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    God Is in the Small Stuff for Tough Times
    God Is in the Small Stuff for Tough Times
    God Is in the Small Stuff for Tough Times
    Ebook223 pages1 hour

    God Is in the Small Stuff for Tough Times

    By Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

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    About this ebook

    Bruce and Stan's newest book shows readers where to turn when the going gets rough-to the God who cares about every difficulty they face. Based in the timeless truths of scripture, drawing upon life experiences of people who've navigated the dark valleys, God Is in the Hard Stuff offers inspiration and hope.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBarbour Publishing
    Release dateMay 1, 2013
    ISBN9781628361445
    God Is in the Small Stuff for Tough Times
    Author

    Bruce Bickel

    Bruce Bickel quickly abandoned pursuing standup comedy because he wasn't funny enough, opting instead to become a lawyer—a profession in which he is considered hilarious. His previous books with Stan Jantz include Knowing the Bible 101 and God Is in the Small Stuff.

    Read more from Bruce Bickel

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      Book preview

      God Is in the Small Stuff for Tough Times - Bruce Bickel

      GOD IS IN THE SMALL STUFF

      for tough times

      Stop Worrying and Invite God into the Details of Your Life

      BRUCE & STAN

      © 2005 by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

      Print ISBN 978-1-61626-091-0

      eBook Edition:

      Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-62836-144-5

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.

      Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

      Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

      Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683 www.barbourbooks.com

      Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      1. Why, God, Why?

      2. Innocent Suffering

      3. When Life Doesn’t Seem Fair

      4. Where Is God When We Suffer?

      5. You’re Not Exempt

      6. Thanking God

      7. The Story of Job

      8. The Secret of Job

      9. When Prayer Doesn’t Seem to Work

      10. How to Know God’s Will

      11. Trusting God

      12. When Children Turn Away

      13. When a Marriage Goes Bad

      14. When Parents Attack

      15. A Mother’s Anguish

      16. A Father’s Grief

      17. Caring for Aging Parents

      18. The Long Good-bye

      19. Honoring God

      20. In Over Your Head

      21. From Busted to Belief

      22. What Will Others Think?

      23. A Loss of Self

      24. Giving to God

      25. The Problem of Pain

      26. Disillusionment, Despair, and Depression

      27. Dealing with a Chronic Illness

      28. Confronted with Cancer

      29. Does God Still Heal?

      30. All Will Be Well

      31. Hearing God

      32. Good Grief

      33. When Children Suffer

      34. Going from Hurting to Healing

      35. Will Your Pet Be in Heaven?

      36. When a Parent Goes Home

      37. Grief in Stages

      38. Afraid to Death of Dying

      39. Believing God

      40. The Hope of Heaven

      41. God Is in the Small Stuff for Tough Times

      About the Authors

      INTRODUCTION

      A few years ago we wrote a book called God Is in the Small Stuff. That little book has helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world understand that, far from being detached from their everyday activities and circumstances, God delights in the details of their lives (Psalm 37:23). Many readers have written to tell us they appreciate knowing just how much God loves them and cares for them. Knowing about God and what He wants to do helps us get through the small stuff of everyday life.

      At the same time, we hear from people who are struggling with some very difficult circumstances: a marriage has gone bad, a job has been lost, a child has rebelled, someone is very sick, or a loved one has died unexpectedly. It’s all very painful, and they want to know if God can help them through their tough times.

      Other readers tell us they are having a hard time dealing with the tough times in the world: the natural disasters that take so many lives, the wars and conflicts that never seem to end, the ongoing problems of hunger and disease that afflict so many, and closer to home an economy that has left many people without retirement savings—or even worse, a job. How are we supposed to feel about all of this? What are we supposed to do?

      While we don’t have the complete answer for these questions, we think there is a sensible way to approach them. This book contains forty-one short essays that we hope will give you a starting place for sorting out the tough things we all experience from time to time, as well as the tough times and the suffering in our world.

