Thursday, August 27, 2015

The Miracle in the Middle by Charlotte Gambill

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.

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