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Ninety Days of God's Goodness: Daily Reflections That Shine Light on Personal Darkness
Daily Assurance in the Face of Life’s Hardest Struggles When life throws challenges at us, our view of God’s presence can become cloudy. If God is good, why is there so much evil and suffering? In times of hardship, it’s easy to lose sight of God’s purpose, goodness, and love.
90 Days of God’s Goodness helps disperse the fog—little by little, discovery by discovery, day by day. Through these thoughtful, inspiring devotional readings, bestselling author Randy Alcorn brings clarity to the question of God’s goodness.
For anyone who’s ever suffered, or shared in a loved one’s suffering…or for anyone who’s ever been painfully distressed by the prevalent evil in this world… 90 Days of God’s Goodness opens a wide door to healing and the reassurance of a God whose love we can count on and always turn to.
90 Days of God’s Goodness helps disperse the fog—little by little, discovery by discovery, day by day. Through these thoughtful, inspiring devotional readings, bestselling author Randy Alcorn brings clarity to the question of God’s goodness.
For anyone who’s ever suffered, or shared in a loved one’s suffering…or for anyone who’s ever been painfully distressed by the prevalent evil in this world… 90 Days of God’s Goodness opens a wide door to healing and the reassurance of a God whose love we can count on and always turn to.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
112 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Randy Alcorn
222 books1,590 followersRandy Alcorn is the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them. EPM exists to meet the needs of the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled and unsupported people around the world.
"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity," Alcorn says. "I do that by trying to analyze, teach and apply the implications of Christian truth."
Before starting EPM in 1990, Alcorn co-pastored for thirteen years Good Shepherd Community Church outside Gresham, Oregon. He has ministered in many countries, including China, and is a popular teacher and conference speaker. Randy has taught on the part-time faculties of Western Seminary and Multnomah University, both in Portland, Oregon.
Randy is a best-selling author of 50 books including Heaven, The Treasure Principle and the 2002 Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written numerous articles for magazines such as Discipleship Journal, Moody, Leadership, New Man, and The Christian Reader. He produces the quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives, and has been a guest on more than 650 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, The Bible Answer Man, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.
Alcorn resides in Gresham, Oregon with his wife, Nanci. The Alcorns have two married daughters, Karina and Angela.
Randy and Nanci are the proud grandparents of five grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.
Taken from the Eternal Perspective Ministries website, http://www.epm.org
"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity," Alcorn says. "I do that by trying to analyze, teach and apply the implications of Christian truth."
Before starting EPM in 1990, Alcorn co-pastored for thirteen years Good Shepherd Community Church outside Gresham, Oregon. He has ministered in many countries, including China, and is a popular teacher and conference speaker. Randy has taught on the part-time faculties of Western Seminary and Multnomah University, both in Portland, Oregon.
Randy is a best-selling author of 50 books including Heaven, The Treasure Principle and the 2002 Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written numerous articles for magazines such as Discipleship Journal, Moody, Leadership, New Man, and The Christian Reader. He produces the quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives, and has been a guest on more than 650 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, The Bible Answer Man, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.
Alcorn resides in Gresham, Oregon with his wife, Nanci. The Alcorns have two married daughters, Karina and Angela.
Randy and Nanci are the proud grandparents of five grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.
Taken from the Eternal Perspective Ministries website, http://www.epm.org
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 9, 2018
This was a wonderful devotional book by a favorite author, Randy Alcorn. It reinforced my conviction that every single event in the Christian's life, including illness, is preordained by our Heavenly Father, and is for our good and His glory. A book to keep and reread, as all of Alcorn's books are.
August 18, 2019
Randy Alcorn has written so many books, mostly non fiction but several fiction. Ninety Days is a special sort of devotiontion "In times of hardship, pain, and just plain hurt, it is hard to see God's purposes, love, and goodness inside of these painful places.
Getting into each devotion, was rich with real life stories that he had found and others in his life, God's goodness. But all in a long journey. He shares with us who are hungry to find the same, how the door to healing and reassurance of God we can count on.
No matter your journey, pain, the short devotional readings can carry you into a richer understanding of how much the FATHER loves each of us.
Getting into each devotion, was rich with real life stories that he had found and others in his life, God's goodness. But all in a long journey. He shares with us who are hungry to find the same, how the door to healing and reassurance of God we can count on.
No matter your journey, pain, the short devotional readings can carry you into a richer understanding of how much the FATHER loves each of us.
