Mark Roberts Writes of the God Who Finds Us in Times of Trouble

He seems to read my mind and then articulate my thoughts better than I in these sentences:

One of things I like about the Bible is its realism about life. So often spiritual writings are obnoxiously positive. They look on the bright side. They employ happy-speak and wishful thinking. This might work for you if you're in a great place in your own life. But that great place won't last. The time will come when the naïve, unrealistic platitudes of happy-face religion just won't cut it.

But the Bible, now there's a different story. From the beginning, Scripture is clear about the real struggles and sufferings of this life. Consider the fact that one of the first stories in the Bible is about a brother killing a brother out of jealousy (Genesis 4). As we continue to read through Scripture, we find more division within families and murder, not to mention rape, parents grieving over their dead children, starvation, adultery, disease, hunger, famine, the slaughter of innocent children, discouragement, and despair. It's all in the Bible, and much more besides.

And I say I like this? Yes, indeed I do. Because this is what life is like. To be sure, there are glorious times, times of blessing and joy, times of rich celebration. Life isn't only hard. It's also good, sometimes very good. But I like the fact that when I read my Bible, it makes sense of real life today. It doesn't force me to pretend as if everything is hunky-dory.

A book this realistic is credible when it tells you about the God Who cares about you just as you are. At least the Bible's realism is what helped turn me from atheism to faith in Christ.

Read the whole thing.