Book Review: What’s Good About Feeling Bad? tagged: , , , ,

Book Review: What’s Good About Feeling Bad?

Posted by in Bible & Theology, IMPACT Features

My assignment (of which I am late on) is to give a book review on What’s Good About Feeling Bad: Finding Purpose and a Path to Your Pain by John C. Thomas and Gary Habermas (Carol Stream Illinois: Tyndale Publishers, 2008). Both authors come from differing perspectives on the idea of suffering. Dr. Thomas is a professional counselor, while Dr. Habermas is a writer, lecturer, and Professor of Theology and Philosophy. The purpose of the work is to bear both their expertise and experience to help the minister helping or to specifically that someone who is suffering through a trial or tragedy two important concepts: They are not alone for all of God’s children suffer tragedy;  God works through human suffering for His good.  Why does God allow His children to suffer?  We find that the purpose(s) are many although  simple and clear, and the conclusion is inevitable. We suffer because we are fallen humans, and ultimately the conclusion of the suffering child of God is to bring God glory, and us to a closer, more focused, relationship with Him.

Why do Christians suffer? The authors lead us through three sections which they surmise will help the reader and minister make sense of the suffering around us. First they share with us The Pain of Suffering (1).  All of us are empathetic with the idea that suffering is painful. Being a part of the human family, we each experience pain. We often do not want to think about it, analyze it, or contemplate on it. We just desire that it goes away! We each are faced with the reality that we will suffer because we live in a world that is fallen and suffering.  Often we suffer “…through our poor choices, the insensitivity of others, or supernatural forces (yet) the bottom line is we have to trust that God is good, trustworthy and just” (59). The Bible makes it clear that God is both good and loving and because of this He often allows suffering to enter our lives for our good (60).

What then is the Purposes of Suffering (61)? A great truth in the introduction of this section is when the author(s) clearly state the following: “Although God’s Word gives insight into His ways, He did not intend for us to comprehend everything.”  How very true that is!  His ways are unsearchable, and His purposes are often times clouded in mystery until they are revealed. Many, including the OT figure Job, do not comprehend the “why” in suffering. Yet God has the express purpose of sharing the “why” through His timing and by His purpose in our lives.  This section of the book is by far the longest and most complete.  They look at an 18 point list of God’s purpose for suffering in four sub-sections: The Inward Direction of Suffering (67) – how God desires to change our inside for His purpose; The Forward Direction of Suffering (101) – how God desires to mature and prepare us for the coming life’s adventure; The Onward Direction of Suffering (121) – going from the micro purpose (self) to the macro purpose (the Kingdom of God and it’s expansion) so that God’s purpose in the church can be fulfilled; The Upward Direction of Suffering (143) – God desires us to see and glorify Him so that He can reward those who endure through suffering.

A Pathway through Suffering (177) then is a path to help during times of crisis and suffering. It is a process of self-examination through the discovery of both myths about suffering, as well as understanding the process of suffering from the beginning stages till the end of the journey. Christians are promised that there will be an end to suffering in the glorious appearing of our Savior. The reward of endurance is promised to those who will overcome and stand with Him at the end of the journey.

This is a very good resource work for Pastors and other believers in helping those who are going through an ongoing crisis and who are suffering with life’s problems. The authors often examine their own life’s experiences as they tried to minister and help those who were going through the trial of suffering. I found myself empathizing with many of the illustrations they brought to light, both as a minister as well as a person who suffers (my book is a little damp from the tears that I shed with relating to some of their experiences from my own life.)

The book has a whole lot of lists that are helpful for us to internalize in dealing with people in crisis moments. You know these guys are teachers because of the bullet lists they produce (such as 5 Myths about suffering, 5 Helps in Trusting God,  18 purposes for suffering, etc.). There are more lists in each of the sections they did not bother to number, but are readily outlined if one wanted to teach the work to a study group.

I personally would not give a person in the onset of crisis the book, but would attempt to use some of the Biblical principles found inside in ministering to them. I say this because most folks I  minister to in crisis are so caught of in the emotion of it all that they have little tolerance for internalizing and inspecting themselves through the faculties of reason.  All they want me to do is listen to them agonize about their suffering.  In fact while the book infers that we as ministers should listen (even when people are angry at God) it really does not overtly commend it.

This work attempts to wed both the theological/philosophical reasons for suffering, as well as the practical steps one can take to both understand as well as move through suffering moments – personal as well as with others. With this, it does a good job. My only criticism in a marriage of authorship like this (two authors – two tasks from differing perspectives in the hopes a comprehensive result will occur) is that sometimes two distinct voices will take shape and overlap  another. The publisher/editor probably realized this, and inserted a distinction into the narrative =  “(John said)” or “(Gary said)” which to me was just a tad bit too artificial for my palate. I understand the necessity of doing it especially when the author says “I” (and so the author needs to be identified). If this was truly a collaborative work, then it need not look like it came together in the publisher’s work station through cut and paste  – a collaborative “we” would have sufficed at least for me.  Another small quip of mine is that while the work purported to be in some degree a “work book,” I find that the paper edition that I have had absolutely no room to write on even the edges – and if I used a highlighter (and I did) then it would bleed into several pages at once.

A good book on the necessity of the understanding both the theology of suffering as well as practical means of understanding and growing through those moments that will come in every Christian’s life.  I commend it to you as something that could help you, – both in life, as well as in your ministry.