Shane Stanford - When God Disappears: Finding Hope When Your Circumstances Seem Impossible

2008 Shane Stanford

Published by Revell

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.revellbooks.com

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition created 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-2581-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Other versions used are:

NKJV Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

NLT Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

RSV From the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

PRAISE FOR

WHEN
GOD DISAPPEARS

When God Disappears is truly one of the most candid and sincere exposs of trusting God and living life even when we are overwhelmed by struggles, challenges, and those unexpected curve balls that life sometimes throws at us. This very timely piece has been carefully written, and is sure to transcend denominational, ethnic and social echelons.

Vivian Berryhill

President and Founder

National Coalition of Pastors Spouses

In the tradition of sensitive poets, struggling saints and wise sages, Shane Stanford takes us on an honest and hopeful journey into the hard and barren places of our lives. There, amid our cry of absence, we confront a Presence who shares the burdens, opens a new future and joins our journey toward wholeness. When God Disappears is a refreshing spring of living water in a dry and thirsty land!

Bishop Kenneth L. Carder

Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr., Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry Duke Divinity School

Shane Stanford has delightfully illumined the intersection of real life and faith with very real stories of very real people encountering a very real God. Well done! I am still pondering in my heart Mary, Sophie and Carol. Their stories will resonate in my soul for years to come.

Allen Hunt

Host, The Allen Hunt Show

My first encounters with Jesus came in the form of His loving followers. His presence continues to be most visible, as Shane shares in these six encounters, through people who love like Jesus, touch like Jesus, care like Jesus and become Jesus to the marginalized and hurting.

Mike Slaughter

Lead Pastor, Ginghamsburg UMC, Tipp City, Ohio

I was prepared for When God Disappears to be a beautifully written book, and it is. I wasnt prepared for the way it reached into the depths of my soul and brought to the surface hurts that I had neatly tucked away, and then exposed those hurts to the light of Jesus healing love and forgiveness. This is a life-changing book!

Dr. Bev Smallwood

Psychologist and author of This Wasnt Supposed to Happen to Me: 10 Make-or-Break Choices When Life Steals Your Dreams and Rocks Your World

By the second chapter of When God Disappears, my reading a book had turned into living a storya story that I shall continue to live for the rest of my life. Stanfords story gives us astonishingly powerful grammar from which we can conjugate lifes losses, sorrows and despairs as well as joys and hopes.

Dr. Leonard Sweet

Drew Theological School, George Fox University
www.sermons.com

Shane Stanford points us to Gods radiant piercing of misery. He teaches us to recognize divine presence in divine absence, to celebrate the living light of God, and to cherish one another along the way. As we show up and engage our spiritual journeys with Shane, we become braver, more honest, more deeply faithful.

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward

Episcopal Leader, Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

While boldly engaging the difficulty and complexity of this worlds pain and suffering, Stanford illumines the message of Gods steadfast love with and for those in the most desperate of lifes situations. With remarkable insight and candor, Stanford offers a refreshing glimpse into Gods love for those who have lost their grasp on hope through personal and biblical narrative. This book is truly a gem!

Dr. Laceye Warner

Associate Dean for Academics, Duke University Divinity School

A few years ago, I was intrigued by the title The Seven Next Words of Christ. I quickly devoured it! I loved the book, but even more importantly, I loved the author. I discovered that Shane Stanford and I share a passion for hurting people, and over the years, he has become a trusted friend and brother.

Kay Warren

Executive Director, HIV/AIDS Initiative, Saddleback Church

Shane Stanford writes with power and conviction about real life with all its joys and imperfections. He tells the stories of ordinary and extraordinary people in a captivating way that permits the faith he proclaims to come alive. When God Disappears is a rare book that you will immediately want to share with the most dedicated Christian you know as well as those struggling with faith.

Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.

Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership

Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC

For Pokey
The bridge is strong.
I love you.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lords work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

1 C ORINTHIANS 15:58

Contents

by Deanna Favre

Introduction
Living in Miseri... Abiding in Possibility

After Words
Finding God

F OREWORD

When God Disappears is an amazing book that will, no doubt, touch the lives of all its readers. It teaches of Gods love and patience for us, and it represents one of the most unique reading experiences I have ever encountered. It will give you the hope you have so desperately been searching to find.

Shane Stanfords life is an example for all of us who long for meaning in our lives. Living with hemophilia, Hepatitis-C and HIV, one might expect to find repression and discrimination, rejection by family and friends and fear of the unknown, yet Shane has sustained an unwavering faith. Many people would have turned away from God, would have given up hope and lost faith. Yet he continues to see Gods grace and to teach others about a loving God who never gives up on His children.

Without a doubt, there are times in the lives of every individual when the giants seem too big, the trees too high to climb and the rocks plentiful for those who throw them. We have all experienced times of rejection, pain, loss, failure and sorrow. Yet, as Shane demonstrates, these are the times that can deepen our faith.