February 2, 2014
God is good. He is *good*. This seems to be the most obvious of truths. We all believe this, right? Not really. Despite that we *know* it to be true, we often find ourselves in our hearts having doubts. Now, don't misunderstand me, doubts are not wrong by themselves. In a way, they are a type of temptation. We are tempted to distrust God's goodness or purposes. Like all temptations, just having doubts is not a sin. Acting on them, however, is very much a sin.
How can we get past these horrible doubts that seem to afflict us? Through much prayer, and daily reflecting on God's Holy Word. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, as they say, that to pray and read the Bible sounds trite. Our culture has fallen, but doubt is not a sign of falling. Giving into doubts is.
An example from my own life. When I was in Iraq with the Army, I saw the most astounding poverty imaginable. I was filled with heartache that increased when I returned home. I sometimes have wondered the reason why. Why? Why have I and so many others been born into a free, rich, society where (despite some real setbacks and problems) Christ is still preached and people can hear and study the Word. Why is it that I was born in such a land, and others in some parts of the world are born into poverty, oppression and lacking a knowledge of Christ? I'm not special, so why?
Wondering was not the sin. Dwelling on it and doubting God and His purposes was the sin. That is something that I, and I imagine many others, have to work on. In Randy Alcorn's book that I previously reviewed, *If God is Good*, I talked about how Alcorn deals with these themes.
In this little book, *90 Days of God's Goodness*, he again deals with these explores this subject by drawing from Scripture, other theologians, and his own previous works and arguments. Indeed, to analyze just how well the structure of the book works, two attributes of Alcorn's writing style is helpful to discern.
First of all, Alcorn is a "building block" author. He constantly builds one book on the other on the other, and so on. He does so to perfect his arguments as much as a fallible man can perfect them. He also relies heavily on Scripture to make his points. Not that he will not delve into exercises of logic as his obvious inspiration C. S. Lewis would, but he relies more heavily on Scripture and secondly on the words of other theologians.
In this way, Alcorn is effective. He constantly develops his arguments, searching the Scriptures and other Christians' commentaries thereof, to make sure he is right with God's Word. Second to this, he also realizes that he is limited in his abilities. Too many authors today seem to think that are the equal of Lewis, Tozer, Sproul, and others in writing, logical thinking, and persuasion. Often, they are not. Alcorn seems to realize that he has some talents here, but his talent for story-telling, narration, and analogy are the tools that the Lord has given him, not logic. Therefore, he relies more on these.
The book is broken down, as the title says, into 90 day increments. These are short devotionals. Unlike the devotionals in Our Daily Bread, these devotionals are actually thought-provoking. They are not quick blurbs that you read and go about your own way, but read and then think on. I am not even a large part through, but I am already enjoying the edifying pieces.
The usefulness of the slim volume comes in how one approaches it. If one is looking for some deep, weighty theological tome to completely explain an issue, then this is *definitely not* for them. What this is designed for is to keep one inspired and grounded in the timeless truths of Scripture by quickly pointing to those same truths. For the more detailed theological works, go to Alcorn's other books, in particular Heaven and the aforementioned If God is Good.
This book has been, and is, a useful and edifying volume of daily devotionals. I highly recommend it.
-----
I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.
How can we get past these horrible doubts that seem to afflict us? Through much prayer, and daily reflecting on God's Holy Word. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, as they say, that to pray and read the Bible sounds trite. Our culture has fallen, but doubt is not a sign of falling. Giving into doubts is.
An example from my own life. When I was in Iraq with the Army, I saw the most astounding poverty imaginable. I was filled with heartache that increased when I returned home. I sometimes have wondered the reason why. Why? Why have I and so many others been born into a free, rich, society where (despite some real setbacks and problems) Christ is still preached and people can hear and study the Word. Why is it that I was born in such a land, and others in some parts of the world are born into poverty, oppression and lacking a knowledge of Christ? I'm not special, so why?
Wondering was not the sin. Dwelling on it and doubting God and His purposes was the sin. That is something that I, and I imagine many others, have to work on. In Randy Alcorn's book that I previously reviewed, *If God is Good*, I talked about how Alcorn deals with these themes.
In this little book, *90 Days of God's Goodness*, he again deals with these explores this subject by drawing from Scripture, other theologians, and his own previous works and arguments. Indeed, to analyze just how well the structure of the book works, two attributes of Alcorn's writing style is helpful to discern.
