In Search of the Silver Lining: Where is God in the ... (ISBN 1880226863)

Realistic and optimistic--with a twist!:
In Search of the Silver Lining tackles a potentially depressing--and therefore, unpopular--topic (suffering) with a head-on, realistic approach, sparing the reader any sugar-coated explanations while at the same offering hope to those currently undergoing suffering of their own. Rabbi Kushner wrote on this universal topic--Why Bad Things Happen to Good People--some years ago, but left me feeling that not only was I powerless to overcome my suffering, so was God. In Search of the Silver Lining shows a faithful God at work in the midst of life's inevitable storms, "working all things together for good," as the Scripture in Romans 8 promises. However, the book also acknowledges the possibility that we may not see or understand that good in this life. The "twist" to the book--that God is allowing much of this suffering in order to bring unity among His people, both Jew and Gentile, even as Jesus prayed in John 17--is not only an excellent point but an exciting concept. If I have one criticism of this book it is that it is too short.