My New Book Is FINALLY Here!
Well after five long years, I’m finally publishing my next book: Finding Favor: God’s Blessings Beyond Health, Wealth and Happiness.
It releases on April 17th, and I would be honored if you pre-ordered a copy today. You can get it HERE.
This is the most important book I’ve ever written.
THE IDEA
The idea for Finding Favor came to me when – starting in 2010 – I began experiencing excruciating neurological pain in the back of my head. The pain nearly incapacitated me. I went to specialists, who then sent me for innumerable MRI’s, tests, leading to surgeries, etc.
I was put on anti-convulsion medication. I couldn’t sleep without pain. I couldn’t sit without pain. I couldn’t walk without pain. I couldn’t do anything without unremitting, immobilizing pain. Fortunately, Lisa didn’t tell me to “curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) like Job’s wife did, or I would have taken her up on her suggestion.
Those years were what Russians novelists called “a long, dark winter.”
During this time, I did the only thing I knew to do: for one full year I went down to my basement office in the morning, fell prostrate before God, and simply begged for His mercy. Every day. For one full year.
I discovered a phrase in my Bible reading during these mornings of anguish that I had never read before: “God’s favor” – which simply means His supernatural intervention in our lives to bring us a blessing.
I read the story in Genesis about how Jacob wrestled with an unknown assailant and how he wouldn’t let him go until he blessed him. And I saw myself in his story.
Was Jacob wrestling with God? Satan? An angel? Himself? His past?
Was I wrestling with God? Satan? An angel? Myself? My past?
Intrigued, I looked up every occurrence of the phrase “God’s Favor” and discovered that in Hosea 12:4 that the foe Jacob wrestled with was actually an angel. More striking, it says that Jacob “begged for his favor.”
Which led me to a two-year study of all the different ways God “favors” us.
What I discovered blew my mind.
WHY YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK
It turns out that in the Old Testament there are nine ways God “blesses” people with his favor. Only two of those are what we would remotely consider “positive.”
My study made me wonder how many Christians pray for God’s blessing on their lives, but don’t recognize his answers to their prayers because they don’t understand HOW God actually blesses people.
Finding Favor examines these nine examples of God’s “favor” and draws upon funny stories from my life, teaching from the spiritual classics of the last 2,000 years, and profound biblical insights to help people recognize and grow from each.
As Vince Antonucci wrote in his endorsement of the book, “You’ve prayed for God’s blessings. But what are you really asking for? How does God really bless us?”
How many Christians are being robbed of God’s peace and the powerful reassurance of his supernatural involvement in their lives because the response to their prayers for “blessing” aren’t health, wealth and happiness?
I’m going to share more about the book in the next few articles.
In the meantime, it would REALLY help me get the message out if you pre-ordered the book right now HERE and shared the news of its release on social media.
Given what’s going on in our world, and in the church, I believe it’s going to be one of the most important books Christians read in 2018.
Friends, THANK YOU for your support and encouragement. I couldn’t have done this without your prayers and encouragement, near and far.
With warm regards,
Brian
Sign up HERE to get my articles delivered straight to your inbox.