      As you read through these chapters and the accompanying proverbs that offer suggestions on how to make sense of the tough times in your life, keep one very important thing in mind: God loves you more than you could ever imagine. Though you may not realize it when you’re in the middle of something very difficult, God knows what you are going through—and He knows what it’s like to suffer.

      Suffering of any kind is tough, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, those who suffer gain a perspective on life and an appreciation for God that others do not have. While he was suffering in prison, the apostle Paul wrote, I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return (2 Timothy 1:12).

      Our prayer for you is that you would entrust the tough times of your life and the tough times of our world to God, and that He in turn would reveal Himself to you in tangible ways as He strengthens you for the days ahead.

      Bruce Bickel

      Stan Jantz

      Y ou promised me, Lord, that if I followed You,

      You would walk with me always.

      But I have noticed that during

      the most trying periods of my life

      there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.

      Why, when I needed You most,

      have You not been there for me?"

      The Lord replied, "The years when you have seen only

      one set of footprints, My child, is when I carried you."

      from Footprints in the Sand

      Author anonymous

      ONE

      WHY, GOD, WHY?

      W hen things are going well in your life, everything seems good with the world:

      The sun shines brighter.

      The flowers are more fragrant.

      People smile as they pass by you.

      There is a vacant parking spot for you directly in front of Starbucks.

      Of course, things aren’t really that way, but that’s how they seem to you because you’re feeling good about your situation.

      When your circumstances turn south, though, there seems to be an odd confluence with the rest of the cosmos. Everything seems to sour simultaneously:

      You get soaking wet after being caught in a freak rain storm.

      You get a flat tire and don’t have a jack in the trunk.

      Everyone who crosses your path is in a foul mood.

      After waiting fifteen minutes in the drive-thru at Starbucks, you are informed that they are out of coffee.

      It’s bad enough that [insert your tragedy here] happened to you—but to make things worse, it became a triggering mechanism for further misfortune.

      These are trivial illustrations of how your perspective is corrupted when you are forced to endure a tragic circumstance or a particularly hard situation. But more than your attitude is affected by adversity. Your spiritual equilibrium can also be thrown off kilter. Often, the frustration that accompanies your hardship leads to a spiritual misconception: God has abandoned you. While this isn’t true, it is easy to see how you can reach this flawed conclusion. First, you start with sound premises, such as:

      God is the almighty Creator and Ruler of the universe.

      All things are under His sovereign control.

      Nothing happens in the world without His knowledge or permission.

      God loves you and wants only what is best for you.

      So far, your theology is on track. But here is the point where your logic slips a cog. You mistakenly conclude:

      Since tragedy has entered your life, God must have turned His back on you.

      If He really loved you, He wouldn’t let this happen to you.

      This line of thinking is flawed. First, God never promises anyone a life free from pain. So don’t make the mistake of thinking that God has abandoned you when hardship enters your life. Secondly, the presence of hardship in your life does not imply the absence of God in your life. To the contrary, you can be sure that God is there and wants to reveal Himself to you when you are experiencing difficulties.

      Rather than approaching your tough times with the attitude that God has vanished, use these circumstances to find God. He is there. And He isn’t hiding. He wants you to feel His presence. He wants you to sense His love for you. He desires for you to understand His purposes for allowing these difficulties in your life.

      God is with you. Yes, He is all-powerful and capable of changing the hard circumstances of your life. But because He loves you and wants what is best for you, He will not eliminate those problems if He knows they serve a beneficial purpose in your life. He never promised to protect you from all hurt, but He has promised to be by your side during every bit of it.

      If you mistakenly assume that God is not present, you’ll be spiritually blind to His presence. But if you take God at His word and expect to find Him in the darkest hours, you’ll be surprised that you see Him all around you. Suddenly, the severity of your problems will shrink in comparison to the magnitude of God’s presence in your life.

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