First of all, Alcorn is a "building block" author. He constantly builds one book on the other on the other, and so on. He does so to perfect his arguments as much as a fallible man can perfect them. He also relies heavily on Scripture to make his points. Not that he will not delve into exercises of logic as his obvious inspiration C. S. Lewis would, but he relies more heavily on Scripture and secondly on the words of other theologians.
In this way, Alcorn is effective. He constantly develops his arguments, searching the Scriptures and other Christians' commentaries thereof, to make sure he is right with God's Word. Second to this, he also realizes that he is limited in his abilities. Too many authors today seem to think that are the equal of Lewis, Tozer, Sproul, and others in writing, logical thinking, and persuasion. Often, they are not. Alcorn seems to realize that he has some talents here, but his talent for story-telling, narration, and analogy are the tools that the Lord has given him, not logic. Therefore, he relies more on these.
The book is broken down, as the title says, into 90 day increments. These are short devotionals. Unlike the devotionals in Our Daily Bread, these devotionals are actually thought-provoking. They are not quick blurbs that you read and go about your own way, but read and then think on. I am not even a large part through, but I am already enjoying the edifying pieces.
The usefulness of the slim volume comes in how one approaches it. If one is looking for some deep, weighty theological tome to completely explain an issue, then this is *definitely not* for them. What this is designed for is to keep one inspired and grounded in the timeless truths of Scripture by quickly pointing to those same truths. For the more detailed theological works, go to Alcorn's other books, in particular Heaven and the aforementioned If God is Good.
This book has been, and is, a useful and edifying volume of daily devotionals. I highly recommend it.
-----
I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. Waterbrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.
October 22, 2015
Randy Alcorn shares with wisdom and insight--as always!
This devotional was recommended to me by a friend when I had a traumatic and unexpected infection attack my spine. The infection ate away at my thoracic vertebrae, causing them to become sponge-like and to collapse. I couldn't walk! My legs were numb. I had an emergency surgery to clean out the infection and to "install" 2 titanium rods and 4 screws. After surgery I was 3 weeks in a residential rehab facility. Once home, I had an additional 4 months of physical therapy. I went from athlete on her way in May 2014 to back pack Machu Picchu in South America (had to cancel my travel plans) to a wheel chair and little ability to care for my home and my animals (horses and dogs). Randy Alcorn's devotionals walked with me (quite literally) during this season. His wisdom and sound biblical insight reminded me again and again that God, in His sovereignty and goodness, had allowed (or, even, ordained) this for greater purposes. I have seen God accomplish much through the past 17 months and I am grateful for Randy Alcorn's devotional helping me through, reminding me that God is good. I took my time going through it as I needed to savor the truths shared. I highly recommend this devotional.
This devotional was recommended to me by a friend when I had a traumatic and unexpected infection attack my spine. The infection ate away at my thoracic vertebrae, causing them to become sponge-like and to collapse. I couldn't walk! My legs were numb. I had an emergency surgery to clean out the infection and to "install" 2 titanium rods and 4 screws. After surgery I was 3 weeks in a residential rehab facility. Once home, I had an additional 4 months of physical therapy. I went from athlete on her way in May 2014 to back pack Machu Picchu in South America (had to cancel my travel plans) to a wheel chair and little ability to care for my home and my animals (horses and dogs). Randy Alcorn's devotionals walked with me (quite literally) during this season. His wisdom and sound biblical insight reminded me again and again that God, in His sovereignty and goodness, had allowed (or, even, ordained) this for greater purposes. I have seen God accomplish much through the past 17 months and I am grateful for Randy Alcorn's devotional helping me through, reminding me that God is good. I took my time going through it as I needed to savor the truths shared. I highly recommend this devotional.
December 1, 2011
I have not enjoyed listening to this audio at all and have found it quite depressing. It is very repetitive and the overall theme to me is stop feeling so sorry for yourself, accept that what you’re going through is inconsequential compared to what God suffered on the Cross. I thought I was going to be listening to a very encouraging devotional that would have me marvelling and basking in God’s goodness, but I ended up feeling more and more frustrated and angry about what I was hearing. There seemed to more references to evil and suffering than about how good God is, so I’ve had to give up at chapter 50.
The narrator Lloyd James is clear enough, but the content made him come across as smug and religious. One thing I did like however, was that each day is a separate file, so you don’t have to worry about losing your place.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone I know who is going through a traumatic time, as I don’t think it would help them to experience God’s goodness at all.
