In his book, “The Goodness of God”, Randy Alcorn tackles the subject of suffering, and God’s presence during. The discussion over suffering is not a popular one, nor an easy one to bring an answer to. Suffering puts on many faces in our lives today; emotional, spiritual, financial, and physical are a few. Each one uniquely different.  Regardless of the form of suffering, every believer has to come to terms with the purpose for suffering, first answering “Is there a purpose for suffering and can any good come from it?”

“The Goodness of God” is a condensed version of Alcorn’s earlier, and more exhaustive work “If God is Good”. Alcorn approaches the subject of suffering from the biblical perspective and handles a difficult subject thoroughly and honestly. He deals with the origin of suffering (which he concludes is that of evil), various viewpoints surrounding suffering, Christ’s redemptive work through suffering, and God’s sovereignty over suffering. Although this book is short in length it is by no means a light read. He deals with doctrinal topics without becoming academic. I enjoyed this book. I appreciate how the author did not try to minimize suffering or lead one to believe that some are exempt from it. Great book and well worth the read.