God Is Your Defender: Learning to Stand After Life Has Knocked You Down

by Rosie Rivera, Samuel Rodríguez (Foreword)

Businesswoman, television personality, and survivor Rosie Rivera shares how to lean on God as defender in the midst of life’s hurts and wounds while also grappling with the strong desire for justice and retaliation. Revenge is one of our deepest instincts. When we have been hurt or when something has been stolen from us, whether that be our innocence or our good name or a loved one, the desire to retaliate is irresistible. But is it the right response of a follower of Jesus? As a survivor herself, Rosie Rivera has walked in this tension, a sojourner in the search for healing and wholeness in the light of horrific wrongs. She has wrestled the desire to defend herself, her reputation, and her family while also wanting to let God be her Defender. God Is Your Defender is about understanding the motives behind your thoughts and behaviors toward those who have wronged you. It is about the conditions you might have put on forgiveness. It is about fighting the urge to take over instead of trusting God. It is about learning how to truly rest in the Lord as the One who defends you and actively abiding in his peace. Backed by biblical examples and personal stories, Rosie guides you to a place of healing as you: God Is Your Defender equips you to respond to hurtful situations, from the most minor to some of the most difficult, from a place of empowerment and peace.

Genres: Christian

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 8, 2021

Reviews

[LAMONT D · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest I checked out this book because the forward was written by Pastor Samuel Rodriguez. The book is written for female eyes and ears but the topics and subjects she brings up throughout relate to all including myself. Basically, when we have been taken advantage of, falsely accused or wronged, what should our reaction be and how does God fit into my world as I wait for and expect justice and fairness. Rosie introduces each chapter with a personal story or an illustration and then delves into various themes that revolve among other topics around vindication and revenge. Each chapter also ends with very practical questions to provide a time of personal reflection. I did not know her at all so it was intriguing to find out a little about what she has gone through on how she presses on so others can learn from her life experiences as well, albeit some very tough circumstances to navigate. I thought chapter eleven was particularly powerful as she throws out possible exchanges to consider including exchange the thought of, I will never forgive for I, through Christ, can do all things. I believe her other books talk more about the sexual abuse in her childhood and the loss of her famous sister in an airplane crash, but from this book you get enough to feel certainly sympathy for a pain and what she has gone through in her life.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

God Is Your Defender
Learning to Stand After Life Has Knocked You Down
by Rosie Rivera
Thomas Nelson--W Publishing
Thomas Nelson
Biographies & Memoirs | Christian | Multicultural Interest
Pub Date 08 Jun 2021


I am reviewing a copy of God is Your Defender through Thomas Nelson and Netgalley:


One of our deepest instincts is for revenge, when we have been hurt in someway or have had something stolen from us we tend to want revenge, whether it is revenge for us or a loved one who has been wronged or we have been wronged.


God is our Defender reminds us that our oppressor is Satan, and he loves to stop us from moving forward.


The author, Rosie Rivera has walked in this tension, a sojourner in the search for healing and wholeness in the light of horrific wrongs, she has had to wrestle with the desire to defend herself defend herself, her reputation, and her family while also wanting to let God be her Defender.


God is Your Defender is about helping you to understand the motives behind your thoughts and behaviors toward those who have wronged you. This book is also about how we might put conditions on forgiveness. It is about the importance of us fighting the urge to take over instead of trusting God. It is also about learning how to truly rest in the Lord as the One who defends you and actively abiding in his peace.



Rosie guides you to a place of healing, backed up by personal stories, she guides you to a place of healing as you learn the difference between a heart of advocacy and a vengeful spiritstop the self-destructive cycle of an unresolved revengediscern effectively when to take a righteous stand and when to stand back and let God defend experience how to exchange an “eye for an eye” mentality to an “I for an I” by exchanging “I am hurt” for “I am healing”


If you are looking for a book that equips you with how to respond to hurtful situations from the most minor to some of the most difficult, from a place of empowerment and peace, I highly recommend God Is our Defender.


Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

God Is Your Defender: Learning to Stand After Life Has Knocked You Down by Rosie Rivera

This book was a little heavy at times, and I was not expecting to read the stories within its pages. I couldn’t relate to what personally happened to Rosie, but I could relate a little to some examples she shared, such as situations in the workplace. What drew my attention most was the chapter on idolizing people, because it’s just something I never noticed I did, but will definitely be more aware of going forward.

I like how she shared biblical stories and not just verses, so we had the whole picture on what was going on in the story in the Bible and how it related to the chapter’s topic. I also liked how you could see that she was clearly transformed through her relationship with God, by going from self-destructive behaviors to seeking help from the lord to straighten her life out and moving forward from an awful childhood.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Thomas Nelson--W Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

[Kaylee Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is written for anyone who has faced immense hardship or trauma in their life and they’re unsure what to do or the best way to react and move forward. touching on revenge, vindication, avoidance, and other pitfalls and obstacles people face when they seek justice or the righting of wrongs in their own life, this book is jam-packed with stories from Rosie about her career, her marriage and the loss of her sister in a tragic plane crash and how she navigated through them sharing what she learned about herself and her faith. i can see this book being helpful for people who are used to taking matters in their own hands, or who struggle with negative actions and emotions and want to surrender those to God and let Him be their protection and defender.

this book personally wasn’t relatable for me, as i don’t typically struggle or default to those tendencies or emotions when i endure hardship, but i hope it blesses and encourages many people!

[Alexia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Rosie shows how you can overcome the hurt in your life by letting God defend you. The chapters in this book cover some of the areas we can get stuck in such as the Isles of Idolatry or the Spiral of Fear. There is plenty of Scripture and stories from Rosie's own life to help you apply the ideas in each chapter. Each chapter includes reflection points.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It your heart is hurting, read this book.

I'm still learning to let go of the desire for revenge and trust that God will defend me.

I'll be doing a lot of forgiving as I learn to let go of the hurts.

[Lesley Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow reading this book was awesome. She went through so much and recognized she needed God in every way. It was like your sister talking to you advising you counseling you cause she been there. This is such a must read

[Irene Mladjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring and worth the read. Makes you think about how your actions and reactions affect yourself and others. Have passed this book along to others.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how Ms. Rivera compared everyday, sometimes tough things, to stories it the Bible. For me it helped bring the Bible alive. Chapter 11 - True Restoration is 5 stars and not to be missed.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did get pick up a lot of good advice however I felt that the book was repetitive on some stuff.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

PLEASE NOTE: I received a copy of this book from a GoodReads giveaway. The opinions in this review are my own.

In God Is Your Defender, author Rosie Rivera uses stories from her own life, classic literature, history, and the Bible to show how we attempt to battle hurts in our life. She ends the book showing how only God can battle these hurts on our behalf. This was a good book, but I think it could have been a little better with a little more polishing in the editing phase. There were some sentences that seemed a bit confusing & unclear until I read it a couple of times. I do recommend this book to those who are dealing with past & current hurts. In fact, I already recommended it to a loved one.