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God’s Not Done With You: Encouragement from the Bible’s Greatest Comeback Stories
Nine amazing stories of faith that give us hope for our own challenging setbacks. We all experience setbacks and disappointments in life. Sometimes those setbacks become entire seasons of life. Businesses fail, relationships falter, discouragement and doubts set in, and circumstances overwhelm us. This book uses nine amazing "comeback stories" from the Bible to show how God provides everything needed to get through challenging setbacks. Rather than showing people overcoming hardship through simple grit, the stories of Moses, David, Abigail, Esther, Joseph, Jonah, Elijah, Hezekiah, and Peter tell of extraordinary changes of heart and how God works in all things for the good of those who love him. Readers will be given a new perspective on their struggles and will be encouraged to trust God in them. Author John Meador uses his 35 years of Bible-teaching ministry, as well as his own experience of suffering permanent hearing loss, to write with faithfulness, compassion, and authenticity. He “These stories are real-life events that often brought more drama, heartbreak, and tragedy, and had more at stake than most any other situations in history. They show us greater and more meaningful outcomes than we can possibly imagine.” This is a great book for anyone looking for answers to life’s challenges. It is a useful ministry resource for pastors and church leaders searching for stories of faith to encourage others. Coming back from regrets, adversity, hopelessness, discouragement, anger, moral failure, disillusionment, physical crisis, grief, and oppression are some of the themes covered.
176 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2023
14 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 22, 2023
I got a free copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review of it.
John Meador's message for people facing tough times of various kinds is that God is still working in them. He explores this through nine stories from the bible. These are the stories of Moses, Joseph, Esther, Jonah, Elijah, Abigail, David, Peter, and Hezekiah. Each has a very different story and, as John Meador unpacks them, we see clearly that God was working in them and through them, often in great hardship and misery. And so, when we face hardship, we can trust that God is at work.
It's a beautiful, true, and encouraging premise, which Meador demonstrates well in each story. I was particularly struck by Hezekiah's story, which I hadn't really focused on before, in which the King completely fails to grow through tough times because he's too proud to depend on God. In the space of just a few verses, he goes from being a wonderful example of humble prayer, to a devastating story of pride destroying a legacy.
John Meador interweaves modern stories of people he's met or counselled in his ministry, along with some from his family, to demonstrate that this isn't just a bible thing. God really does work in and through hard times today. This is definitely an encouragement.
Where this book slightly stumbles, in my opinion, is in two main areas:
The first is that a lot of the chapters feel slightly unfocused. Meador picks a bible story, compares and contrasts it with a modern story, but then often tries to draw so many points and lessons from the stories that I found myself ending chapters unsure of what I'd learnt. In a book this short, that's quite an achievement! None of the points are BAD, but there's enough material for a whole book in each chapter of this brief book, and it's skimmed over fairly quickly.
The second area is a bit trickier to explain and comes with a caveat. I have no doubt, from what John Meador has said in this book, that he has experienced, and has counselled people who have experienced, immense suffering, grief, and doubt. But the tone and delivery of this book leads me to think that it would be of benefit to people who had experienced BAD times, but not DEVASTATING times, if that makes sense as a distinction?
I'm not at all trying to detract from his story, or the stories of others that he shares, but I'm not sure this book is really long or deep enough to fully explore the worst struggles people can face, and how meaningless scripture, prayer, and faith can feel in those times. That doesn't mean that the book isn't good, but I think this is a slight limitation. I've become increasingly sceptical of short books about suffering in recent years, because I don't think they can do it justice.
A good book though, and one that I would happily put in the hands of friends who wanted encouragement during difficult seasons.
John Meador's message for people facing tough times of various kinds is that God is still working in them. He explores this through nine stories from the bible. These are the stories of Moses, Joseph, Esther, Jonah, Elijah, Abigail, David, Peter, and Hezekiah. Each has a very different story and, as John Meador unpacks them, we see clearly that God was working in them and through them, often in great hardship and misery. And so, when we face hardship, we can trust that God is at work.
It's a beautiful, true, and encouraging premise, which Meador demonstrates well in each story. I was particularly struck by Hezekiah's story, which I hadn't really focused on before, in which the King completely fails to grow through tough times because he's too proud to depend on God. In the space of just a few verses, he goes from being a wonderful example of humble prayer, to a devastating story of pride destroying a legacy.
John Meador interweaves modern stories of people he's met or counselled in his ministry, along with some from his family, to demonstrate that this isn't just a bible thing. God really does work in and through hard times today. This is definitely an encouragement.
