I am selective with the books I read.

Some people devour every new one that comes along.

Me? I carefully choose because I have to be able to trust the author.

Not only that, I do not have the emotional or mental capacity to pursue all of the opinions out there that best fits me at this point in my life.

I trust Timothy Keller and I am confident of his simple, honest approach to life.

This is the introduction to his book I just started reading, Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering. What resonated with me was the last sentence: … inevitably this support must be spiritual.

We keep waiting for someone to get it, don’t we?

It may never happen.

“Author Earnest Becker spoke about the danger of denying the misery of life and the randomness of suffering. When we hear of a tragedy, there is a deep-seeded psychological defense mechanism that goes to work. We think to ourselves that such things happen to other people, to poor people, or to people who do not take precautions.

Life is tragic.

We all know this intuitively, and those who face the challenge of suffering and pain learn all too well that it is impossible to do so using your own resources. We all need support if we are not to succumb to despair. In this book we will argue that inevitably this support must be spiritual.“[my italics]