«Help my unbelief» by Barnabas Piper

«Help my unbelief: Why doubt is not the enemy of faith» by Barnabas Piper.

Pages: 176
Publication date: 2015
Genre: Religion, faith, christian
Find this review on Amazon | Goodreads

MY SYNOPSIS

God is infinite. We’re not.
Even though He’s invited us into a personal relationship with Him, He doesn’t promise we’ll understand everything about His actions and His character. We really can’t comprehend it all.
While walking this life besides Him, we must learn to trust in spite of the things we don’t understand.

MY REVIEW

Wow!

I absolutely loved this book, one of my favorites on this topic.

I like to see how sons and daughters of famous preachers and pastors are raising their own voices to say to this new generation: we were taught well by the most qualified people on planet earth and yet only an encounter with God could set us truly free from our bondages (unbelief included).

The honesty you see through the pages makes you realize you’re learning from someone that struggles with unbelief as much as you do. That’s great, isn’t it?

The author is not saying: look, I can solve all your doubts through perfect reasoning and set your mind at peace because I’ve figured everything out (we’ve seen a lot of that). Instead, he’s making this point: you’re in a relationship with an infinite God. Mystery will be part of it.

This book actually encourages to see «I don’t know» as a possibility in our vocabulary and, to be honest, that was kind of new for me. I’ve wanted to explain God to myself and to others more times I can remember and yeah, there are times we just don’t and won’t understand Him. We have to trust our Dad knows best.

In the midst of uncertainty we can always cry out «help» and He’ll do for us what we can’t do for ourselves.

Also, I could mention that the book respects who you are as an individual and it’s not trying to tell you the journey of faith will be the same for everybody. «God has His way with each person», C.S. Lewis would say. Barnabas Piper explains the very same thing but with other words.

Generally speaking, this book is easy to read, very well-written, it gives you hope and encouragement to pursue a relationship with God where His love overcomes your doubts.

**I received a copy of this book from David C Cook and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own**

Favorite Quotes

1. «‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelieve’ is the best any of us can do really, but thank God it is enough». Frederick Buechner

2. «The desire to believe can steam only from belief». (thank God!)

3. «It’s belief what makes us battle instead of just giving up».

4. «Pleading ‘help’ is a God-honoring act of faith».

5. «We’re given mystery and promise in the same revelation. They’re both true. So long as we are in a relationship with God we live in both».

---

ABOUT BARNABAS PIPER

Barnabas Piper is a PK, the son of well-known pastor John Piper. He writes for World Magazine at WorldMag.com and blogs at BarnabasPiper.com. He writes regularly for the popular blog, The Blazing Center. He and his wife live in the Nashville area with their two daughters.