Looking for God in Messy Places: A Book About Hope

by Jake Owensby

“This is beautiful and brilliant stuff, profound and plain, incredibly human, wise and charming. I trusted and enjoyed every word.”
–Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author about Looking for God in Messy Places

For any who feel frustrated and world-weary, and who want more than just wishful thinking or superficial spirituality, this book is for you! In these pages, my friend Jake Owensby poignantly shows how LOVE is what can truly give us hope to carry real love, God's love for us, our love for each other, right here, right now in all the struggles of this messy life. And God knows, we need this book NOW!
―Bishop Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love is the Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times

Life is messy. We can get discouraged by setbacks, overwhelmed by busyness, and shaken by worry. Hope is the power that gets us out of bed in the morning and gives us the courage to face adversity. Looking for God in Messy Places by Jake Owensby is a book about how love gives us an inextinguishable hope.
This book is for anyone who has ever been frozen in place by loss or regret, anyone who has endured suffering, cruelty, or rejection. From word to word and page to page, readers will experience themselves as God’s beloved―so that they can be hopeful.

From the introduction
[This book is] For those whose struggles have been long and for those who are growing weary from heavy burdens. For those facing an unforeseen crisis or for those enduring a slow personal train wreck. For those whose throats have grown raw from crying for justice and for those whose wounds have gone unhealed. This is a book about hope, and I have written it especially for those who refuse to yield to discouragement and despair.

Topics

- The power of love to give us hope
- The ways that God shows up in our daily lives
- Recognizing God’s call in our lives
- Becoming your true self
- Having a sense of belonging
- Forming a friendship with Christ
- Contemplative faith

Genres: Spirituality

192 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2021

About the author

Jake Owensby is the fourth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana and the twenty-sixth Chancellor of Sewanee: The University of the South.

The most recent of his six books is Looking for God in Messy Places (Abingdon). He is currently working on a manuscript about discipleship in the contemporary world.

Before attending the School of Theology at Sewanee, Jake earned a PhD at Emory University and was an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Jacksonville University. He taught the history of philosophy and wrote about human consciousness and theories of meaning and understanding.

Jake and his wife Joy have been married since 1983. They have three adult children, three young grandchildren, and a very affectionate rescue dog named Gracie.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout these pages, I am responding to a raw, honest question: How do we carry on when we realize that this existence is so fragile that it will be broken again and again and that it moves toward death with each breath? This is the question lurking in our Ecclesiastes Moments. We need a "why" to keep going. And the abysmal truth is that this "why" is never merely a given. We have to choose it, or assent to it, or be chosen by it. Hope is how we inhabit this world with a vital "why." We trust in our marrow that this beautiful, horrifying, joyful, heartrending life is worth living as it actually is.

from Introduction

This is the third book by Bishop Jake I have read and the second book I am facilitating a book study about at a local Episcopal church. As a former philosophy professor, Bishop Jake is all about teaching and explaining the complex and ambiguous with simplicity and clarity. Reading this book, I could discern his preaching cadence. To those who never heard him preach, the writing, at times, may seem artificial, possibly contrived. Trust me, while the syntax may not always work on paper, in person it's inspiring.

Of the three books I have read, this is by far the best. Bishop Jake takes on the ennui, the desperation, the suffering, of Christians and provides a rationale to continue striving and loving one's neighbor though everything in life, as it states so somberly in Ecclesiastes, is but vanity and a chasing after wind. He grounds his work in scripture, often using his rich autobiography to clarify how one can find God when life is full of despair and heartache.

The only problem I have with this book are the questions in the back designed to facilitate book discussions: They are poorly written. In some instances, asking them to a group would likely result in bewildered silence: "How am I to respond to such a question?" A minor quibble, I'm sure, since a majority of readers would not base whether or not this book is worthy on the quality of the reflection questions in the back.

Highly recommended.

Jesus is painfully honest. Life is an imperfect gift. Wonderful and wretched things happen. "It is what it is." Only, that's not where he stops. He basically says, "It is what it is. Now what are you going to do about it?" Hope begins by squarely facing reality: It is what it is. But we are capable of doing more than merely acknowledging, passively accepting, or blindly reacting to the contours and dynamics of the world we inhabit. This is where the implied "now what" of Jesus comes in for us. We have the radical freedom to choose to love.

from Chapter 2: "The Power of Love"

[Kadi Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a study/reflection guide in the back of this book done by chapter. I didn’t realize this as I would have gone thru the questions after each chapter. It’s something I may go back to and do.

