Not all great preachers are great writers. Mark Batterson is one of the few who are. Like my favorites, Max Lucado and Charles Swindoll, Batterson has the cadence of a poet and the wisdom of a pastor.
This book includes profound thoughts that are beautifully crafted. Here are a few:
God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. A sense of destiny is our birthright as followers of Christ.
We’re inspired by people who face their fears and chase their dreams. What we fail to realize is that they are no different from us.
In the beginning, the Sprit of God was hovering over the chaos. And nothing has changed. God is still hovering over chaos.
Your ability to help others heal is limited to where you’ve been wounded
The premise of this book is that you can experience success and blessings when you boldly chase after dreams that come from God—be it those revealed in the faintest of whispers in your subconscious or those packaged in calls heard loud and clear. The book then goes on to prove this premise by shuffling examples and practical lessons, beginning with Benaiah.
And because I’m a sucker for nobodies who surface as heroes, I love that Benaiah and his lion-chasing bravado on a snowy day is the foundation of this book (despite reviews—like this one—that question the heroic details of the story). For me a story doesn’t have to be accurate in order to inspire and motivate me. The storyteller and preacher in Batterson were successful in making me assess missed opportunities, while recalibrating my life lenses with a vow to make the rest of my life on earth more accountable to my Creator God.
In spite of the much needed motivation I received from this book, I did find that everything from the illustration of Benaiah to the contemporary examples to the practical tips could have been sandwiched into a much shorter book. The repetition of some content and fillers had me speed reading through much of the book. Other than this shortcoming, I really like this book and have passed it on for someone else to benefit from its encouragement.
For more information about the book from Waterbrook Multnomah, go here. To learn more about Mark Batterson and his ministry, go here.
Says Fyl 