Hope, because God's not done with me yet

Everyone gets discouraged from time to time, and for much of the population those times may be longer than for others. Discouragement, like depression, can lead to a rapid downward spiral from which it may be hard to recover, but there is hope in the gospel.

Discouragement leaves us feeling overwhelmed, defeated, and sometimes worthless. The past paralyzes us, the present often disappoints us, and the future scares the snot out of us. But Jason Meyer has found answers in his easy to read book Don’t Lose Heart: Gospel Hope for the Discouraged Soul. (Baker Books, 2019).  He calls it “Hope” I might have gone for the play on words, and called it “Encouragement”. Either way, there are answers to be found in scripture,  Whether the discouragement and disappointment is relatively minor, or particularly horrible, God knows all about it, and is at work in your life.

                I found the examples to be appropriate, and helpful, but the conclusion really says it all: “God’s not done!”  Our God is a living God, and He is at work in our lives, even if we don’t recognize it. Just ask Joseph, when he was in prison, or Daniel in the lion’s den. He was at work when Pharaoh was oppressing the Israelites, when Saul was persecuting the early Christians, and when Herod was killing baby boys. Ask Sarah about God being at work even when she was way too old to have a baby, or Mary, a young virgin, used by God to give birth to the Messiah. 

                God wasn’t done in their lives, and He’s not done in your life either.  As Meyer asks each of us to consider, “What will our lives look like when God fulfills His plans and finishes His work in us?” It’s gonna be great and you don’t want to miss it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of a bloggers’ program,

4/5

it takes what it takes to find God Recovered by Robby Gallaty

Sometimes you read a book and can’t help but wish it was you that had written it. Sometimes it’s because of the writing itself- the beauty of how the words are put together, and sometimes it’s for the experiences that you can relate to which are narrated in those words. Other times it’s just because of the message of hope that is conveyed, a message that so many people need to hear.

Robby Gallaty is a pastor and the author of several books pertaining to leading and growing a church., I’ve read and enjoyed some of them. But his latest book—Recovered: How an Accident, Alcohol and Addiction Led Me to God (with Rob Suggs, B&H Publishing, 2019)—is one of those books that I wish I had written. The words are put together in such a fashion that I was drawn deeply into the story. Much of his story, changing names, dates, and places, could be my story, and there is definitely a message of hope for those who are struggling with addiction.

Many people see addicts and alcoholics as the stereotypical loser. Broken family, generational poverty, low IQ, influenced by gangs and all sorts of undesirables. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Gallaty’s family was and is involved in his life, they lived a comfortable life style, he’s intelligent and well spoken, and had good influences in his life—many of which he chose to ignore.

As a functioning addict, Gallaty was able to maintain the important relationships in his life. He was a successful at a number of jobs, and made friends easily. But he was involved in an accident, and the pain pills that he was prescribed led him down a path on which he could have gotten lost, with no hope of being found.

But God was at work in his life, even before he knew that he was lost. This book tells the story of how a young man became ensnared in the trap of addiction, and how God found him.  As you read the book you become aware of how Great a God we have, One who can take the most unlikely of candidates, very broken man, and restore him to wholeness and then use him to impact huge numbers of people through his books, his preaching, and by telling his life story.

I’ve already recommended this book to several people who are in recovery and struggling with the idea of a Higher Power, God who could love, save and restore them regardless of what they have done. I also serve as a chaplain for a recovery program, and I see this book as an added-value resource which can be used to demonstrate key concepts.

Definitely a 5-star rating                                                                                                                                                                

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of their bloggers’ program.

Adorning the Dark: Maybe I'm more creative than I thought

But I don’t have a creative bone in my body. I can’t paint, can’t sing, dance, or play an instrument. I’m not a good writer or speaker. How can God use me?

Like most of the world, I have doubts about where I fit into the grand scheme of things. I worry that my efforts won’t be good enough, but try anyway only to prove myself right. I’m convinced that I don’t have what it takes, but am also desperate to prove to myself and others that if only I put in enough effort, something good will result. Sadly, I always seem to give up long before I’ve been able to force myself to put in enough effort.

And then I read Andrew Peterson’s book Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling and the Mystery of Making (B&H Publishing, 2019).  There was something about this book that inspired peace; I’m not sure exactly what it was, but I kept reading, waiting for the spell to be broken—but that just didn’t happen. One of the great mysteries, I suppose, of how God’s creation works. We’re called to be in community or relationship—with God and with others. God has a plan for each of us, and He calls us into that plan and, since we are created in the image of God, get to exercise a certain creative power. Your creative power won’t be the same as anyone else’s, and that’s okay. Take what you have, make the best of it, and become the you that God is calling you to be.

                                                           

That doesn’t mean that we can’t study someone else’s mysterious makings, quite the contrary, we should study what others have done. Peterson gives several helpful hints for how to maximize our creative powers. Study the things we like and the things we don’t like. We should create for ourselves, for others and for God. We should give up and never give up, be content with what we have done, but not give up on making it even better. Do it alone, but never forget to invite others into your creativity.  All these contrary opinions may not seem to make sense, but if you read the book, and ponder the wisdom found in the pages, things start to become much clearer.

I was so intrigued and fascinated by the authors writing style that it took me a while to realize that what he was saying was just as powerful as how he said it. I actually, after reading several chapters, went back to the beginning of the book to see what I had missed: it was a lot. And I have the feeling that if in a few weeks I were to pick up this book and read it again, that I what find a lot more wisdom.

I received a copy of this book as a member of the Publisher’s bloggers’ program. I was not required to write a positive review.

5/5