Time to choose

I like the concept of Choosing the Extraordinary Life: God's 7 Secrets for Success and Significance by Robert Jeffress (BakerBooks, 2018) but as I read, I kept feeling that there was something missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it, just a feeling.

Additionally, especially in the early chapters, even though this is supposed to be lessons learned from the Prophet Elijah, I kept thinking that I would like more Elijah and less Jeffress later on in the book, it seemed that he addressed both of those concerns, but there was still more of other people, and not quite enough Elijah.

Having said that, there are definitely some nuggets of wisdom in this book: a reminder of the idolatry that we still practice—not stone of metal figurines—but things like money, jobs and relationships; or how Elijah knew to turn to God for the answers when no human could ever hope to answer the question.

And the secrets themselves are simple things that all Christians should already know: things like discover your purpose or wait on God's timing. Things like step out in faith, learn to handle bad days, and develop a prayer life. We should already know them, but as is often the case, we need frequent reminders of what we already know.

There are certain things that we can choose for our lives, but often there are choices made for us, and except for the rare individual, those choices tend to define us or at least influence our future choices. Most of us, if we could truly manage it, would, I’m sure, choose the extraordinary life. However first we have to learn that the extraordinary life may not be based on job, money, possessions, relationships, or success, but rather on learning to be content with what we have, even if we are striving for something else.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of the blogging program.

4/5