When we go through adversity, especially long illness, it raises many questions. Why? Where are You, God, in this? Why is my healing so slow? How can I walk free of this relentless battering? What is God saying? Does He care? Challenges in our lives often bring us to forks in the road. We can easily go down routes where our hearts gradually, or maybe dramatically, harden off towards God. Or perhaps we haven't yet found God and are longing for Him to be there for us, but the fog of our circumstances is causing blocks towards God. Alternatively, we may be trying to keep a positive outlook, to keep going in whatever way we can, but maybe not being honest with ourselves and real before God. As we struggle to find a path through our challenges, a light can draw us to a route where we find God in the very midst of it all. We find gold revealed in the ashes; our wounds transformed to strengths; and we discover that Jesus truly came to set the captives free and provide a way to rise up through it all. Rising Through Adversity attempts to bring hope, especially to those having a hard time. The chapters are succinct and allow space for reflection with the authors pictures scattered throughout to touch the heart and speak what is more easily said through art than in words. Throughout this book there are Pause and encounter moments. It may well be as you read this book and meditate on the pictures that aspects resonate with your own life. These Pause and encounter moments are to allow space for God to speak, and for thoughts to land. They are also for practical steps on how to pray. The prayers may seem simple and may be in contrast to hours of processing with other approaches.
