Book Review: When the Bottom Drops Out

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Robert Bugh hopes to prepare readers for tough times. When the Bottom Drops Out is the result of years of heartache and healing, shaped by suffering and crafted by the hand of a shepherd. Pastor Bugh lost his wife after a difficult fight with cancer.

When books that tell us we can have our best life now and that everyday can be a Friday are on the bestsellers lists, a book about the tough times seems like it has no audience. Until we realize that sooner or later the bottom will drop out for all of us. Life happens, and in the midst of it all we will come face to face with mortality and weakness. When that happens, what kind of God do we expect to see there?

Through his personal story, character studies of Joseph, Abraham, and Jeremiah, and a resolute committment to knowing and embracing the teaching of the Bible, Bugh presents us with a rock solid view of reality and God that will prepare us for times when the bottom drops out.

Superbly narrated, this audio book is a great help to those who are suffering. But if you can read it before the bottom drops out, you’ll be better prepared, have a better perspective, and be ready to find comfort in the God of the Bible during your greatest time of need.


For the audio book, click here.
For a print copy, click here.

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I received this book free from christianaudio as part of their audio book review program. I was not obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are mine.

Concern for the Churches of God

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 2 Cor. 11:28, ESV

This verse sticks out to me because of where it falls in the book of Second Corinthians. It’s the end of a list of trials and tribulations Paul has experienced on behalf of Christ. He’s been shipwrecked, whipped, beaten, stoned, in danger in all places, hungry, and cold. Then he basically says, “And, to top it all off, every day my concern for the churches of God weighs down on me.”

I haven’t experienced much of anything that Paul went through in his life. Compared to what he suffered, it’s been smooth sailing. The closest I come to experiencing any of Paul’s tribulations comes from this verse, and as such it has become very dear to me.

I’ve not been involved with multiple churches all at once, but I have experienced great anxiety for the well-being of the churches I’ve attended. This most often manifests itself through concern for individual members and families that worship alongside of me.

Recently I’ve been having trouble sleeping, and not just because of the new infant at home. Some very dear friends of Hannah and mine are going through some difficulties that, as of this writing, look to leave some permanent scars on them and others, quite possibly including Hannah and me. I can’t give any more details than that because of the sensitivity of the situation.

It has driven me almost to tears, and I know it has done the same to Hannah. I’m afraid that what the author of Hebrews warns against is happening here:

Watch out, brothers, so that there won't be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12, HCSB).

The seriousness of this warning cannot be overstated. The word here for "departs from" is also known in it's transliterated form: "apostatize". I pray that this will not happen because it would indicate that the person involved "was not of us" and we were deceived the whole time (cf. 1 John 2:19).

Yet this situation has also driven me to a firmer dependence on God. I’ve found comfort in 2 Timothy 2:11-13, which says,

…If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. (ESV, emphasis mine).