Book Review: On Asking God Why

I am a big fan of Elisabeth Elliot. I really enjoy the thoughtfulness held within her books and short reflections. When you consider the circumstances of her life, and the joy she continued to share with others, you can’t help but admire her.

If you don’t know who she is, let me give you a quick recap–her first husband was one of the five missionaries who served and was killed by the Acua Indians in 1956 in the jungles of Ecuador. Jim and Elisabeth had a 10 month old daughter when this happened. And instead of flying home and giving up her own missionary calling, she and her daughter joined the tribe that killed him in order to minister to them. After returning to the states, her second husband was afflicted with cancer and died after just four years of marriage.

If anyone had a reason to ask God, “Why?” I would say Elisabeth Elliot could, knowing all too well the feeling of uncertainty. But despite that, she also knew that God is faithful to His children and will answer us in our distress. She wrote, On Asking God Why, in order to share what she learned, and to help remind readers of God’s love.

I listened to this one on audiobook, which was a nice change from podcasts, and allowed me to listen while working on chores. This book is a collection of 30 essays on loss, despair, abortion, divorce, loneliness, aging, and so much more, which makes it great as a night-stand book (if in hard copy) or something to pick up and listen to from time to time.

Each chapter is on a different topic, so you can skip around and look for what you need some guidance on and get practical advice on how to trust God in that circumstance.

My favorite chapter was “Meeting God Alone.” She starts the essay reflecting on the habit she saw her father cultivate through her childhood–time completely alone with God each morning. She shared that he was not to be disturbed during this time, but that fact did not prevent her from seeing her father on his knees in prayer. He led family devotions with hymn singing, Bible reading, and family prayer.

And as his children got older, he encouraged them to cultivate their own private relationship with God. She shared that she understood why God’s Word was so important to read daily by seeing her own father read and re-read it possibly more than forty times. She reminds us that the Bible is God’s Word to us–that if we want to hear from God, that we should pick up our Bible.

She also explains that in our prayer time, we are not just there to ask, ask, ask, but to praise God. She also admits that it’s not easy to praise God all the time–but she encourages readers by telling us to turn to the Psalms to praise God, or to listen to hymns to praise Him.

This really resonated with me. As I’ve grown in my relationship with God, I desire to praise Him with all that I do, and to learn about His character in all the ways that I can. I have begun to read through the Psalms more and to listen to more hymns than modern worship music.

And I have found solace in it. To hear that someone like Elisabeth Elliot followed this model is an encouragement.

Elisabeth Elliot is full of timeless wisdom from a lifelong commitment of honoring and praising God. Her words are so full of encouragement, that even when the conviction settles in, it makes you want to go and be better without the shame.

I can’t recommend this book, or any of her other books enough!

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.