“Where is God?” by Dr. John Townsend

If you considered throughout human history what question has been asked the most, a few things might come to mind:

“What’s your name?” must be asked millions of times a day.

“What did you say?” is asked increasingly as our population ages!

“What’s your sign?” was asked repeatedly in the ’70s and ’80s and continues to be an annoying question.

But perhaps one of the most asked questions, directly from the human heart and searching mind, is the question, “Where is God?”

If you haven’t personally asked that question, you have probably thought it, and likely know others who have done both. Ministers, theologians, philosophers and others have wrestled with an answer, but one of the best responses I’ve read to date is found in Dr. John Townsend’s latest book, “Where Is God?” published by Thomas Nelson.

The reason I found Dr. Townsend’s book to be so noteworthy is because he provides a very thorough response to a simple, yet profound question. The short answer to “Where is God?” is that God is always present. But there’s significantly more to the answer than that, and Dr. Townsend provides the detail.

What gives the book value is Dr. Townsend, who is a Christian psychologist, allows his theology to inform his psychology, rather than vice versa. Townsend provides clear biblical direction to finding answers to this age old question while also using his expertise and experience as a psychologist to help us understand how to work out biblical teaching in practical ways that provide real answers — and results — to those searching out the question of “where is God?”

Dr. Townsend helps the reader understand how, in the midst of life’s most pressing issues, we can seek and see God when He seems to be absent. Townsend explains that “God doesn’t play hide-and seek.” It is possible to work through the confusion, pain, disillusionment, or other such human experiences during life’s trials to not only see God, but to experience His presence in a way that brings peace, renews purpose, and sustains us in our darkest hour.

For the person who wants the simplest of answers to the great question, “Where is God?” you can find that in Townsend’s book. But for the rest of us who want and need a fuller answer, you’ll be delighted in how Dr. Townsend uses his skill in both theology and psychology to explore all the issues we may find ourselves in when searching out the answer to this big question. Townsend helps us see how most people often don’t want answers as much as they want a “fix” for what ails them. While God is always present and wants us to seek His help, He desires connection with us most.

While I thought the book to be outstanding, the one weakness I did see probably had more to do with the publisher than the author. The cover of the book is white, and the title of the book on the front cover is also printed in white, making it almost invisible if you don’t look closely. While discussing my thoughts about the book with one of my sisters, I mentioned how I didn’t like the cover because you can’t see the title and showed her the cover to make my point. “Oh, where is the title is like the idea of the book, ‘Where Is God?'” she pointed out. Perhaps I just missed it, but I find the idea of purposely making the title hard to find to tie in with the title of the book to be quite gimmicky, and uneffectively so. A book as solid as this doesn’t need a cheap gimmick for a cover to draw interest.

With that said, “Where Is God?” is a valuable resource any Christian would benefit having within reach because it provides great answers to a big question.

Scotty