Selected Quotes from 90 Days of God's Goodness

“Protection from conflict produces soft, spoiled, and selfish people, while enduring conflict is more likely to produce someone strong, capable, and caring.” (p. 5)

“Our own suffering is often our wake-up call to the world’s sufferings.” (p. 18)

“Paul insists that our sufferings will result in our greater good—God’s people will be better off eternally because they suffer temporarily. From Paul’s perspective, this trade-off will in eternity prove to be a great bargain.” (p. 31)

“Satan and God do not engage in hand-to-hand combat, with Satan sometimes getting the edge. That’s not the Bible; that’s Star Wars.” (p. 34)

“If we come to see the purpose of the universe as God’s long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of evil and suffering.” (p. 35)

“The world has gone terribly wrong. God is going to fix it. First, for his eternal glory. Second, for our eternal good.” (p. 35)

“When asked what allowed her to endure the concentration camp, Corrie ten Boom responded, ‘Not what, but Who.’” (p. 55)

“We argue that if God were as good as we are, then evil and suffering wouldn’t exist. On the contrary, evil and suffering wouldn’t exist if we were as good as God is.” (p. 61)

“The Cross is God’s answer to the question, ‘Why don’t you do something about evil?’” (p.75)

“What is good about Good Friday? Why isn’t it called Bad Friday? Because out of the appallingly bad came what was inexpressibly good. And the good trumps the bad, because though the bad was temporary, the good is eternal.” (p. 75)

“One thing we must never say about God is that he doesn’t understand what it means to be utterly abandoned, suffer terribly, and die miserably.” (p. 82)

“Some people can’t believe God would create a world in which people would suffer so much. Isn’t it more remarkable that God would create a world in which no one would suffer more than he did?” (p. 86)

“Whenever you feel tempted to ask God, ‘Why did you do this to me?’ look at the cross and ask, ‘Why did you do that for me?’” (p. 92)

“If God permits evils not randomly but with deliberate purpose so that he will reverse the Curse and bring eternal blessing, then even though we don’t understand how, he deserves our trust, not our attacks.” (p. 117)

“The promise of resurrection is what overshadows all present evil and suffering and assures its definitive end. . . . . Only the resurrection can solve the gigantic problems of this world—and resurrection cannot come without death.” (pp. 128-129)

“God uses suffering to achieve the glorious transformation of our characters to prepare us for service and joy in the next life.” (p. 132)

“The best of life on Earth is a glimpse of Heaven; the worst of life on Earth is a glimpse of Hell. For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven.” (p. 150)

“Our birthright does not include pain-free living. Only those who understand that this world languishes under the Curse will marvel at the beauties he provides us despite that Curse.” (p. 156)

“Why should I, a finite and fallen creature, expect that I will understand God’s reasons for doing what he does and allowing what he allows?” (p. 164)