God Can't Sleep: Waiting for Daylight On Life's Dark Nights [Kindle Edition]

Palmer Chinchen (Author)

Book Description

In this follow-up to his acclaimed debut, True Religion, Palmer Chinchen helps believers develop a God-centered response to suffering.

 

As Christians, we often act as if the right beliefs and behavior will allow us to avoid the darkness of pain. Yet everyone is touched by loneliness, heartbreak, and losing loved ones. And when pain happens, it can seem as if God is asleep, indifferent to our struggles.

 

In God Can’t Sleep, Chinchen tackles challenging questions: Where is God when life hurts? How long will I stay in darkness? When the world is so full of bad people, why do I have to suffer? Readers will be encouraged to embrace a Savior who is always awake, and inspire them to carry His light to a hurting world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Low on religious sap and backed up with life experience. This isn't the next Blue Like Jazz; it's better."

--Publishers' Weekly

About the Author

 

Palmer Chinchen is an engaging communicator who speaks with unique authority on the need for a Christian response to affliction and injustice. Drawing on his years of experience in Africa, he pulls the listener into the fabric of his message and creates a new passion in Christ-followers for responding to a hurting world. He is pastor of The Grove in Chandler, Arizona; he holds a PhD from Trinity International University in Illinois and a MA from Biola University.

 

Product Details

• File Size: 433 KB
• Print Length: 240 pages
• Publisher: David C. Cook (June 1, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005MT8R2C
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,707 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A "Pain-full" Read November 19, 2011

By Jacob Sweeney

Format:Paperback

We hate to admit it, but I think we all know that pain is inevitable in this life. C.S. Lewis has famously said that

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

Pain shakes us loose from the moorings of daily life. We come; we go but never experience the reality of life to touch our own lives. We live blissfully ignorant of the pain around us.

But pain is real and inescapable. From a sore knee on a cold morning to the unexpected loss of a loved one, pain is omnipresent. The trouble with pain is that it often seems senseless and unreasonable. The infamous "Problem of Pain" has derailed many a faith and angered even more. How can God be both good and omnipotent yet allow pain to exist? We noted C.S. Lewis' perspective on the purpose of pain. In God Can't Sleep Palmer Chinchen provides us his.

He explores the life of faith in a world of pain using the metaphor of "Dark Nights", "Gray Days" and "Bright Mornings". Waiting for reprieve from pain can often feel like waiting for the dawn. A moment can't haunt us for days, months, even years. Finding meaning, purpose or peace can take longer.

Chinchen fills this book with a multitude of stories from his own childhood and adult experience on the mission field. Having spent most of his time in Africa, he has seen and heard of terrible things. What's his answer for pain?

The first part of the answer is that there are no easy answers. Pain is complex as are people. So, finding an answer for pain doesn't come easy. Second, the problem with understanding pain is that it is impossible to divine the mind of God. Purposes come as the rising sun - in time.

So, how are we to navigate the darks days of pain? Hope. We need to confident assurance that God is both real and is in the process of undoing of the evil this world has known. We can have hope because the greatest act of evil was committed against the only truly innocent man. God both allowed evil and used evil to create the greatest good.

This was a hard book to read. Not because I disagreed, but because Chinchen has seen and heard of terrible suffering. He forces us to move outside of our highly protected lives. Only by acknowledging the omnipresence of pain and evil can we move into it in order to shine the light of Christ. Any pastor ought to read this book, for his own soul and for those under his care.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars God Can't Sleep, and neither can I... July 16, 2011

By Philipjoh

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In Palmer Chinchen's "God Can't Sleep," Pastor Chinchen takes us through life's dark nights, gray days, and bright mornings and leaves you feeling inspired and empowered. Through compelling story telling and a number of first hand accounts, Pastor Chinchen's stories will move you and leave you feeling challenged. In "God Can't Sleep," Pastor Chinchen addresses the often avoided topic of suffering, and God's presence and thoughts in such situations. The points and illustrations in this book were clearly communicated, and hit home in a very real way. Whether it be the homeless children in Haiti, or the inspiring stories of faith coming out of the jungles of Liberia, Pastor Chinchen's testimonies of God's provision, mercy, and compassion will be sure to stir you. Can't remember the last time it was this hard to put down a book. Definitely a must read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars God Can't Sleep April 29, 2012

By Embracingerica

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I got this book from the library and immediately had to buy for my personal collection. The insight that Palmer Chinchen, PhD brings forth in this book blessed my heart and helped me put my life in perspective. I cannot say enough good words about this book- every single page is turned down for me to remember and reflect on again!

More About the Author

Palmer Chinchen is an author, speaker, and pastor. His new book TURE RELIGION: Taking pieces of heaven to places of Hell on Earth is changing the way people think about spiritual transformation. Palmer grew up deep in the deep Sappo jungle of Liberia West Africa where the only way in and out was by prop plane. After graduating from Biola University, with a BA and MA in Intercultural Studies, he earned a PhD in Educational Studies from Trinity International University in Illinois.

A rising voice in the missional movement, Palmer is a relevant and engaging writer and communicator who draws on his years of experience in Africa to pull listeners and readers into the fabric of his message: Give your life away to change this world and God will change you.

Justice is a significant passion for Palmer, who regularly travels to places like Haiti, Cuba and Africa to help bring healing to a broken world.

Today Palmer serves as the Lead Pastor of The Grove, an innovative gathering of believers who seek to make God famous in Arizona and around the globe. On a random Sunday called "Barefoot Sunday" the people of the Grove walked to their cars barefoot, (on a 100+ degree day) leaving a massive container full of shoes to ship overseas.