Ruminations on Philip Yancey and Human Suffering

He tackles the hardest questions about God and spirituality. He's the editor-at-large of Christianity Today. He's written numerous award-winning books. He's none other than Philip Yancey!

I've been a fan of his for about two years now, ever since reading The Jesus I Never Knew, a work about understanding the historical and biblical contexts of Jesus' day. This summer, though, I've had the privilege of reading two of his most hard-hitting books on God's relation to human suffering: Where is God when it Hurts? and Disappointment with God.

I picked up these books under the auspice of researching explanations for my upcoming internship with a local hospice organization. I know that I will encounter spiritual questions as a psychosocial counselor, even if I can't initiate God-speak. However, I know that I was subconsciously reading them for myself.

In the whole seven years since my conversion to Christianity (September 22, 2001), I've never had occasion to blame or talk to God about human suffering. That's not to say that I haven't had difficulties with my faith, it's just that the big "Why-does-God-allow-suffering" question has never struck a chord within me. But this summer, I've been up and down in my faith, often wanting to sit in the race God has set before me, not run. A lot of it has to do with a particular issue that I thought was better, but kept, and still keeps, bothering me. But reading Yancey's books have put it into perspective.

Where's God is directed toward people who physically suffer. The main point I really got out of this book came from a story about John Donne, my favorite metaphysical poet, who lived in the sixteenth century. He contracted the plague and was assumed to die. Living near a church, Donne would hear the bell strike daily, in observance of a funeral, reminding him of his suffering and probable mortality (it was also during this time when he coined the term, "For whom the bell tolls," which became a famous Hemingway novel). In one of his sonnets, he asked God to "redeem his suffering." This phrase stuck out to me, since I know that God will one day redeem my own problems for his glory (even though they are not physical) -- whether that means helping others in this lifetime or showing me his glory in the next lifetime. Rather than finding
"answers" to such difficulties, Yancey provides numerous stories on believers who are still in the midst of their struggles and disabilities, regardless of their hope or lack of hope in God. I think his approach in this book is appropriate since it seeks to empaththize with, not cure, these deep spiritual questions. Often dry, theological answers have almost no bearing on our suffering soul, even though they may be truthful. It isn't until his next book that he attempts to reconcile suffering and theology in a sensitive, genuine manner.

Disappointment is more applicable to me, since it addresses three questions that "no one dares to ask out loud" (as the subtitle describes). These questions are none other than, Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden? Anyone who's felt any sort of spiritual disappoint can agree that they sometimes ask these same questions. I know I have. This book is meticulously woven with scriptural examples of believers who suffered a lot of disappointment with God, as well as twentieth-century contemporaries who feel rejected by God's lack of appearance that he showed biblical characters. I can't explain the whole structure of the book, but Yancey takes great pains to address many viewpoints. For me, I really connected with the idea of faith in Moses' day vs. faith in the Church era (33 AD - present). Yancey explains that the Israelites were "spoiled" by the fact that God showed many physical signs of his presence: rescuing them from Egypt, leading them through the wilderness by appearing as a cloud of smoke, providing manna as food, giving them a direct Law that left no gray area between right and wrong, etc. As a result, they did not feel isolated from his power or question his existence. Sounds like they had it made, right? Yes, but it didn't help their relationship with God. It made it worse.

They had no need for faith, they were unable to choose Him. As a result, they rebeled and often followed other gods, often incurring the wrath of the true God they had abandoned. Nowadays, we have the luxury of experiencing God by our own belief, even though people often call faith blind. Yes, our lack of physical proof of Him may falter -- quite often, actually -- but we are able to enter into a relationship with him out of love and faith, which are two of God's favorite characteristics. He doesn't require us to sacrifice lambs or call us unclean if we get sick, unlike the precepts of the original Law. The Law was fulfilled through Jesus, so all we have to do is come as we are.

Now obviously, this explanation is not a cure-all to spiritual problems, but it helped me gain some perspective on my questions. I am thankful for this mystery of Christian faith, even though it can be frustrating (and quite often, at that). However, I'd rather run to God in the beautiful uncertainty of faith, knowing that he accepts me, as opposed to being scared that I've broken his Law.

This has been a long blog, and I'm not confident that I've made myself clear (which happens a lot). Just know that these two books have helped me tremendously, both as a counselor-in-training and as a thinking Christian. May He help you on your journey through the valley and the mountaintop.