The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity

by William Paul Young

You know that place: where there is just you alone—and maybe God, if you believe in him. Of course, God might be there even if you don’t believe in him. That would be just like him. He hasn’t been called the Grand Interferer for nothing.

when all you can see is your pain, perhaps then you lose sight of me?”

“You, on the other hand, were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around.”

The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn’t much, and then calling that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I’m not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think.”

I also want you to know that there is more going on than you could imagine or understand, even if I told you. As much as you are able, rest in what trust you have in me, no matter how small, okay?”

“Though chains be of gold, they are chains all the same.”

Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me.”