This book is so well written and tackles giant concepts in ways that make it easy to grasp. I would paste some of my highlights here, but there were far too many. In fact, I even have whole pages worth all highlighted because they were so compelling.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owensby Messy Places
A must read, especially during these times. Bishop Jake Owensby is indeed a gifted writer who speaks to all of us right where we are… in messy places.. Hope is so much what we need today, and this is what he offers.
I have just finished Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America. I realize we are not unique. Every generation has lived in Messy Places and needs a Book about Hope.
Looking for God in Messy Places: A Book about Hope will keep speaking to us from generation to generations to come.
Joanna Seibert.

[Daniel Cornwall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a mostly joyful book. It covered many hard situations but gave me new ideas about hope and vocation. This will speak mostly to Christian audiences, but maybe be of some value to other monotheistic faiths. The author is someone whose family, including his mom and him, has faced a lot of adversity, so I don't think he can be accused of blithely advising good cheer while not knowing how hard live can be.

The idea of faith being about relationship rather than dogma really spoke to me. It surprised me a little to hear that from an Episcopal bishop.

[Jaci · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good one by my favorite Bishop [if one can have a favorite Bishop]. A Resurrection Shaped Life I enjoyed more.

p.68: "Whether we realize it or not, whether we name it this way or not, something or someone becomes our god. ... Even if we make no conscious decision on the matter, our habitual actions, the patterns of our lives reveal what god we are worshiping, to what we are entrusting our very beings."

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really want d to like this book as I believe that God shows up in messy places, but this book didn’t resonate with me. I quit at 40%.
It’s an easy read and not overly theological, but it was too abstract. I wanted more stories and less philosophizing.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book exemplifies my views on spirituality very well. The author sites residing Bishop Michael Curry philosophy as expressed in his book The Way of Love.

[JA · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the narrator just didn’t click with the audiobook

[Jsess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight for looking for God in daily life, in the small things, on the bad days. A reminder to refocus.

[Lark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about Hope. How to find it. Practice it. Grow it. I have followed this author on social media for some time and enjoyed his posts so much that I wanted to read this book. It did not disappoint. It was very thorough. It challenges our perceptions about Bible passages, philosophy, and how we live our lives in relation to God.Many light bulb moments that really made me think and rethink.

[Liz Cowburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Your life is worth living."

Bishop Jake Owensby writes, "God dwells with us in beautiful and messy places alike" and, "our assurance that this life is worth living comes from noticing that God keeps showing up in the midst of it". He speaks of "the relentless power of God’s love" and that "Misery, terror, want, and oppression mar the planet. Yet, still we can find hope because God shows up even in the ICU and the concentration camp." Jake reminds us that God is love and we are the beloved, that "God was born for us" .. "Emmanuel, 'God with us,' the long-awaited Messiah." Prior to entering ordained ministry Jake served as a philosophy professor but the writing style here is warm and conversational rather than academic, and he's generous with stories. If you're feeling discouraged or you're confused about the meaning of faith and hope in the face of adversity, there's much comfort and wisdom to be found here. Some aspects may challenge the way you think (as with me) but like Jake says in the book - "Hope is not a head thing. It is a heart thing." I found this a rivetting read, refreshingly honest, and it strengthened my confidence in retaining hope even in circumstances where there's no obvious reason to remain hopeful. This is a book I'm really glad to have read, I highly recommend it.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owensby Messy Places
A must read, especially during these times. Bishop Jake Owensby is indeed a gifted writer who speaks to all of us right where we are… in messy places.. Hope is so much what we need today, and this is what he offers.
I have just finished Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America. I realize we are not unique. Every generation has lived in Messy Places and needs a Book about Hope.
Looking for God in Messy Places: A Book about Hope will keep speaking to us from generation to generations to come.
Joanna Seibert.

[Susan Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bishop Owensby’s stories and insight provided clarity to me on how to grow closer to God in this confusing world. I highly recommend it. He has wonderful discussion guide in the back to help groups and individuals reflect.