Yancey Books
These two books by Philip Yancey form a pastoral theology of pain, disappointment, and faith. I’ll summarize each individually, then give a combined overview, maybe like a cliff notes. Both of these books have helped me to minister and be ministered to. I first discovered Yancey through a missionary who lost his 5 year old son while serving in Africa. This book made all the difference in the world to him. I highlight my books and then I summarize them into a document for easy reference later (and as a reminder of what I learned), here are some of my observations. I feel like it is a privilege to introduce our church family to his books, you’ll recognize some of these thoughts in previous messages I have done, he had a huge influence in my life. I have a ton of his books, feel free to borrow (then return!)
Disappointment with God — Philip Yancey
Core Question: Why does God often seem silent, absent, or unresponsive—especially when He could intervene?
Central Thesis
We are disappointed with God not because He fails, but because our expectations of how God should act are often unbiblical, immature, or shaped by cultural assumptions rather than Scripture.
Three Major Sources of Disappointment
1. God is Silent
People expect God to speak clearly, audibly, and immediately.
In Scripture, God often speaks rarely, quietly, or indirectly.
Silence is not absence; it is often an invitation to trust rather than control.
“The same God who parted the Red Sea also went silent for 400 years.”
Key insight: Silence forces faith to mature.
2. God is Invisible
We expect God to be obvious and undeniable.
Instead, God hides Himself just enough to preserve human freedom.
Overwhelming visibility would coerce belief, not invite love.
Illustration Yancey uses:
If God were as obvious as gravity, faith would be unnecessary—and love would be impossible.
3. God Seems Unfair
We expect justice now, not eventually.
We compare outcomes instead of trusting God’s larger redemptive plan.
Scripture consistently postpones final justice to the end of the story, not the middle.
“God’s justice is certain—but it is not always speedy.”
The Big Takeaway from Disappointment with God
God refuses to operate as a vending machine, genie, or cosmic micromanager.
Faith matures when we move from: “God serves my agenda” to “I trust God’s character even when I don’t understand His actions”
Where Is God When It Hurts? — Philip Yancey
Core Question: If God is good and powerful, why does He allow suffering?
Central Thesis
God does not eliminate suffering in this world; instead, He enters into it, redeems it, and uses it to form Christlike character.
Three Types of Suffering
1. Pain as Warning
Physical pain functions like a fire alarm.
Without pain, we destroy ourselves (Yancey uses the example of leprosy).
Pain reveals that something is wrong—not that God is cruel.
Key idea:
A painless world would be far more dangerous than a painful one.
2. Pain as Consequence
Many forms of suffering result from human freedom (sin, poor choices, injustice).
God allows consequences because freedom without consequences is meaningless.
Love requires freedom. Freedom includes the possibility of pain.
3. Pain as Mystery
Some suffering has no clear explanation this side of eternity.
The Bible does not offer tidy answers—Job never gets an explanation.
God gives His presence, not a spreadsheet.
God’s Greatest Answer to Pain: The Incarnation
God does not stand distant; He suffers with us. Jesus experiences:
Betrayal
Physical pain
Emotional abandonment
Injustice
Death
“Christianity is the only religion where God Himself bears the cost of suffering.”
The Cross as the Lens for All Suffering
The worst evil (the crucifixion) became the greatest good (redemption).
Therefore, present pain is not proof of God’s absence, but often the context of His deepest work.
Which one is right for me to start with reading:
Together they teach this:
God may not meet our expectations—but He has met our deepest need.
Disappointment with God — Philip Yancey
Core Question: Why does God often seem silent, absent, or unresponsive—especially when He could intervene?
Central Thesis
We are disappointed with God not because He fails, but because our expectations of how God should act are often unbiblical, immature, or shaped by cultural assumptions rather than Scripture.
Three Major Sources of Disappointment
1. God is Silent
People expect God to speak clearly, audibly, and immediately.
In Scripture, God often speaks rarely, quietly, or indirectly.
Silence is not absence; it is often an invitation to trust rather than control.
“The same God who parted the Red Sea also went silent for 400 years.”
Key insight: Silence forces faith to mature.
2. God is Invisible
We expect God to be obvious and undeniable.
Instead, God hides Himself just enough to preserve human freedom.
Overwhelming visibility would coerce belief, not invite love.
Illustration Yancey uses:
If God were as obvious as gravity, faith would be unnecessary—and love would be impossible.
3. God Seems Unfair
We expect justice now, not eventually.
We compare outcomes instead of trusting God’s larger redemptive plan.
Scripture consistently postpones final justice to the end of the story, not the middle.
“God’s justice is certain—but it is not always speedy.”
The Big Takeaway from Disappointment with God
God refuses to operate as a vending machine, genie, or cosmic micromanager.
Faith matures when we move from: “God serves my agenda” to “I trust God’s character even when I don’t understand His actions”
Where Is God When It Hurts? — Philip Yancey
Core Question: If God is good and powerful, why does He allow suffering?
Central Thesis
God does not eliminate suffering in this world; instead, He enters into it, redeems it, and uses it to form Christlike character.
Three Types of Suffering
1. Pain as Warning
Physical pain functions like a fire alarm.
Without pain, we destroy ourselves (Yancey uses the example of leprosy).
Pain reveals that something is wrong—not that God is cruel.
Key idea:
A painless world would be far more dangerous than a painful one.
2. Pain as Consequence
Many forms of suffering result from human freedom (sin, poor choices, injustice).
God allows consequences because freedom without consequences is meaningless.
Love requires freedom. Freedom includes the possibility of pain.
3. Pain as Mystery
Some suffering has no clear explanation this side of eternity.
The Bible does not offer tidy answers—Job never gets an explanation.
God gives His presence, not a spreadsheet.
God’s Greatest Answer to Pain: The Incarnation
God does not stand distant; He suffers with us. Jesus experiences:
Betrayal
Physical pain
Emotional abandonment
Injustice
Death
“Christianity is the only religion where God Himself bears the cost of suffering.”
The Cross as the Lens for All Suffering
The worst evil (the crucifixion) became the greatest good (redemption).
Therefore, present pain is not proof of God’s absence, but often the context of His deepest work.
Which one is right for me to start with reading:
| Disappointment with God | Where Is God When It Hurts? |
| Focuses on unmet expectations | Focuses on unavoidable suffering |
| Asks why God seems absent | Asks why God allows pain |
| Corrects false assumptions | Offers theological grounding |
| Emphasizes trust | Emphasizes incarnation |
God may not meet our expectations—but He has met our deepest need.
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