with blessing and easy.
Dr. Crabb puts before us three options which confront us when we face difficulties:
- Resist and Run. From the life of Jonah, we discover we can choose to resist god and run off to find for ourselves a better fit.
- Distort and Deny. From the life of Saul (before he became Paul), we discover we can know God’s principles, distort them to make them say what we need them to say, while denying the passages that contradict our distortions.
- Tremble and Trust. From Habakkuk, we find a third option. Tremble before a God whose thoughts and ways are far above our own. Then trust that His love is committed to our growth in ways that are incomprehensible to our limited minds.
This book was an encouraging read, bringing these reminders:
- “The Spirit’s scalpel has twin edges: exposure that convicts and grace that enlivens” (page 68).
- “Settled, growing trust is required to follow Jesus through every season of life. The needed trust develops only in souls that tremble. We must trust to obey. But we must tremble to trust: (page 80).
- “We will not understand what it means to tremble in a fashion that births trust until we come to grips with the disturbing truth that the larger story God is telling does not always follow the script we’ve come up with for our smaller story” (page 88).
- “When God’s ways make no sense, trust in God’s unthwarted sovereignty” (page 136).
- “For the earnestly and patiently God-seeking Christian, life will bring to us the desirable necessity of absolute surrender” (page 137).
I did struggle with Dr. Crabb’s viewpoint in calling himself a “Christian deist” – seeing God as being uninvolved in our lives in some ways. He believes that God is in control of what He chooses to control. Yet he encourages us to come to the point of believing, “the hands-off God is never more near to us than when He seem most distant to us”. His conflict is presented transparently, as he finds it difficult to think that God is in control all that occurs.
I chose this book mainly because Habakkuk is one of my favorite books of the Bible. It was an easy and encouraging read, reminding me I can trust God alwaysĂ‚Â – even when His ways make no sense to me, He is always doing me good.
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”
(Habakkuk 3:17-18, NLT)
** I was provided a copy of this book by the Baker Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review. This post contains an affiliate link.
I’ve loved Dr. Crabb’s thinking and writing for a long time, but I also am wrinkling my forehead at the term “Christian deist.” There’s no basis in Scripture for a God on the sidelines, watching us struggle. Like you, I realize that God often chooses to allow us to experience hardship, but He’s in it alongside us, closer than our next breath.
I loved this book and would not disregard the entire message due to this one thought. But I did feel I should make mention of my struggle with this idea. I could fully understand where he was coming from, especially since his health diagnosis. I still very much enjoyed this book.
Sounds very interesting, Joanne. I agree with Michele’s comment. But I still have much respect for him as a writer and Christian thinker. Pinning this thoughtful review.
Sarah, I very much enjoyed this book and respect him as a writer. I intend to read another of his books too. I just felt I needed to make mention of the term he uses in one section of his book. I will also add, I am not saying I am correct either, just that I had a hard time with this one thought 🙂
I loved reading your review of this book. I have never read anything by Dr. Crabb before, but now I want to.
This was the first book of his I have read and I want to now read others.
Sounds like an interesting book. I love this quote: “the larger story God is telling does not always follow the script we’ve come up with for our smaller story”.”
It was. Dr. Crabb writes in a most thought provoking way which I enjoyed. It is good to have our thoughts stretched a bit!
The last four years of my life have been the hardest. Much of the happenings don’t make sense at all, however, I know God is in the midst of it all and he promises to work everything together for my good.
Amen, Yvonne.
I like Habbakuk too, but if He knows head hair, He cares about details. I think sometimes, He lets us go on our merry way though until we start listening.
Tremble and trust. I love that! But I agree with Michele as well about Christian deism. That is not a thing, in my mind! But I do respect Larry Crabb and all he has done for Christ’s body. I also love the book of Habakkuk, Joanne.
Betsy, I very much enjoyed the book although I disagreed with that one point. However, I could understand and respected the vantage point from which he was coming. The book made me think and was encouraging.
I just saw this book title the other day and thought it sounded interesting. Now after reading your review, I find I want to put it on my to be read list.
I found the Spirit’s scalpel quote to be intriguing. This also speaks to me: “We will not understand what it means to tremble in a fashion that births trust until we come to grips with the disturbing truth that the larger story God is telling does not always follow the script we’ve come up with for our smaller story”
Thanks for sharing at #TellHisStory