Many people have wondered, “Where is God?” in the midst of their suffering. If answers are ever given by others in those moments, they are usually unsatisfactory. Worship leader Matt Bays offers a different perspective in his book, Finding God in the Ruins.
It doesn’t get much rawer than this. The book cuts between Bays’ dysfunctional childhood (which includes heartbreaking sexual abuse), his brother’s death at a young age, his sister’s battle with cancer as an adult, his struggles in counseling and ministry, and other stories of suffering. Bays spends time ruminating on some of the darker questions most of us are afraid to ask, like “Where is God when a trafficked child is being raped? Isn’t he complicit in this atrocity if he doesn’t stop it?”
What Bays never offers is pat answers. In fact, answers are few and far between in this book, because that is not the picture of God that Bays is trying to paint. He doesn’t believe the God of the Bible lives in the answers, but rather in the questions and the suffering of people. That is where real, deep faith is born and where trust is learned. Can we really believe God when he tells us he will redeem our pain? Does redemption look the way we expect after all?
Bays manages to give us A Grief Observed for the 21st century, showing God to be sovereign, but not complicit in our suffering. He avoids theological pitfalls—open theism is just another disturbing pat answer offering no comfort—and he avoids them through his sheer, brutal honesty. It’s hard reading sometimes, messier than we Christians like things to get.
For all his writing prowess and admirable honesty, Bays is a difficult narrator to listen to. He speaks softly and very slowly. I listened to the audiobook version at 1.5x speed and that was comfortable. That said, I’m glad Bays narrated his own book. It just wouldn’t have seemed right for someone else to read a story this raw.
Anyone who works with those who are suffering and downtrodden should read this book. Any who are suffering and downtrodden themselves should read this book. Bays offers real peace and real hope, or more accurately, God offers those things through Bays’ story.
Please Note: This audiobook was gifted as a part of the Christianaudio Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. This has in no way influenced my opinion or review of this work. More information can be found about this and other Christian audiobooks at christianaudio.com.