CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – Michael Brooks: Where Is God When It Hurts? The late Clayton Sullivan wrote about Mrs. Howard, a widow, and her adult son, Johnny Fred. He was cognitively challenged, slurred his speech and could only sell peanuts on the street corner to make a little money. Our faith is strained when we suffer and when we see others suffer. He wrote: “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.