Where this book slightly stumbles, in my opinion, is in two main areas:
The first is that a lot of the chapters feel slightly unfocused. Meador picks a bible story, compares and contrasts it with a modern story, but then often tries to draw so many points and lessons from the stories that I found myself ending chapters unsure of what I'd learnt. In a book this short, that's quite an achievement! None of the points are BAD, but there's enough material for a whole book in each chapter of this brief book, and it's skimmed over fairly quickly.
The second area is a bit trickier to explain and comes with a caveat. I have no doubt, from what John Meador has said in this book, that he has experienced, and has counselled people who have experienced, immense suffering, grief, and doubt. But the tone and delivery of this book leads me to think that it would be of benefit to people who had experienced BAD times, but not DEVASTATING times, if that makes sense as a distinction?
I'm not at all trying to detract from his story, or the stories of others that he shares, but I'm not sure this book is really long or deep enough to fully explore the worst struggles people can face, and how meaningless scripture, prayer, and faith can feel in those times. That doesn't mean that the book isn't good, but I think this is a slight limitation. I've become increasingly sceptical of short books about suffering in recent years, because I don't think they can do it justice.
A good book though, and one that I would happily put in the hands of friends who wanted encouragement during difficult seasons.
April 7, 2023
Is God still good when life seems disappointing? In God’s Not Done with You, John Meador shares encouragement from the Bible’s greatest comeback stories. This inspirational book examines nine moving biblical stories from the angle of setbacks and disappointments. Viewing them from this perspective allows Meador to teach the truth that God is faithful in our failures.
Readers may be familiar with the heroic stories of Moses, David, Abigail, Esther, Joseph, Jonah, Elijah, Hezekiah, and Peter — but Meador treats them as fallible humans with real emotions. Meador weaves in examples from his own life as well as stories from his work as a pastor. He does an excellent job of taking familiar stories from the Bible and applying their lessons to your own faith.
Moving and Inspirational
I was most pleased to read about Peter, as I was preparing a message on the exact same passage he used. Peter had denied Christ, and was feeling like a failure. But Jesus reached out to him, calling him to trust him again. I also learned from Hezekiah’s story - one that I did not know as well as the others. God has a reason for our time on earth, and we must rely on his grace to get us through.
This will be a moving and inspirational read for anyone going through a challenging season. It will strengthen your faith in God’s goodness, and help you see the big picture of his plans. Pastors and leaders will find this book helpful in pointing others to hope. God’s not done with you. He who began a good work in you will complete it.
I received a media copy of God’s Not Done with You and this is my honest review.
Readers may be familiar with the heroic stories of Moses, David, Abigail, Esther, Joseph, Jonah, Elijah, Hezekiah, and Peter — but Meador treats them as fallible humans with real emotions. Meador weaves in examples from his own life as well as stories from his work as a pastor. He does an excellent job of taking familiar stories from the Bible and applying their lessons to your own faith.
Moving and Inspirational
I was most pleased to read about Peter, as I was preparing a message on the exact same passage he used. Peter had denied Christ, and was feeling like a failure. But Jesus reached out to him, calling him to trust him again. I also learned from Hezekiah’s story - one that I did not know as well as the others. God has a reason for our time on earth, and we must rely on his grace to get us through.
This will be a moving and inspirational read for anyone going through a challenging season. It will strengthen your faith in God’s goodness, and help you see the big picture of his plans. Pastors and leaders will find this book helpful in pointing others to hope. God’s not done with you. He who began a good work in you will complete it.
I received a media copy of God’s Not Done with You and this is my honest review.
April 11, 2023
As one on life's encouragers, I was attracted this book. A book that shares the stories of a number of characters from the Bible who were faced with difficulties and tragedies that tested their faith. Each situation is relatable, compared to experiences that the author has had in his own family or from a lifetime of pastoring and counselling others. It shows that normal, everyday people face similar circumstances and that God is faithful and consistent. He is the same now as He was in those Bible stories and despite where we are in our life journey, He is never finished with us. He always has something more. Even if we despair and cannot see a way back, that is OK. Because Jesus will seek us out. He will find us even if we have lost hope.
September 8, 2023
Right Read at the Right Time
The chapters are concise and easy to read. Stories about individual Biblical characters were inspiring and true to the story content. At the end of the book, I kept wanting to read more. I have many referenced Bible verses to read and re-read.
The chapters are concise and easy to read. Stories about individual Biblical characters were inspiring and true to the story content. At the end of the book, I kept wanting to read more. I have many referenced Bible verses to read and re-read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews