Shattered Dreams by Larry Crabb
Wow, this book really goes deep when it comes to dealing with the hardest questions of pain and suffering in our lives. I have never experienced any trials of the magnitude this book described but it was a huge encouragement in how to prepare for those times.
One major concept was on the typical responses of Christians to suffering. Some conclude that God is irrelevant and we must move on the best we can. Others conclude that we must comply in the dark with uncomplaining submission. We loose sight of how His great love restrains Him from giving us our dream so that He can give us a whole new dream.
Let me share a few of my favorite quotes:
”I have come to believe that suffering is necessary to awaken our desire for God and to develop confidence in His desire for us.”
“We assume the goal of life is for everything to go well. We cannot count on God to arrange what happens in our lives in ways that will make us feel good. We can count on God to patiently remove all the obstacles to pure enjoyment of Him.”
“We should enjoy blessings but when they become the basis of my joy and I claim them as my right, this mindset makes God seem unresponsive [when I ask Him why I am suffering].”
“Only a thrilling, soul-pleasuring encounter with God that generates more pleasure than sin will free us from our addiction to sin.”
“More dreams must shatter before they experience their deepest joy in Christ. The journey continues, a journey through shattered dreams into the exquisite joy of encountering Christ.”
Daniel and I finished reading this book together on our road trip to NC for the FEW Conference and would both whole-heartedly recommend it. Thank you, Hannah Stelzl, for recommending this book to me!
That reminds me of Abraham seeing Christ when he surrendered Isaac.
The Lord used the timing of your post to encourage me in developing a stronger “why” in my business. Those we met at the FEW Conference and the overall theme of righteous foundations have helped with this too. Every new version of the dream gets closer and closer to the real one when we are willing to go forward with Christ.
That was a packed post.
Thank you for sharing this, Esther! May we ever look to the Lord as our constant Hope, whether circumstances bring joy or sorrow, gain or loss, blessing or trial, because it is often in the trials of life that the Lord draws us nearer to Himself. And can we really call it a trial, when our hearts are knit closer to our Redeemer?! May Christ alone be glorified!
Sounds like a great book! Enjoyed the quotes. Yes, trials definitely brings us closer to Christ – IF we let them. It’s so sad when people use trials as an excuse to not seek the Lord.
Here’s a thought that hopefully compliments the post… Tears are the seeds from which joy springs (see Psalm 126:5-6)