If God Is So Good, Why Do I Hurt So Bad? Paperback - 2013

In this revised and updated version of a best-selling classic on the subject of loss and renewal, first published in 1989, the author comes alongside people in pain, and shows the way through and beyond it, to joy again. This book has proven helpful to those who are struggling and to those who wish to understand and help. Having lost his first son in 1978, Dr. Biebel became immersed in pain, again, in 1986, when his second son, Christopher, was stricken with the same genetically linked illness that had caused Jonathan's death just a few years earlier. The preface captures the book's honesty and practicality, "All around us, people are in pain. Emotional, physical, relational, spiritual - whatever its sources, the pain feels the same. Even born-again, sincere, evangelical, Bible-believing, church-going, church-leading believers are in pain.... Many who hurt have been nursing the wounds for so long they can't remember what it's like to be anything other than sad. Others denied the pain and submerged the anger so long ago that they are unaware how the resulting depression, even bitterness, has subtly impacted their ability to love.... Now I know it's possible you've heard a lot of principles and endured too much advice. So I'll skip most of that and try for something else: Truth - one pilgrim to another. And the truth is, pain has two faces, human and divine. The human face is haggard, drawn, contorted, and streaked with tears. The divine is calm, assuring, kind, and loving - but likewise streaked with tears." Endorsements When mind-bending pain clouds your thinking, or a deep disappointment throws you into an emotional tailspin, it's hard to grasp that God is good. My friend, Dave Biebel, tackles this age-old dilemma in this remarkable book, helping the reader understand exactly what's so good about God in the midst of suffering. I recommend it to you as good, deep reading! - Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center "For people who are grieving, only those who have suffered this level of pain are qualified to speak to their broken hearts. They alone are the only ones who can touch raw pain gently enough, and they alone are believable. As a grief counselor I am very protective of my patients, knowing that too often they are subjected to pat answers and spiritual Band-Aids. I trust Dave Biebel to speak to my patients because Dave bares his soul as a pastor in sharing from the raggedness of his grief and the depth of his anger and wrestling with God. His honesty has freed so many of my patients from guilt as they received permission to wrestle uncensored with God. And while they were not watching, God met them in the awful pain of grief. Thanks, Dave for daring to ask -- if God is so good, why do I hurt so bad?" -- Jan Pettigrew, Ph.D., R.N. - Oncology and Grief Crisis Counseling