Thanks to christianaudio.com Reviewer’s Program for this copy
The narrator Lloyd James is clear enough, but the content made him come across as smug and religious. One thing I did like however, was that each day is a separate file, so you don’t have to worry about losing your place.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone I know who is going through a traumatic time, as I don’t think it would help them to experience God’s goodness at all.
Thanks to christianaudio.com Reviewer’s Program for this copy
April 19, 2011
If you are a fan of Randy Alcorn this is another winner of his! This book is a light is distress and devastation. In it's pages Randy Alcorn carefully reveals the goodness of God even in the darkness of the times, even in suffering and heartache, even in the valleys of life. Through these short inspirational devotions the reader is drawn into the debt of God's heart. They are invited to come face to face with the deep still well of compassion that God has for his people. You can not help but fall in love with our Savior all over again after reading this - for who else has offered up so much, sacrificed something so priceless, laid out such a beautiful gift, and time and time again has restored, resurrected, reclaimed and set aside his people that are the apple of his eye. A wonderful read.
Thank you Multnomah/Waterbrook for this review copy.
Thank you Multnomah/Waterbrook for this review copy.
November 6, 2015
A Treasure of Great Comfort & Hope!
Oh, I am at a loss for words to describe what this book has done for me. I have chronic health issues for many years that is debilitating often. And I have lately fallen into an attitude of despair and depression. But after reading this book, I feel JOY and HOPE rise up within me and lift up my spirit towards a Heaven and all that awaits me! It truly makes all things bearable when you know what glorious joy and life we have awaiting us with our awesome God throughout eternity! Thank you do much, Randy, for this blessed book...it is an invaluable treasure!
Oh, I am at a loss for words to describe what this book has done for me. I have chronic health issues for many years that is debilitating often. And I have lately fallen into an attitude of despair and depression. But after reading this book, I feel JOY and HOPE rise up within me and lift up my spirit towards a Heaven and all that awaits me! It truly makes all things bearable when you know what glorious joy and life we have awaiting us with our awesome God throughout eternity! Thank you do much, Randy, for this blessed book...it is an invaluable treasure!
October 19, 2011
So far I'm loving this book -- it's about dealing with suffering. If you study about God's goodness, it will strengthen your faith for when times of suffering do come in your life.
October 3, 2016
If I could give it 10 stars I would. So helpful for maintaining a proper perspective. Big picture focus, without minimizing suffering. Love it!
May 14, 2017
One of the best devotionals I've read!
April 12, 2019
90 Days of God's Goodness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daily Reflections
That Shine Light on Personal Darkness
Who hasn't gone through seasons that seem dark, long, and lonely? Seasons when it seems everything is going wrong. Maybe it's a period of stressful relationships, of financial difficulties, of extended illness, of disability, or of mourning. Maybe its a period of feeling like that God isn't really being good to you or even remembering you. At times like this, another Bible verse quipped by a well-meaning friend isn't really what we need. We need to know that God is Good, that God is really for us.
Randy Alcorn addresses these issues and more. He gives evidence, from scripture and anecdotal, that proves that God is really working all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. His purpose- not our purpose. His way- not our way. We might not understand or like what's going on; but, God is loving us through our suffering and has suffered himself.
Mr. Alcorn's devotional is meant to be read in 90 days. I read it in about a month in order to review it in a timely manner. At the beginning, I was a little slow at getting into the book. By the half way point, I felt that God was changing how I look at suffering. That is ultimately the purpose of this book. It is a tool that God can use to change your way of thinking. While this was not always a book that I enjoyed reading, it was very thought provoking. We don't have to enjoy something for it to be good for us!
I give it four stars and recommend it to you. You can read an excerpt by clicking on the book above. See below to help me by rating my review. Thanks so much.
"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daily Reflections
That Shine Light on Personal Darkness
Who hasn't gone through seasons that seem dark, long, and lonely? Seasons when it seems everything is going wrong. Maybe it's a period of stressful relationships, of financial difficulties, of extended illness, of disability, or of mourning. Maybe its a period of feeling like that God isn't really being good to you or even remembering you. At times like this, another Bible verse quipped by a well-meaning friend isn't really what we need. We need to know that God is Good, that God is really for us.
Randy Alcorn addresses these issues and more. He gives evidence, from scripture and anecdotal, that proves that God is really working all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. His purpose- not our purpose. His way- not our way. We might not understand or like what's going on; but, God is loving us through our suffering and has suffered himself.
