Finding Faith in the Dark: When the Story of Your Life Takes a Turn You Didn't Plan

Well written and helps me to understand more about how God thinks and what His plans are for me.

Laurie Short's very transparent and personal story sheds light and encouragement for those who find their life plan has not developed as expected. I supposed that could be the majority of us. Laurie weaves familiar Bible stories into hers and others' stories and brings fresh insight into the whole. This book gently directed me into new understandings of God's Amazing Grace and reminded me of His ever present love. Not only that, it made me laugh.

We would like to have our life go as we planned but it doesn't always happen that way. When life takes a turn we hadn't planned or when God doesn't answer our prayers the way we'd like, we wonder where God is in all of it.

Short encourages us not to give up on the story God is writing until He is finished with it. Even in the darkest part of our story, we find that God is right there. To illustrate that, she tells lots of stories. They could be depressing but the way they were lived out makes them encouraging stories of faith.

She also gives us many examples of biblical characters who have been in dark places, either through their own choices (Abraham, David) or because of what God was doing (Job, Moses, Elijah, Joseph, Jeremiah). They are reminders that God does not abandon us in dark times, even when the time is long and others mistreat us during it.

We are reminded to leave room for a call of God we may not have considered. God has a purpose and she helps us discover clues to finding out there is much more to what God is doing than what we can see.

It is important for readers to know that Short finally received her desire, through a long awaited gift of grace from God. That might be hard to take for those still in darkness. Nonetheless, it is a great example of God's continuing love.

Short writes, If you've ever been somewhere in life you don't want to be, this book is for you. I agree. This book will help you find what God has for you in that place. Reading the book may not change your circumstances but it will change you.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.

Finding Faith in the Dark: When the Story of Your Life Takes a Turn

By Laurie Short

In this book, Laurie shares about her life, her journey from being single to getting married, and the challenges in between. She talks about how she waited for her spouse to come along, only to get disappointed time and time again. During her disappointments though, God brought such great meaning in her life, answering the deeper prayers of her heart in ways that she could not have expected.

She shares the lessons that she learned through this period. Like how God can delay the answers to our prayers so that He can prepare us to receive them when we are ready for them, having transformed attitudes. Or how He can allow us to be in a weaker position saying, If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle. She also points out that God rarely does the same thing in the same way twice, urging us to not have a god shaped by our faith, but instead have our faith shaped by God.

I learnt a lot from this book, and was encouraged to trust God even when things dont look so good. To simply trust Him and see His wonderful plans unfold, because they will be bigger and better than anything I could imagine, and because He will take into consideration way more factors than I can see in the present.