Nine amazing stories of faith that give us hope for our own challenging setbacks.
We all experience setbacks and disappointments in life. Sometimes those setbacks become entire seasons of life. Businesses fail, relationships falter, discouragement and doubts set in, and circumstances overwhelm us.
This book uses nine amazing "comeback stories" from the Bible to show how God provides everything needed to get through challenging setbacks.
Rather than showing people overcoming hardship through simple grit, the stories of Moses, David, Abigail, Esther, Joseph, Jonah, Elijah, Hezekiah, and Peter tell of extraordinary changes of heart and how God works in all things for the good of those who love him. Readers will be given a new perspective on their struggles and will be encouraged to trust God in them.
Author John Meador uses his 35 years of Bible-teaching ministry, as well as his own experience of suffering permanent hearing loss, to write with faithfulness, compassion, and authenticity. He says:
“These stories are real-life events that often brought more drama, heartbreak, and tragedy, and had more at stake than most any other situations in history. They show us greater and more meaningful outcomes than we can possibly imagine.”
This is a great book for anyone looking for answers to life’s challenges. It is a useful ministry resource for pastors and church leaders searching for stories of faith to encourage others. Coming back from regrets, adversity, hopelessness, discouragement, anger, moral failure, disillusionment, physical crisis, grief, and oppression are some of the themes covered.
Introduction
1. The Past Need Not Define You
2. The 50/20 Principle
3. God Gives Hope
4. Saying Yes to God
5. After Darkness, Light
6. Difficult People and the Goodness of God
7. After You've Blown It
8. When God's Ways Seem Anything but Perfect
9. When God Takes Us to the Brink
10. What God Began, He Will Complete
| Contributors | John Meador |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781784988654 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | March 2023 |
| Dimensions | 5.3" x 8.5" x 0.4" |
| Case quantity | 50 |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 176 |
| Publisher | The Good Book Company |
John Meador's message for those facing tough times is that God’s still working in them. He explores this through nine stories from the Bible. Moses, Joseph, Esther, Jonah, Elijah, Abigail, David, Peter, and Hezekiah each have very different stories and, as John Meador unpacks them, we see clearly that God was working in them and through them. And so, when we face hardship, we can trust in God.
It's a beautiful premise which Meador demonstrates well in each story. I was particularly struck by Hezekiah's story, in which the King completely fails to grow through tough times because he's too proud. In the space of just a few verses, he goes from being a wonderful example of humble prayer, to a devastating story of pride destroying a legacy.
Meador interweaves modern stories of people he's met or counselled in his ministry, along with some from his family, to demonstrate that this isn't just a Bible thing. God really does work in and through hard times today.
I had two small issues with this book:
A lot of the chapters feel unfocused. Meador picks a bible story and compares it with a modern story, but often tries to draw so many points from them that I found myself ending chapters unsure of the lesson. None of the points are BAD, but Meador races through enough material for a whole book in every chapter.
The second issue comes with a caveat. I have no doubt, from the stories in this book, that Meador has experienced and witnessed immense suffering, grief, and doubt. But the tone and delivery of this book leads me to think it would be of benefit to people who had experienced BAD times, but not DEVASTATING times, if that makes sense?
Essentially, I'm not sure this book is really long or deep enough to fully explore the worst struggles people can face, and how meaningless scripture, prayer, and faith can feel in those times.
A good book though, and one that I would happily put in the hands of friends who wanted encouragement during difficult seasons.
I enjoyed reading through the encouragement of this book. Meador journeys through several biblical stories to display the power of God's hand when we least expect it.
The book is structured with ten chapters, eight of which detail the stories of specific men or women throughout the Bible. Meador discusses Joseph, Esther, Jonah, Elijah, Abigail, David, Peter and Hezekiah. These are all very beautiful, wonderful stories to read through but also powerful displays of God's grace, mercy, and sovereignty.
I was hoping for a bit more practicality in regards to implementation but sometimes we can complicate that piece when in reality it's as simple as believing, trusting, and praying.
We often see shortcomings and setbacks when in reality they are God's way of catapulting us into an opportunity to glorify Him. We simply have to change our perspective along the way and trust his sovereignty.
I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.
