The Bible doesn’t offer a sanitized version of life or our reactions to it. Dark, shocking, and painful stories abound. Scripture shows us people who think, act, plan, decide, and speak just like we do. If the Bible left out these real-life stories of murder, rape, famine, disease, judgment, depression, war, adultery, theft, corruption, and overwhelming fear, how likely would we be to believe that God’s Word could help us?
It is incredibly encouraging to realize that the Bible addresses the world as we know it. God makes it very clear that he understands the Heat we face every day. It isn’t always pleasant to read the honest stories of Scripture, but it is comforting. We realize that we will never face an experience, no matter how dark or difficult, that would be a shock to our God. The hope and help God offers his children reflect his knowledge of the full range of human experience. That’s why some of the most comforting passages of Scripture may not even have the word comfort in them. They may not be neatly tied together with a happy ending or say much about God’s promises, love, and grace. Yet they give hope in their accurate depiction of the things we face.
Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp