The Wind That Destroys and Heals Trusting the God of Sorrow and Joy

Why would a loving, all-powerful God allow so much pain and suffering? It's a question everyone asksfrom skeptics to spiritual seekers to confirmed believers. In The Wind That Destroys and Heals, theologian and educator Stephen Broyles wrestles with it personally, powerfully, and poignantly. After enduring the horror of his young wife's death, Broyles interrogated the Scriptures to find a reasonable explanation for his devastating loss. In this book he supplies the coordinates readers need to track God through the darkest, most broken stretches of life. God is there in all of it, and it's possible for us to locate him even when the thickening darkness dims our sight. Like the psalmists of the Hebrew Scriptures, Broyles challenged God to explain himself, to demonstrate why in heaven's name any sane person should trust God. And he received an answerthough not the one he expected: God is a Wind that could easily destroy us but who also holds out the only promise for our healing. We understand our undoing only in light of who God is. And we find our ultimate healing only in God.

<b>Stephen E. Broyles</b> taught philosophy and theology at a quiet private college in Florence, Alabama, for seventeen years. When his wife, Elizabeth, died, his world changed forever.  He stepped out of teaching to be a single parent to their two children, then aged six and ten. He has since earned his living, in part, through writing and editing. He holds the Master of Arts and Master of Theology degrees from Harding University Graduate School in Memphis, Tennessee, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Alabama. Broyles has now remarried. A long-time resident of Alabama, he now lives with his wife, Sharon, in Massachusetts. More information can be found on his Web site, www.stephenbroyles.com.