Published: Dec. 09, 2012
Words: 12,519 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781301903733

Short description

When bad things happen, what is your reaction? Do you trust God even when you don't understand? There was a dark season in my life when it literally felt like an earthquake had occurred. Everything in my life seemed to be falling apart...my family, my finances, our church. And I asked God the simple question, "Why?" This book is the result of my own search for answers.

Extended description

When bad things happen, what is your reaction? Do you trust God even when you don't understand?

There was a dark season in my life when it literally felt like an earthquake had occurred. Everything in my life seemed to be falling apart...my family, my finances, our church. And I asked God the simple question, "Why?" This book is the result of my own search for answers. In the end, God gave me illustrations that I will share with you and brought healing to my heart and my distorted view of Him. I was able to trust Him again, even though my circumstances had not changed.

I pray that God uses this short eBook to deeply impact you as well. I have included questions for reflection for you to go through individually or as a group.

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I (Jesus) have overcome the world!" - John 16:33

Tags

tragedy, healing, trust, trusting god, bad things, distorted view of god, healthy view of god, when bad things happen

Available ebook reading formats

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Reviews

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Review by: Shelley Adam on March 13, 2013 :
I have read Shelley's books on gratitude. Through this book I found out the sorrows in her own life and I am amazed that she can see life with gratitude. Yet, she's sees God Hand in all of it, even though much was hard to walk through at the time. I recommend this to anyone who is struggling or knows someone who is. Shelley's heart to help others is once again made clear in her writings.
I received a complimentary Kindle download to review this book.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Suzanna Worth on Feb. 21, 2013 :
This is a very good book; worthwhile to read it when you are struggle.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Beverly Terry on Jan. 22, 2013 :
This little book is part of a larger work, "Forgiveness Formula: Finding Lasting Freedom in Christ", but stands very well on its own. It is a comfortable read, and can be finished in a short time, although personally this is the type of guide that needs to be worked through little by little. The way I would approach this is to read it thoroughly a couple of times first, then sit down with a journal and write reflections as you meditate on a section.

The key the author wants to share with her readers in trusting God when bad things happen is in this quote, "I believe it is important to have a healthy view of God before a crisis happens. Otherwise, we'll view God through the crisis instead of viewing the crisis through God and His character." She encourages each of us to examine ourselves and discover how we view God. She offers some guidelines we can use in this process in Part 3 of this book. This is the part of the book I would recommend spending time praying and journaling.

In Part 2 of the book, Ms. Hitz shares with us some of her own crisis experiences. Because of these events in her life, she has had to wrestle with a lot of difficult questions herself. "Why?" is a common response for many of us facing our pain, hurts, and suffering. I find it personally comforting to know that she can write authoritatively about this topic. When facing my own demons, nothing helps more than empathy and advice from someone who KNOWS and has come out of it with a closer personal relationship with Christ and is willing to share what worked for them. She uses some metaphors in this section that may help us get some perspective in dealing with the 'why' question. One of those metaphors is the puzzle piece. Imagine yourself holding a piece of a puzzle. You do not know anything about the picture it comes from. You can study the single piece minutely and make some guesses, but in the end you probably won't even come close to seeing the whole picture. But we can know the One who has all the rest of the pieces and trust Him.

This is not a perfect world. Life is full of brokenness and hurt. We try to escape our pain and often the way we deal with it just adds more pain. As a result of her painful past, Shelley Hitz became involved in a ministry that reaches out to hurting young people. She created some websites to follow up with the speaking ministry and it was her interaction with questions many of the girls asked that led to writing this book.

Have bad things happened to you? Have you ever questioned why God would allow such things to happen? Then I recommend this book for you. It could change your life.

A complimentary review copy was provided to me by Smashwords. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Scott Branam on Jan. 17, 2013 : (no rating)
Trust God. Sometimes that's like trusting your 3 yr.old with a 9mm.
Mind you; I'm over dramatizing, but sometimes, you just have to let go and let God.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: AltWit Press on Dec. 16, 2012 :
"Life is Pain. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something."

This quote from The Princess Bride should also refer to Christianity. Just because you become a Christian does not mean that life will be perfect and care-free, and that you'll never trip or fall. Being a Christian just means that you'll have Someone there to help give you a hand up and console you if you hurt yourself, and someone who will point out certain potholes along the way and help to avoid them.

So if God is good...why does He allow bad things to happen?

The author uses personal experiences and scripture to help the reader understand the answer to this question. She uses plain English, so anyone can understand. This is a solid, biblically accurate and short read.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

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