Book excerpt: We know the what of suffering, but we don’t always understand the why. Regardless of our age, ability, or attitude, we wonder what purpose it accomplishes. Is pain a part of some immutable law of the universe as is the law of gravity? Has it always existed? Will it continue to hound our steps as long as we live? Does it serve any good purpose? Some partial answers to these very basic questions will be attempted in the pages to follow—partial, I say, because the full reason for pain and suffering remains a dark, undeclared secret, locked in the bosom of God, to be revealed only on the other side of eternity. This book deals with the suffering experienced by the child of God. Such horrors as the Nazi holocaust, the starvation of millions of innocent children in the world, the horrors of war, or other tragedies demand their own explanations. Right now, let us limit ourselves to a discussion of pain and sorrow in the lives of believers