Reply To: Knowing God, Chapters 21 & 22

[Theresa]

I thought it was so good that the author took the time to go into great detail about both extremes of the skewed impressions of becoming a Christian and how both can be damaging in different ways. It was such an encouragement for me to be reminded of how much of the Bible deals with godly people making mistakes and how God doesn’t just throw them away or give up on them but instead how He corrects their actions and uses those mistakes and failures. What a great comfort that is!

For me, the last chapter blew me away. I wasn’t quite sure how I thought the book would end but my heart was so encouraged as I read and was reminded about the adequacy of God through Romans 8. When the author talked about thinking against your feelings and to let “evangelical thinking correct emotional thinking” – that is such valuable and sound advice. The part that truly got me was when the author started talking about how we are unlike the Christians of the New Testament. The half-conscious fears, the dread of insecurity, rather than any deliberate refusal to face the cost of following Christ, which make us hold back. It caused me to examine my own fears and ways I might be holding back and how that dishonors God. And to reread his “walk through” of Romans and be reminded of those truths and how costly our redemption was. If God is for us – who can be against us? To be reminded that God will give what we need exactly when we need it. That He hears me when I cry out to Him. That God won’t ever disinherit us as His children. That nothing can separate us from His love. “Your God is faithful to you, and He is adequate for you. You will never need more than He can supply, and what He supplies, both materially and spiritually will always be enough for the present.” That has held true in my life. I am once again in awe of who God is and all that He has done.

I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this book club and reading everyone’s thoughts on the chapters. I have very much appreciated how both the book and the posts have encouraged me seek to get to know God more. 🙂