Tremble and trust in the incomprehensible ways of God!

“Thanks to this book, I will change and become better.
You will too!”
_Recommended by Lee Man-yeol, Philip Yancey, James Huston, Jim Daly, etc.

No matter how fervently we pray, life doesn't always turn out the way we want it to. Sometimes, God seems silent in response to our prayers or moves in a completely different direction than we expected.
How do we respond when we cannot understand His thoughts and ways? Do we run away from Him or twist His words to suit our own needs? Or do we trust Him, even in fear?

Larry Crabb, a prominent Christian counselor throughout his life, was in his seventies when he faced the challenges of aging, cancer, and the deaths of loved ones.
These experiences led him to a deeper meditation on God's thoughts and ways, which are beyond human understanding.
After much thought, he encourages younger Christians to have unwavering trust in God's good purposes, even when we may tremble in fear because we do not understand His ways.

I often find myself at a familiar crossroads again within a few days.
You have to choose one of three paths.
One, I reject God and choose a path that I judge will provide me with a satisfaction that I would not otherwise be able to enjoy if I followed Him.


Second, I distort the words God gives me to fit my ideas about what makes a happy life and how to achieve the happy life I desire.
Arrogantly, I consider these distortions to be God-honoring interpretations of Scripture, justifying them by claiming that God's love is more about permissiveness than coercion.
Third, we tremble before the presence of the mystery and trust that God is working out the plot of an unimaginably good love story.
---From the "Introduction"

When difficulties arise and failures continue, we encounter a God we cannot understand.
Who is God? What does He accomplish? We hear the gospel's plan for our lives.
The plan includes suffering, hard times, failure, and continued sin.
This is something we didn't have in mind.
I don't understand.
So what should we do?
---From Chapter 1

I have entered what today's culture calls old age.
I feel its power.
I don't feel very good.
Before facing death, you are not prepared for what is to come.
I am sometimes (though thankfully not always) plagued by thoughts of dementia, of living in a nursing home, of chronic pain, of losing the joys of being a father and grandfather, and most of all, of living without my wife if she passes away first.


None of these anticipated difficulties have yet become reality.
I am grateful for the blessings I have now.
But as I get older, the thought of what's to come still lives within me.
That's when I get goosebumps.
God did not promise to protect me from everything I fear, except perhaps damnation later or abandonment now.


Instead, he promised to provide the grace we need to live patiently in hope.… Following Jesus through all the seasons of life requires deep-rooted and growing trust.
The trust needed at this time grows only within a trembling soul.
We must trust in order to obey.
But to trust, you have to tremble.

---From Chapter 4

Trembling before a God who seems to disappoint us is the door that opens our souls to receive the good God in awe and trust in Him.
We trust even when the path of God's love brings confusion, fear, and anger to our still-growing minds.
The thrill leads us to discover a thirst that we believe God can satisfy.
There is no thirst stronger than this.
---From Chapter 6

I believe in unchangeable Christianity.
I still struggle to believe, but doubt no longer grips my heart.
I also believe in modified deism.
I believe that God withdraws from us, but not indifferently or with merciless intentions.
As a revised deist, the essence of my beliefs is this:
“A good God chooses to accomplish a greater good by stepping back from doing much of what we would normally consider good, and by not giving us lesser goods within his control.”
---From Chapter 7

The thrill that leads us not to reject or distort the unstable story God tells us will only bear fruit in the form of trust when we realize the concept of sovereignty that allows us to enjoy God.
The concept of sovereignty that enables us to enjoy God is not something we can force.
We must accept the concept of sovereignty revealed in the Bible and be convinced that the sovereign God we encounter in the Bible and thus in our lives is the God we can enjoy.

---From Chapter 15

God is love and God is also holy.
He is the God of holy love.
God's love does not diminish His holiness, and God's holiness does not diminish His love.
This story that God tells makes us tremble.
For God cannot and will not allow His true disciples to be satisfied with anything less than the depth of His holy love.


Suffering is inevitable in order to fight against the immature satisfaction of enjoying a comfortable and blessed life.
God does not prevent the difficulties of life.
But He can and will work in us good works that will enable us to endure life's hardships with steadfastness as we eagerly await the eternal and perfect joy He has promised.

---From "The Last Statement"