Mr. Alcorn's devotional is meant to be read in 90 days. I read it in about a month in order to review it in a timely manner. At the beginning, I was a little slow at getting into the book. By the half way point, I felt that God was changing how I look at suffering. That is ultimately the purpose of this book. It is a tool that God can use to change your way of thinking. While this was not always a book that I enjoyed reading, it was very thought provoking. We don't have to enjoy something for it to be good for us!
I give it four stars and recommend it to you. You can read an excerpt by clicking on the book above. See below to help me by rating my review. Thanks so much.
"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
December 31, 2018
This is an excellent little book with 90 days worth of short devotional readings. Though the chapters are brief they do not lack in substance. Alcorn is diligent in his preparation and research sharing several interviews, anecdotes, and quotes. A notable example comes from the life of Alcorn’s friend, Nate Saint, son of martyred missionary Steve Saint. Nate and his family endure further tragedy with hope in Christ and assurance of the resurrection.
An excerpt from page 225:
We come into this world needy, and we leave it the same way. Without suffering we would forget our neediness. If suffering seems too high a price for faith, it’s because we underestimate faith’s value.
Suffering uncovers our trust in God-substitutes and declares our need to transfer our trust to the only One who can bear its weight. Richard Baxter wrote, “Suffering so unbolts the door of the heart, that the Word hath easier entrance.” God uses suffering to bring us to the end of ourselves and back to Christ. And that is worth any cost.
I’d recommend this book to anyone but especially those dealing with suffering and loss.
An excerpt from page 225:
We come into this world needy, and we leave it the same way. Without suffering we would forget our neediness. If suffering seems too high a price for faith, it’s because we underestimate faith’s value.
Suffering uncovers our trust in God-substitutes and declares our need to transfer our trust to the only One who can bear its weight. Richard Baxter wrote, “Suffering so unbolts the door of the heart, that the Word hath easier entrance.” God uses suffering to bring us to the end of ourselves and back to Christ. And that is worth any cost.
I’d recommend this book to anyone but especially those dealing with suffering and loss.
August 22, 2019
I should have read the subtitle for this devotional before I picked it up, but I guess I'm glad I didn't. I loved the thought of reading about God's goodness for 90 days, and Alcorn is faithful to providing that. What I wasn't expecting is that he'd be talking about God's goodness in the context of our suffering. And that was hard. I really needed to read this book, and the content I read was good, but it was hard to pick up some days. It reminded me of some of the hard things I had gone through, or felt like I was going through, and there were times I wanted to escape. But the cumulative effect of the readings has been good, and Alcorn has helped to freshen and reinforce my perspective on suffering, and to appreciate even more the God who is with us in the midst of it.
August 14, 2023
Mixed review
To be blunt, I found the readings to be a bit repetitive. There are many different ways to approach suffering as a Christian. Alcorn seemed particularly focused on how suffering is part of God’s plan and how inspirational it can be to others to see a believer endure. I agree but I wanted more depth and more angles. I wanted more on finding true joy in suffering.
To be blunt, I found the readings to be a bit repetitive. There are many different ways to approach suffering as a Christian. Alcorn seemed particularly focused on how suffering is part of God’s plan and how inspirational it can be to others to see a believer endure. I agree but I wanted more depth and more angles. I wanted more on finding true joy in suffering.
March 10, 2018
Another tremendous book by Randy Alcorn! I'm reminded of God's sovereignty, as I sometimes wonder why my daughter was born with spina bifida and has to suffer so. Praise God that death is not the end, and my daughter will be pain-free and walking again someday!
April 12, 2018
Incredible daily readings. Randy is not afraid to speak the TRUTH in love!
Awesome book filled with great testimonies and Randy speaks the TRUTH in love. No compromising on this book. I highly recommend.
Awesome book filled with great testimonies and Randy speaks the TRUTH in love. No compromising on this book. I highly recommend.
July 4, 2022
Great Devotional
I really loved this. For just five minutes a day you learn about the goodness through God. Suffering is the theme. We will suffer and this shows how to deal with it through scripture and the experience of others. I can’t recommend this enough.
I really loved this. For just five minutes a day you learn about the goodness through God. Suffering is the theme. We will suffer and this shows how to deal with it through scripture and the experience of others. I can’t recommend this enough.
August 12, 2024
An unexpected treasure. Lots of encouragement for times of high stress or tragedy.
November 20, 2025
Good devotional, though many days geared toward those currently going through tragedy rather than the daily grind.
April 21, 2016
Excellent devotional focused on dealing with pain and suffering
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews