‘You’ll Get through This’–Book review
Don’t equate the presence of God with a good mood or a pleasant temperament. God is near whether you are happy or not.
– Max Lucado
It’s Max Lucado doing what he does best: encouraging you to keep the faith.
You will get through this. Not because you are strong but because your Brother is. Not because you are good but because your Brother is. Not because you are big but because your big Brother is the Prince, and he has a place prepared for you.
In You’ll Get through This, Lucado uses the life of Joseph from the book of Genesis as the underlying story in each chapter. Sharing Joseph’s misadventures and subsequent victories, Lucado then juxtaposes modern-day stories, showing you how to apply the principles to your own stories because you have the same God as Joseph did.
He reminds you how good and faithful God is, not just in times past, but in times present, in your own circumstances here and now.
Whether you’re currently living through a difficult season, or you just want to remain dependent on God even in good times, this book will help.
Here are some of my favorite passages.
David did not pray, “Do not take my crown from me. Do not take my kingdom from me. Do not take my army from me.” David knew what mattered most. The presence of God. He begged God for it. Do likewise. Make God’s presence your passion. How? Be more sponge and less rock.
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You will never go wrong doing what is right.
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Joseph began and ended his crisis assessment with references to God. God preceded the famine. God would outlive the famine. God was all over the famine. “God . . . famine . . . God.”
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Don’t let the crisis paralyze you. Don’t let the sadness overwhelm you. Don’t let the fear intimidate you. To do nothing is the wrong thing. To do something is the right thing. And to believe is the highest thing. Just . . . keep calm and carry on.
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- 20 years ago . . . Lessons from Kali and infant loss
- Welcoming prayer
Lisa – I am a Max Lucado fan ( who isn’t ) and yet I did not realize he had this new book out.
I am so appreciative that you did this review. I look forward to reading this as it sounds full of great encouragement!
Since you’re already a Max Lucado fan (and yes, who isn’t? ha), you’ll like this book too, I’m sure. I don’t know how he keeps cranking out book after book but somehow he doesn’t let up. Our God is an endless source of inspiration.
Good review, Lisa. Haven’t read Lucado in awhile; this one sounds good & something everybody can relate to.
Would you believe that the month of November is half over and I still have that gift card to Amazon that I’ve not spent? I am definitely ordering this book, though!
“Don’t let the crisis paralyze you. Don’t let the sadness overwhelm you. Don’t let the fear intimidate you. To do nothing is the wrong thing. To do something is the right thing. And to believe is the highest thing. Just . . . keep calm and carry on.” It’s what I need!
Thank you, Lisa for sharing!
😀 That’s my morning prayer: “Dear God, please be with me today, Amen.”
As you are a reader, have you read “Jospeh and his brothers” by Thomas Mann? A new translation came out recently which is more readable. Fantastic novel. Mann is an absolute genius. OK it’s a huge book (four novels really).
Do Christians read ordinary literature? Sometimes I get the impression that they only read One Book and even that only for instrumental reasons.
PL
No, I haven’t heard of Mann’s book. Sounds very long. ha. I’ll have to look into it. Your morning prayer is an excellent one that I’m sure is answered in the affirmative every day. God goes everywhere we do, but I think he still loves for us to ask for his presence.
Yes, Christians do read ordinary literature, very much so. 🙂 You might be surprised at how little the One Book is actually read compared to how much it is talked about….
Dear Lisa
This is just the kind do lessons our Pappa wants us to learn through suffering. When we have come to the end of ourselves and our own endeavors, we soon learn that the Presence of our Lord is what keeps us going through the worst of circumstances when our hearts are to bogged down even to cry. Yes, my friend, like everything else it is all about Him.
Blessings XX
Mia
I too enjoy Lucado’s work and the story of Joseph and how his heart breaks over his brothers that don’t recognize him is one of the most powerful in all of scripture. Compassion and humility. The foundation of the greatest people God makes.
Sounds like a great book. He’s one of my favorite authors. Thanks for the review!
This sounds like a great resource for times of trouble.
I love CS Lewis quote, “But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Did Max see suffering as a thing we can even see as Gods gift or did it seem like something we need to get through?
In my opinion Max is saying that God can turn all our suffering into good, even though not everything that causes our suffering is good. So to answer your question, I’d choose the first part–that he’s saying even suffering can be a gift from God (ouch, even though I still cringe at it).
That C. S. Lewis is one of my favorites too. So very true. Pain refuses to be ignored.
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