Ravi Zacharias - Cries of the Heart: Bringing God Near When He Fells So Far

1998, 2002 by Ravi Zacharias.

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations used in this book are from the Holy Bible, New International Version ( NIV ). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Other Scripture references are from the following sources:

The King James Version of the Bible ( KJV ).

The New English Bible ( NEB ), copyright 1961, 1970 by the Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press. Reprinted by permission.

The New King James Version ( NKJV ), copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publisher.

The Revised Standard Version of the Bible ( RSV ). Copyright 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Zacharias, Ravi K.
Cries of the heart : bringing God near when He feels so far / Ravi Zacharias.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN : 978-0-8499-4387-4 (tradepaper)

1. PainReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. SufferingReligious aspects Christianity. 3. Apologetics. 4. ChristianityEssence, genius, nature. I. Title.

bt732.7.z33 1997 97-46004

248.8 ' dc21 CIP

08 09 10 11 12 QW 18 17 16 15 14

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To the memory of my mother,

Isabella,

who heard my cries long before

I gave voice to them.

SOME PEOPLE CAN MAKE THE TOUGHEST TASK APPEAR SIMPLE . A professional golfer can make the golf swing look easy. A skilled tenor leads the audience to believe anyone could hit those notes. The advanced chemist speaks the language of his discipline with the same effort that we recite the alphabet.

Some make it appear so simple. But then we try it ourselves and we know better.

We swing the club or sing the song or read the book and realize this is no easy chore. Personal attempts only increase our admiration for the one who does what we can only dream of doing.

Perhaps that is why I have such high admiration for Ravi Zacharias. What others do with the golf club or operas or chemistry, Ravi does with Christian thought. He presents lucid answers to tough questions and makes the problems look simple.

We know better, however. There is nothing easy about Ravis God-given assignment. His first challenge is to wrestle with the issues many prefer to avoid. A sample of his daily diet of thought is listed here in this book: questions of suffering, loneliness, despair, and guilt. Ravi toils among these dilemmas.

But his assignment doesnt end there. He not only walks these shadowy forests; he leaves a trail that guides us through it. And guess what? The map is legible! It is understandable. It is easy, even a joy, to read.

A perfect example is the book you now hold. Paging through this manuscript left me amazed and encouraged. Amazed at the skill of the author. And encouraged that the Author of Life would give this generation such a gifted thinker. For three decades Ravi has done throughout the world what he has done on these pages. He has helped us think without thinking for us.

And he does so with much grace. I remember an observation made by our mutual friend and publisher, the late Kip Jordon. Kip listened to numerous college campus dialogues between Ravi and students. As hostile as such events can become, Kip once told me, I have never seen Ravi treat one person with disrespect. He always listens patiently, then responds in a manner that honors the one who raised the question.

I have no reservation in recommending that you read this book. When it comes to golf, singing, or chemistry, I cant vouch for Ravi Zacharias. But when it comes to wrestling with tough issues of faith and life, I know of no one who does it better.

MAX LUCADO

I AM OFTEN ASKED , after delivering a lecture or a sermon, how long it has taken to prepare that particular presentation. I have determined that any answer that logs up the preparation time in hours or days runs the risk of forgetting the years that went behind a thirty-minute talk. Such, I am afraid, is the risk entailed when expressing gratitude to those who have helped me shape this book. Any omission of names, therefore, is with full recognition of the many men and women and their thoughts that, over the years, have inspired me to think deeply on these questions that shape our souls. I am greatly in their debt.

For this manuscript there is principally one other who has labored with love and sacrificemy wife, Margie. My heartfelt thanks are due her. Both of us have always valued the input of the final editor, Sue Ann Jones, whose encouragement and suggestions have been consistently thoughtful and refining. We are the better for it. The Thomas Nelson staff has worked with us with grace and professional excellence. Thanks are also due to Danielle DuRant, who worked on the tedious task of procuring permissions.

As always, I express my appreciation to all my colleagues at work and to my children, who sacrificed much to give me the time to work on this manuscript. Our prayer is that as a result of this work many a cry will be met and that God will be blessed to accept this as an offering first to Him.

The final acknowledgment is something I never thought would have to be expressed in this way. But even as this manuscript has gone to press we have been shocked and deeply grieved by the going home of a beloved friend and wise counselor, Kip Jordon, publisher and executive vice president of Word Publishing, now called Thomas Nelson. His imprint has been on all of my books as he lovingly challenged me to combine the simple with the sublime. His death is a jolting reminder of the cries addressed in this book. But his life, passionately lived, demonstrated the truths that point to the God of all comfort, whose embrace he now enjoys.

SOME TIME AGO my wife, Margie, returned from an errand visibly shaken by a heartrending conversation she had experienced. She was about the very simple task of selecting a picture and a frame when a dialogue began with the owner of the shop. When my wife said that she would like a scene with children in it the woman quite casually asked if the people for whom the picture was being purchased had any children of their own.

No, she replied, but that is not by their choice.

There was a momentary pause. Suddenly, like a hydrant uncorked, a question burst with unveiled hostility from the other womans lips: Have you ever lost a child?