Looking at God from Ground Zero

Learning to cope with fears is one thing. Living in the aftermath of fears that have materialized is quite another. How do we deal with our disappointment with God when he doesn’t stand between us and the things we fear? In this audio talk, Carolyn Custis James discusses the role that fear plays in the life of Naomi in the book of Ruth. Custis James argues that Naomi is a “female Job” who had seen her worst fears realized. In Christian circles, we often minimize our struggle with God, and we try to short-circuit our pain and disappointment as well as the mysteries of God. Custis James points to the honesty of Naomi in her struggles with God and draws out lessons from her story. She concludes that although suffering causes us to walk with a limp—it need not lead us away from God, but toward him.