Years earlier I had read some writings of Jurgen Moltmann, a German theologian who argued that God “experiences” our sufferings and grieves with us. Our soul is so connected with God, he said, that it’s impossible for the Divine Being not to share our aguish. Now suddenly the idea came alive to me.

Did God suffer? Was God capable of pain? Did God enter into our pain and powerlessness? Was God vulnerable?

We’re used to the all-powerful, invincible, triumphant God. But I was discovering the vulnerable God, the God who knows pain and oppression, who enters deeply into our wounds. The God who empties and waits.

from When the Heart Waits