Book Review by Sean Finding God in the Dark......
The book deals with God’s purpose for life. It asks the question “What does God wants me to do”. It uses examples from the two authors’ lives, Ted and Ronnie, to show how God is present in all stages of our lives; He is there when we live in sin, there when we fail and fall down, there when we are angry and confused, and there when we are ready to repent, and of course, there to rescue us out of the darkness.
It begins with Ted’s experience of adoption in Ukraine. Ted and his wife lived in Ukraine, and has already adopted a son. They tried to adopt a daughter, but it did not work out. They almost succeeded in getting her, but due to some unforeseen circumstances completely and frustratingly out of Ted’s control, the girl was adopted by an Ukranian family instead. This fundamentally shook Ted’s faith in God, as he had fully expected God to grant this. Ted made this his life’s purpose, and realized that his life was not going so great after all.
This story shows how Ted and his wife used all they had to change the circumstances. They wrote letters to the adoption agency and the girl’s new family, they tried everything, but in the end, nothing they did made any difference. Ted considered this to be a failure, whether on his part or God’s part, he was not sure. This resulted in a large amount of resentment and doubt towards God, in him and his wife, making their lives miserable for the next while.
Ted then moves on to his next failure in life, which was his book writing and publishing career. He had a chance to work with a prominent football player, and had almost sealed a deal to write a book on this player. Everything was going well, until suddenly the book was canceled - only to be released some time later without much success. Money also became an issue for Ted, as he struggled to make money through writing. Ted was crushed yet again, when his next big book deal in Christian publishing came to a sudden end. Throughout all this, God was resonating the same theme in Ted’s life - his lack of dependence on God and his ego for success on his own, and failing at it spectacularly.
Next, the book mirrors Ted’s story with Ronnie’s - his failing at his Christian music career. Ronnie was somewhat successful in the beginning of his ventures; he had albums, skills, musical friends, support from his church. However, something was wrong. He worked very hard, and for many years, but he felt he did not achieve as much as he had hoped. So he yearned for more and worked even harder.
Ronnie also lost his father during this time, which made his belief even more troublesome. His music career became his focus, and the things he had to do for this career made him far away from God. Even though it was Christian music, Ronnie did not feel God was in the music he made. Church and his Christian music career became two distinct areas of his life, and soon he was living double life, and often descended into questionable and even illegal behaviours to cope. Once again, the lack of money became a major issue for him and his family, all while his ego was being attacked due to limited success of his ventures.
The second half of the book reveals the writers’ realization, repentance, and solution to the failures in their lives. The lessons they had painfully learned throughout their self-centered lives that they wish the readers would heed.
They both had been living in darkness, and afterwards they needed to find the true God from within the dark. They gave the example of Nebuchadnezzar that illustrates the breaking down of pride of a man, and God claiming his glory from the man. The realization is that both men had used what God gave them for the wrong purpose. They loved the gift more than the giver. They occupied their lives with things like jobs, church ministry, music, books, fame, money, but at the heart of it all, God was not with them. They did those things out of pride, wanted full control over the process and the outcome.
Lessons they learned from their live stories - to let God run his course and submit to him, whether under joyful circumstance or difficult ones. The writers realized that trying to control the situation without God was making them cynical and unhappy. Happiness depended on the circumstance alone. In order to live the life God intended, a person needs to be broken, and pride needs to be gone. Only then, will confession and reliance on God be introduced. Suffering was necessary, for a moment, so God can bring the proud person back to God.
The book concludes by showing God’s faithfulness in Biblical stories. This reflected both authors’ own life. A life of limited success from one’s own power, subsequent failure, breaking down, returning to God, and being rescued by God.
The book deals with God’s purpose for life. It asks the question “What does God wants me to do”. It uses examples from the two authors’ lives, Ted and Ronnie, to show how God is present in all stages of our lives; He is there when we live in sin, there when we fail and fall down, there when we are angry and confused, and there when we are ready to repent, and of course, there to rescue us out of the darkness.
It begins with Ted’s experience of adoption in Ukraine. Ted and his wife lived in Ukraine, and has already adopted a son. They tried to adopt a daughter, but it did not work out. They almost succeeded in getting her, but due to some unforeseen circumstances completely and frustratingly out of Ted’s control, the girl was adopted by an Ukranian family instead. This fundamentally shook Ted’s faith in God, as he had fully expected God to grant this. Ted made this his life’s purpose, and realized that his life was not going so great after all.
This story shows how Ted and his wife used all they had to change the circumstances. They wrote letters to the adoption agency and the girl’s new family, they tried everything, but in the end, nothing they did made any difference. Ted considered this to be a failure, whether on his part or God’s part, he was not sure. This resulted in a large amount of resentment and doubt towards God, in him and his wife, making their lives miserable for the next while.
Ted then moves on to his next failure in life, which was his book writing and publishing career. He had a chance to work with a prominent football player, and had almost sealed a deal to write a book on this player. Everything was going well, until suddenly the book was canceled - only to be released some time later without much success. Money also became an issue for Ted, as he struggled to make money through writing. Ted was crushed yet again, when his next big book deal in Christian publishing came to a sudden end. Throughout all this, God was resonating the same theme in Ted’s life - his lack of dependence on God and his ego for success on his own, and failing at it spectacularly.
Next, the book mirrors Ted’s story with Ronnie’s - his failing at his Christian music career. Ronnie was somewhat successful in the beginning of his ventures; he had albums, skills, musical friends, support from his church. However, something was wrong. He worked very hard, and for many years, but he felt he did not achieve as much as he had hoped. So he yearned for more and worked even harder.
Ronnie also lost his father during this time, which made his belief even more troublesome. His music career became his focus, and the things he had to do for this career made him far away from God. Even though it was Christian music, Ronnie did not feel God was in the music he made. Church and his Christian music career became two distinct areas of his life, and soon he was living double life, and often descended into questionable and even illegal behaviours to cope. Once again, the lack of money became a major issue for him and his family, all while his ego was being attacked due to limited success of his ventures.
The second half of the book reveals the writers’ realization, repentance, and solution to the failures in their lives. The lessons they had painfully learned throughout their self-centered lives that they wish the readers would heed.
They both had been living in darkness, and afterwards they needed to find the true God from within the dark. They gave the example of Nebuchadnezzar that illustrates the breaking down of pride of a man, and God claiming his glory from the man. The realization is that both men had used what God gave them for the wrong purpose. They loved the gift more than the giver. They occupied their lives with things like jobs, church ministry, music, books, fame, money, but at the heart of it all, God was not with them. They did those things out of pride, wanted full control over the process and the outcome.
Lessons they learned from their live stories - to let God run his course and submit to him, whether under joyful circumstance or difficult ones. The writers realized that trying to control the situation without God was making them cynical and unhappy. Happiness depended on the circumstance alone. In order to live the life God intended, a person needs to be broken, and pride needs to be gone. Only then, will confession and reliance on God be introduced. Suffering was necessary, for a moment, so God can bring the proud person back to God.
The book concludes by showing God’s faithfulness in Biblical stories. This reflected both authors’ own life. A life of limited success from one’s own power, subsequent failure, breaking down, returning to God, and being rescued by God.
