Where Is God? by Dr. John Townsend

Where Is God attempts to answer the question that the majority of people ask when they come face to face with hard times. Townsend answers this question by assuring his readers that God desires to be right alongside of you in a powerful manner. As a matter of fact, Townsend makes it quite clear that God is for you and with you regardless of your circumstances.

Where is God is a 212 page book containing fourteen chapters and an appendix. Quite frankly, Townsend didn’t hit the mark until chapter thirteen. The last two chapters are the real meat of this book and the most helpful. The book does contain scripture; however it is quoted from the New Living Translation which is a paraphrase. One would want to compare the scripture used with a literal translation.

I was excited to read this book for Thomas Nelson to see what an evangelical psychologist had to say about suffering from a biblical viewpoint. Townsend’s book was what I had expected: light, airy, fluffy, and a catalog of his successes and experiences. It said nothing new or anything that I had not already known or even experienced.

At times I was concerned that his view of God was like that of much of the evangelical world; God is omnipotent but limited to our cooperation. His appendix on additional books about suffering was confusing; it was a mixture of some good books and some bad books on suffering.

This was a good attempt at trying to explain the age old question of where is God when I hurt. Unfortunately, it did not get the job done. It would be a good primer and a starting place for anyone with little or no knowledge of the Scriptures on this topic.