Promises in the Dark: Walking with Those in Need without Losing Heart

I was deeply moved by this book. The authors real, painful, and beautiful experience is so meaningful to anyone in a caring profession. His insights run deep, but not too long, and are immensely practical for a hard life of caring for others. I don’t only recommend this book, I basically got one for everyone for Christmas.

Eric shares the truth of hard that encourages the reader. While easy to read there are deep nuggets throughout the book.

Wonderful book, should be required reading for anyone headed to work or serve in a resource limited medical setting.

Painful at times, but liked the courage and honesty of the writing. Talking about the hard questions is helpful to all of us who are walking together, following Jesus, trying to do our best.

Wow, this is one of the best books I have ever read. Every teacher, doctor, social worker, first responder, and minister would appreciate this book. If you've ever wondered if what you are doing is worthwhile or is making a difference, if God is good, why prayers go unanswered, if you're becoming weary in the face of evil and death, then Promises in the Dark is a must-read. Written by a missionary doctor in a poor area of Africa, this book does not give pat answers or solutions, but it gives great hope and encouragement, reminding us that God is Love and shows how to have faith even when we don't understand. I cried the whole way through.

T.S. Eliot once set out to discover why so much religious poetry was bad. He knew plenty of intelligent and talented Christians, so what was the issue? His conclusion was simple—religious poetry was often bad because the poet expressed how they thought they should feel, rather than how they felt. I think he nailed it. And we can use that insight to identify part of what makes some writing about faith and religion so bitingly good. The Psalms, for example. No sugar-coating going on there. "A Grief Observed," CS Lewis's raw and powerful response to his wife's death. Eric McLaughlin's book belongs in the same category. This is a book not about how a medical missionary serving the poorest of the poor is supposed to feel, but how he feels. Honesty, along with a clean and accessible prose style, makes this a crucial read for anyone who's ever tried to help others—or turned away from helping, for fear that their help might not be enough.

Why don't more of us help people who are suffering? I believe one of the reasons is that getting involved exposes us to tragedy and pain. This book offers an antidote to that inaction, not by pretending tragedy won't happen, but by acknowledging it, working through it, and teaching us how to live through it, rather than running from it.

It'll take you a day or two to read this book, and it'll take you the rest of your life to practice what you learn.

I am now on the last chapter, and can say this book came at a very timely point in world history. The Coronavirus has hit unexpectedly, and has sent people into despair and panic with the degree of uncertainty and suffering it has left in its wake. This book is pertinent because Eric is a physician analyzing physical suffering. It is encouraging because Eric is holding forth the hope that the gospel brings even in the midst of what seems like hopelessness. It is readable, and kept me turning pages. I'm not very good at finishing a book, but this was one that made it to the finish line. Highly recommend, and know it will greatly encourage medical personnel specifically. They need to read it!

Dr. McLaughlin wears his heart on his sleeve in the best possible way in this encouragingly, heart-wrenching little book. Only one who has a lengthy walk such as his can dare to share as he has. We all will walk through seasons of darkness, so 'Promises in the Dark' is a sweet balm when we do. But I love that the author's focus is upon those of us who make the conscious decision to walk alongside those who have been overwhelmed with hopelessness. I am certain that this will be a text I will refer to regularly over the course of my life. If you are one who is called to love the wounded and broken, I so hope that you will find this to be a source of encouragement to the degree that I have.

This is for anyone working through what it means to cling to God’s promises while facing hard times, both your own and that of others. Eric and his wife serve as medical missionaries in Africa and he has written this book as a reflection on what it means to walk with those in need without losing heart.

Each chapter starts with a story of his own experience that introduces the point, and then he leads the reader to God’s word and God’s character, fleshing out the implications, both in his own situation but also further afield. Each chapter finishes with some questions for reflection, which bring the reader very closely to the issue, considering their own response to God, who he is and and how he acts.

Chapters address topics such as: promise, despair, hope, time, ordinary, prayer, suffering, mystery, consolation, resurrection and redemption.

I believe it would be excellent reading for anyone on the mission field (whether doctors in Africa or in other roles), but also anyone who wonders what it means to continue to cling to the promises and character of God when life is challenging.

I found PROMISES IN THE DARK to be true to the title. Eric is a doctor to the under-served people in Africa. He has seen some pretty hard cases, which stacked together seems hopeless causing burn-out. He discusses some difficult topics with unforgettable stories of unforgettable people. His points are simple, but deep. At the end of each chapter he has provided some questions that can be used as a discussion guide or personal reflection. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is working in situations where hope quickly becomes challenged by the day to day routines.

Doing a medical work in an underserved African nation is challenging medically, emotionally, spiritually and personally. It is tough work. Eric McLaughlin writes with vulnerability about his own responses to his Burundi life with richness, thoughtfulness in beautifully crafted prose expressing both joy and sorrow in that unpredictable African setting. He does not shy away from asking the hard questions, the WHY questions. His conclusions are thought-provoking, balanced, faithful. This is a fantastic book.

This book could be considered balm for an aching heart. The world is full of pain, suffering, and people whose hearts are breaking. This is true, regardless of where and how you live. Eric tackles the tough question -- how can we, as Christians, live compassionately and take heart despite it all? Though this book is written from the perspective of a missionary physician, I think that this book is applicable to all, regardless of where and how you are living. Each chapter also contains questions at the end, so if you're looking for a book club selection or a book for your discussion group, this might be a good option. The questions are deep, and thought will be required. Thanks for sharing your journey -- and for uplifting those of us living in different situations, but facing the similar struggles of the heart.

Promises In The Dark is simply one of the best books I have ever read. Don’t think it is just about inspiring or moving stories of medical mission — though it is certainly that and each chapter is deeply moving. Any reader involved in mission or service will be the better for having read this book.

But more than this, the stories Eric relates are the vehicle for his open account of trying faithfully to live the life God has lead him to, in spite of his own flawed self. His honesty about his faith struggles brings this book’s message to anyone’s circumstances. Discouragement is a faith issue. One does not have to be involved in health care or human services to be disheartened or protest the circumstances in one’s life or work or church or family.

The third chapter, “Promise,” is my favorite. Referring to Jesus’s promise to make all things new, Eric writes:

“I don’t know any other words in the Bible that rend my heart as much as those. It feels like a beauty that’s anchored in the very center of the earth, in the very center of the human heart. God has loved us with an everlasting love, and he is making all things new.... But what do we do with this promise? How do we reconcile our world to a promise so bold and audacious?”

This ache of the human heart is part of the human condition. Believing and trusting in a God we cannot see surrounded by the world we can see is the lifelong endeavor of every Christian.

The epilogue leaves us with a beautiful account of our reason to hope:

“The promises of God are given to sustain us on this road. They are not ethereal abstractions, but rather promises as real and everyday as the dust of the path we walk. Though it’s never easy, we find, along the way, the reminders and the whispers that the promises are true and that the one who promises is faithful. He has placed these promises in the dark, precisely where he knows we need them. They shine in the night sky like eternal diamonds...”

I loved reading Promises In The Dark. I want everyone I love to read it, too. It’s that kind of book.