BOOK REVIEW: Too many of us settle for a listless life of mundane routine. We long to discover a greater purpose for our lives, but we don't know how. Dr Robert Jeffress has an encouraging message for those looking for something more: God not only wants us to enjoy an extraordinary life but has provided a road map for doing so.In this inspiring and motivating book, Dr Jeffress reveals seven secrets from Elijah that result in a life marked by significance, satisfaction, and success, including:
- discovering your unique purpose in life
- waiting on God's timing
- learning how to handle bad days
- and more
For the overworked parent feeling trapped at home, the businessperson feeling unfulfilled in a stagnant career, the Christian worker ministering in obscurity---for anyone who wonders if there's something more to life---God's Word reveals seven secrets for experiencing a truly extraordinary life.
MY REVIEW: When looking for a biblical example of someone who lived an extraordinary life, Elijah fits right in. He did many great things for God, and was unafraid of the powers that be who desired his life. This book is based on Elijah's life---or rather, Elijah's life is used as the example for this book and the truths it displays. Yet even Elijah was imperfect, and a chapter is included on handling bad days that come, even expecting them.
I found this book to be honest and straightforward and not shy of hard ideas. This book will not appease you if you are just looking for justification that you are fine as you are. It will call you to more. It is the kind of book you will read with a pen to highlight what sticks out to you. I really enjoyed it, and recommend it to everyone.
A few things that stuck out to me:
- (this one is more humorous...) Hopping between God and Baal, the people had their feet planted solidly in mid-air.
- Elijah's efforts to influence his culture were neither convenient nor comfortable. They never are---not when you are trying to stand for God in a sinful and corrupt generation. But even if you have to stand alone, I urge you to stand without bending, because you do not know whom you are influencing.
- Experiencing a bad season of life is like traveling through a dark tunnel. The bad news is that while you are in the tunnel, you cannot see anything in front of you. The good news is once you have entered the tunnel, you are already on your way out of it.
- Those who desire to experience an extraordinary life learn the value of waiting on God's timing. Waiting time does not have to be wasted time. God often calls on us to take a time-out, because waiting has always been a part of God's plan for those He uses in a powerful way. God's most extraordinary servants have had to learn that significance is developed not on the playground of activity but during the quiet recesses.
I really liked the style of this book. It is not stodgy or boring, nor does it require long hours of slow reading. It is easily read and understood, and it does not feel like a chore to get through it. It is laced with humor and simple English. Yet it is not a light read and carries weighty truths. Dr Robert Jeffress is the senior pastor of a megachurch in Dallas, Texas. That bothered me a bit at first, but as I read this book my misgivings were erased.
I received a copy of this book from BAKER PUBLISHERS and was not required to write a positive review.
