Published by Thomas Nelson on September 8, 2020
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life
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Your Storm Doesn’t Have to Sink You
At some point in our lives, we all find ourselves in a boat in the middle of a lake. We might be there due to a job loss or the death of a loved one. Maybe disability, divorce, or financial insecurity has stranded us. Patrick and Ruth Schwenk found themselves feeling battered after five miscarriages and then surrounded by the waves with Patrick’s cancer diagnosis at age forty-three. They were alone. Drifting. And that’s when their transformation began.
In this compassionate and powerful book, the Schwenks weave together lessons from their own experience with insightful Bible teaching to remind us that one of the greatest ways God transforms us is through trials. As they unpack why Jesus called the disciples into the middle of a lake when dry ground was so safe and comfortable, they help us
understand why the depth of our hurt enables us to experience deep hope;learn to conquer fear to experience the freedom God has for us; anddiscover how God uses chaos, and not just the classroom, to shape and work through us.Today—in your confusion about God’s intentions, your disappointment over lost dreams, your disillusionment about prayer—God is offering hope. Because Jesus is still Lord over the water. And while he is not moved by the waves, he is moved by you. And this flood might just be a path to abundance.
“A powerful reminder that our current reality is not our final reality, and God is Lord over all chaos and suffering!”
—Candace Cameron Bure, actress and New York Times bestselling author
In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake is a story of finding stability in Christ amid unrest. And if that isn’t a needed theme in 2020, I don’t know what is. Heartache and loss have been a theme of this year. Lost opportunities. Lost expectations. Lost jobs. Lost lives. And into this time of global crisis, Patrick and Ruth Schwenk tell their own story of struggle and loss to highlight a God who is with them in the storm.
It’s a story that begins with blood cancer. Patrick was a fifteen-year veteran of the pastorate and had just started doctoral studies at Biola when the news hit. He had cancer. And just like that, current plans were canceled and future plans were altered and what once seemed so certain was now the height of uncertainty. And through their journey—through their continued struggles—the Schwenks share what they’ve learned through the process.
“It’s OK to Not Be OK,” is an excellent setup, giving readers a blueprint how to share and live with bad news. We don’t have to cover it up. We don’t have to deny it. We can be honest about it. We should be honest about it because that’s the only way we can move forward and see what God can do in it. “The Blessing of the Unblessed Life” talks about the benefit of suffering, how it can be refiner’s fire to draw us closer to God. Above all, the Schwenks teach readers to anchor themselves in the Lord, to trust in him through the storm, to not downplay or deny it, but preach a God who is bigger than it.
I cannot think of a more comforting book for a time such as this. Right now, we’re all In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake. Patrick and Ruth Schwenk don’t give you a map to shore, but instead give you confidence and strength to trust the Captain—even when he has a different kind of shore in mind.