Readers' Responses to If God Is Good Booklet

One of the best books I‘ve read on suffering, pain, and God’s goodness. Amazing truth yet packed in a very readable manner. I would challenge everyone to read it. It’s that good! Great stories to illustrate his points. I think I will be re-reading it for the rest of my life. I should have bought a new copy instead of a used one. -J.H.

My wife died from cancer about five-and-a-half months ago, and her absence from my life has been a very hard thing. This outstanding book helped me to see suffering and death from God's perspective instead of from my very limited human perspective. Thank you, Randy, for writing such an insightful treatment of the "problem" of suffering and evil. God IS good, even when we suffer. -K.S. 

I have been a believer all my life but have just now come to really understand what that means and have, within the last 3 years, become a devoted Christian. I have been spending all my time learning and "catching up" so to speak. (I am almost 40). One of the hardest parts to come to terms with in my faith was all the pain and suffering in the world. How and WHY? This book broke it down and made me FULLY understand and accept life and all that comes with life! Randy Alcorn is extremely knowledgeable and packs his books with incredible amounts of information! You definitely get your moneys worth when reading his books! I love how he breaks it down into his sections too! I read this book and followed it up with Happiness and now I am reading Heaven! I think that was a good order to read his work in! There was some hard things to read in this book that really showed the evil that is in this world, but it is necessary information so that we can truly understand how amazing and HUGE the Cross and what Jesus did for us there! -D.T.

IGIG bookletThe booklet versions of Heaven and If God Is Good have become standard usage for me when engaging in grief counseling with both those who are dying and those who have lost a loved one. While I occasionally give the full versions away, the mini ones are so convenient - people who are grieving are intrigued by their titles and appreciate the shorter read during all of the business that dealing with a death can bring. Thank you so much for these books! -J.S. 

I did a 3-part series “The Problem of Evil and Suffering” after some tragedies in the church and the Tucson shooting (Gabrielle Giffords). If God Is Good was an indispensable aid for that series. I always recommend the condensed version (If God Is Good Why Do We Hurt? booklet) for people going through trials.  -S.I., Pastor

I accidentally downloaded this book instead, thinking it was Randy Alcorn's larger book If God Is Good. However, I was delighted to find that this abbreviated version of Alcorn's Bible-based explanation of suffering and God's purposes in it to be immensely readable and faster paced than is the longer book mentioned above. I am currently going through a season of renewed suffering after a brief respite in the midst of many years of intractable pain...and frankly was struggling to accept God's purposes in allowing my suffering to be reintroduced in my life. I found comfort in this booklet as well as some chagrin that I had even questioned the purposes and wisdom of our amazing God. Randy is by no means pontificating or accusatory; rather, he sympathetically and gently approaches the topic with compassion, wisdom and with the evidence of much thought behind it. I could tell that this author is someone who has struggled both intellectually and experientially with the topic and problem of pain and has come up with answers grounded in Scripture that are at once satisfying, comforting and acceptable. -Q.

I just finished reading your booklet, If God Is Good, Why Do We Hurt?, and it is excellent! Thank you for writing such a clear, objective and compassionate booklet to help others understand suffering. -T.C.

In May I purchased 30 If God Is Good, Why Do We Hurt? booklets. I intended to give them to the graduating seniors at my church, but it was too late for the books to arrive in time.  I decided to give them to the other youth leaders and some of my other friends, and then put the rest on our literature table in the foyer of the church.  Last week one of the leaders told me that when on a cruise he had the booklet on the night stand by his bed in his room and the lady that took care of his room saw it and asked if she could read it.  He told her she could not only read it, but she could have it.  She was grateful and told him that she would also have her husband read it as well.  What an amazing God we serve!  I ordered and received another 40 of these booklets and will continue to pass them out, and as long as they continue to disappear from the table I will replace them.  Thanks for a great tool for the kingdom. -W.F.

[Alcorn] deals with thorny doctrinal issues regarding suffering and practical scriptural application in a balanced, easy-to-understand style, and with good use of anecdotes. [He] is straightforward, honest, does not shy away from difficult questions, and does not give pat answers. And though there are no complete answers to some of these questions, and while not all readers may agree with him on all points, he does help readers think through the issues in the context of their own suffering, and there is great benefit to this. His style is warm and ultimately points readers to Christ, helping them realize that, at times, the best thing we can do is let go and trust God’s sovereignty. -B.S. (read his full review

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