Book review: Max Lucado- For these tough times

For these tough times: Reaching toward heaven for hope and healing
Max Lucado
Published by Thomas Nelson 2006

In For These Tough Times Max Lucado attempts to provide encouragement and guidance to people who are experiencing tough times in life such as grief.

The book is quite a short one at only 81 small pages with decent sized print. This is probably a good thing because I know when i've been suffering I haven't wanted to wade through dense books. He writes in a beautiful and often moving but easy to read style.

Despite being so short, the book doesn't lack in substance. Unlike many Christian explanations of suffering that falsely ether reject that God is truly good or that God is truly in control Max clearly presents both as true. I particularly appreciated him explaining how the cross demonstrates that God really does love us rather than just explaining the love of God abstract terms. He also encourages readers to keep praying because God is listening and explains some of the ways that God can bring good out of what seems to us like horrible events. I'm not entirely sure if I agree with what he said about the limitations on the devil but other than that I didn't have any significant theological concerns about the content.

If you are suffering right now, I encourage you to read this book because I think you will find it helpful. Even if you are not suffering right now, I still think it is worthwhile to read it as it reminds us of some important truths about God.