It's Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa Terkeurst ~ Book Review

Has life turned out way different than what you ever thought or hoped it would be?  Have your dreams and prayers been crushed?  Have you ever wondered where God was in all of it?  Then this book is for you.  Lysa wrote this book in the midst of crisis in her own life.  She is very transparent and honest about what she went through, her disappointments and fears.  So she comes from a place of understanding.  But she doesn't just leave us there.  She shows us how to find the path back having our disappointments and disillusionments become opportunities to encounter the work of God in our lives.  She leads us in how to better process these times in our life and how to train ourselves to stay strong and persevere and not panic.  She points us to the truths of scripture that help us to change our mindset about God in these life circumstances.

I found this book to be super encouraging and uplifting.  Even though not going through any of her exact pain or circumstances I found she was able to directly speak into my own trials of the moment.  It's very relatable as she was able to be transparent and honest about her raw feelings in the midst of her trials even while pointing us to biblical truth and insight.  It's great just for reading through, each chapter ends with an easy reflection section, and then when the reader is ready to get right in and study all scriptures used are listed by chapter in the back along with a chapter titled "9 scriptures for surviving the times when God seems silent" that records lies we let our minds tell ourselves in turbulent, uncertain times and the scriptural truths to counteract those lies.  My book is underlined on every single page with lots of dog ears ( I never dog ear but I did with this book!)  The only part that didn't speak to me was a journal entry she shared in the back but others might get a lot out of it.  Highly recommend if you are feeling in any way swamped by disappointment and trials you never thought you'd be going through or if you are wondering where God is in it all.

2023 Reading Challenge Goal Met:  At least 4 hard copy non-fiction

Rating 9.5/10