God Has Been Teaching Me This Truth and Thus Drew Me To This Book: A Review of The Surprising Grace of Disappointment




One of the lessons that I have learned admittedly late is that too often we pray expecting God to answer our requests our way. We get disappointed when His way is different than ours and His timing is longer than our desired end. If we would be honest, we want a way out rather than a way through, even if the way through is God's best for us.

The Lord doesn't want us to have faith in an outcome but in a person. Yet we pray fervently for outcomes and get seriously upset with God or disillusioned when He doesn't do as we will. Is it that we forget that Jesus prayed for the cup of suffering to pass by Him and He didn't get what He wanted most? Unlike Christ, have we been insincere in our prayer that "Not my will but Yours be done?"

Then there is our life's vocation. We plan, we pray and feel called or led to certain work or ministry. Our expectations are that we will be successful. Within our hearts and minds is an idea of what success looks like. Yet how many of us have come to a point in which we look back with disappointment? What happened to those dreams? Why didn't things turn out as you or I thought they should; as you and I dreamed they would?

John Koessler dives deep into our disappointments and into the Word to unlock what is going on and why. He provides answers, encouragements and insights that are much needed when you or I feel like our lives haven't turned out as we expected or our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears.

Is it okay to be disappointed with God? Can we complain to Him? What examples of the saints from the Scriptures shed light on our struggles? How do we process our pain and crises biblically to the glory of God and our ultimate good? Is God present and powerful in our disappointments? Do we see things the way He does or is that part of the problem that clouds our vision and fills our eyes with tears?

This book is worth the reading. Perhaps it will help you to learn a bit earlier and easier than I did what God is up to with the surprising grace of disappointment. I pray that it is a big help to you and many others. To God be the glory. 

I have received this book at no cost to me for review purposes by Moody Publishers

About the author: John Koessler (D.Min., Trinity International University; M.Div., Biblical Theology Seminary) is Chairman and Professor in the Pastoral Studies Department at the Moody Bible Institute. He is author of a number of books including True Discipleship, God Our Father, and Names of Israel. John and his wife, Jane, live in northwest Indiana and have two sons.

Get The Surprising Grace of Disappointment from Amazon in either Kindle or paperback

or from Moody Publishers directly

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