Grace Revealed–Encouragement for the Journey
We all want to experience God’s grace; to have God’s grace revealed to us. How we experience God’s grace and what to do after we experience God’s grace is the subject of the book, Grace Revealed: Finding God’s Strength in Any Crisis, by Fred Sievert (Broadstreet Publishing, Racine, WI, 2018).
There are several items that I really like about this book. The first is that it plays in harmony with my Lutheran heritage. One of the central points of Martin Luther’s theology is “The Theology of the Cross.” These are code words for proclaiming that we experience God’s grace most often in our suffering and our struggles, rather than our successes and comfort. (This concept is diametrically opposed to the “prosperity gospel” proclaimed by so many television evangelists and mega church pastors). Sievert, in his book, highlights how God’s grace was revealed in the lives of several people whose stories he tells.
I like how this book is laid out. Sievert first gives the reader an objective perspective of the situation. If the story is about addiction, he provides the facts and figures for addiction. If it is PTSD, the reader learns something about the condition. Sievert then provides Bible verses, which he feels address the situation. He then tells the stories of real people and finally sums up the chapter with his reflections. Sievert illustrates a three point process of experiencing grace: First, experience a crisis, second, receive grace and third, return grace to others. By doing this, Sievert enables his book to touch the reader in several different ways and on several different levels.
It is always fun to read those books that celebrate the American Dream—the rags to riches stories. Most of us, though, will never experience such a magnitude of success. Even if we did, we probably wouldn’t find these occasions where God’s grace was revealed to us. Usually, we are slugging it through life. Along with our modest successes and triumphs, we have our share of struggling, failures and hopeless situations. Sievert’s book sheds the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ on such situations. He shows how God’s grace has touched the lives of people in similar situations to ours, and he gives us a message of hope.
Catching Your Breath–A Message of Hope
A second book that I would bring to your attention is Catching Your Breath: the Sacred Journey from Chaos to Calm, by Steve Austin (Martin Publishing Service, 2018). Austin’s book is a personal story of his journey from brokenness to wholeness.
Austin was raised in the conservative evangelical branch of Christianity. His faith was a central part of his life and he felt called into the ministry. He struggled, however, to meet what he felt were the demands of the Bible and the expectations of others. Eventually, Austin was driven to despair. He attempted suicide and thankfully failed. His book is about his recovery and what he has discovered on the spiritual, psychological and physical levels, which have enabled him to experience wholeness.
This book touches the lives of the readers. We can all identify with the chaos and our longing for calm. Austin does not tell us how to escape chaos—that is an impossible feat. Austin does tell us what we can do to move from chaos towards calm. Readers see how to experience God’s grace in the struggles of life. They learn how to break free from the confines of restrictive theology and the expectations of others. If you long for calm in the midst of the chaos of your life, this book may have a helpful, hopeful message for you.
I received these books free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.