Several years earlier, Marc had been shoveling snow on his driveway when his wife said she was going to move the car and asked him to watch their young daughter. As the car backed out, they were suddenly thrust into the worst nightmare that parents can imagine: their toddler was crushed beneath a wheel.
So deep was Marc's initial despair that he had to ask God to help him breathe, to help him eat, to help him function at the most fundamental level. Otherwise, he was paralyzed by the emotional pain. But he increasingly felt God's presence, His grace, His warmth, His comfort, and very slowly, over time, his wounds began to heal.
Having experienced God at his point of greatest need, Marc would emerge from this crucible a changed person, abandoning his career in business to attend seminary. Through his suffering--though he never would have chosen it, though it was horribly painful, though it was life-shattering at the time--Marc had been transformed into someone who would devote the rest of his life to bringing God's compassion to others who are alone in their desperation.
In the pulpit for the first time, Marc was able to draw on his own experiences with God in the depths of sorrow. People were captivated because his own loss had given him special insights, empathy, and credibility. in the end, dozens of them responded by saying they too wanted to know this Jesus, this GOD OF TEARS. Now other hearts were being healed because of Marc's having been broken. From one couple's despair emerges new hope for many.
"Some skeptics scoff at the Bible saying that God can cause good to emerge from our pain if we run toward Him instead of away from Him," Marc said. "But I've watched it happen in my own life. I've experienced God's goodness through deep pain, and no skeptic can dispute that. The God who the skeptic denies is the same God who held our hands in the deep, dark places, who strengthened our marriage, who deepened our faith, who increased our reliance on Him, who gave us two more children, and who infused our life with new purpose and meaning so that we can make a difference to others."
I [Lee Strobell] asked gently, "do you wish you had more answers about why suffering in the first place?"
"We live in a broken world; Jesus was honest enough to tell us we'd have trials and tribulations. Sure, I'd like to understand more about why. But the ultimate answer is Jesus' presence. That sounds sappy, I know. But just wait--when your world is rocked, you don't want philosophy or theology as much as you want the reality of Christ. He was the answer for me. He was the very answer we needed."