I am in the middle of a pre-release copy of “Walking with God” by John Eldredge. It’s a very personal look at what God taught Eldredge over the course of a year. Broken down by the seasons (summer/fall/winter/spring) and mostly from his own journal, this book has given me some incredibly practical approaches to discovering a whole other realm in my relationship with God.
Now I know, for whatever reason, we as people often gravitate to the “next big thing”. In our Christian culture I see it a lot. “What church is doing this?” “What preacher or writer came up with some program? We are inundated with 7 steps, 5 principals, 6 lessons, 40 days, 30 minutes.
I like that this particular book is not gimmicky. There isn’t any cookie-cutter approach to walking with God. My friend told me tonight, “I wish God just gave me a list of things to do…a bulleted list of how to do life.” But that’s not how God designed it. It takes more than a list and it takes more then 7 steps, 5 principals, 6 lessons, 40 days or 30 minutes.
When I said this book has opened up a whole other realm in my relationship with God, that doesn’t quite articulate it. Try paradigm shift, try 180 degrees, try upside down.
What God began 3-4 months ago, He has continued through this book and at a furious pace. As I have chomped through these pages, my view of God, my communication with God, how He made me, what He has for me, my marriage, my calling, my life…all changing. Some of this change has taken place quickly, other change more slowly. Regardless, it is good.
I’ll get into more specifics in the coming days/weeks. I’ll close with a excerpt about crisis. I think it will help…
…”When it comes to crises or events that really upset us, this I have learned: you can have God or you can have understanding. Sometimes you can have both. But if you insist on understanding it often doesn’t come. And that can create distance between you and God, because you’re upset and demanding an explanation in order to move on, but the explanation isn’t coming , and so you withdraw a bit from God and lose the grace that God is giving. He doesn’t explain everything. But he always offers us himself.”
This Life Journey 