Sometimes
we get to tired of the journey, we start looking for an exit ramp
rather than focus on moving forward. Gambill aims to strengthen the
weary traveler and breath hope into the soul.
She
writes about the stages of a journey and the qualities necessary to
follow through to the destination. She encourages readers to be
prepared ahead of time, knowing it will be a place where the Devil
will try to discourage us. She suggests remembering past testimonies
and gives the character traits that need to be developed. She uses
stories from the Bible and her own experience to illustrate her work.
The end of each chapter has suggested Action Points and Prayer
Points.
This
book is a good preparation for the journey and persevering through
the tedius middle. It would best be used by reading it before getting
stuck in the middle. Gambill has plenty of good ideas but they are
mostly ones that take time and effort before they will be meaningful.
For
example, writing about the strain of being in the middle, she says,
“So today, learn to recover from strain. If you strained your
faith, fix it; if you strained your relationship, resolve it; if you
strained your courage, rebuild it.” Great instructions, for sure.
What is lacking, however, is how to do all those things. One of her
Prayer Points in another chapter: “Pray for the strategy to change
your situation.” No practical instructions for creating such a
strategy are included, however.
So
don't think this book will have particular steps or strategies to
persevere in the middle. The book is full of encouragement but the
working it out is left up to the reader. Because of that, I think
this book would best be read in a small group of trusted friends. The
action and prayer points could be used as jumping off points for
making a plan and carrying it out.
Christians
in general would benefit from reading this book. Gambill does have a
good section on helping others who are in the difficult middle of a
journey. There are good insights from the Bible stories too. Just
don't expect that by reading this book you are going to find a
miracle in the middle of your journey. In that respect the title of
this book is a bit of a misnomer. What you will find is a good
foundation upon which to build so that when the time comes you will
have the tools to persevere.
Food
for thought: “Persistent faith is forged in the middle – it's the
tenacity we discover when things don't happen in our predetermined
timing.”
You
can go here to read a chapter and watch a video.
My
rating: 4 stars.
Charlotte
Gambill leads Life Church in England with her husband Steve. They
have two children.
W
Publishing Group, 208 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for
the purpose of an independent and honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment