Book Review: 40 Days of Faith by Paul David Tripp

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BOOK review
Started on: 4 December 2020
Finished on: 8 December 2020

40 Days of Faith by Paul David Tripp

Title: 40 Days of Faith

Author: Paul David Tripp
Publisher: Crossway Books

Pages: 96 pages
Year of Publication: 2020
Price: Rp 157,153 (https://www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 4/5
*This e-book was received as a review copy from Crossway
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"Faith is much more than a one-time decision; it is a lifestyle lived with the presence, promises, and call of God always in view."

This new book by Paul David Tripp contains a series of short devotionals for 40 days that will encourage readers to live a life of faith. Each devotionals are short enough to read in about 5 minutes or less but will certainly propel us to treasure the life-changing truths of God's Word more fully. Through this book, the writer urges readers not to rely on their own wisdom, experience, and strength—but to ask God to transform them into people who live by faith with a radical, God-centered perspective.

"The best theology will not remove mystery from your life, so rest is found in trusting the one who rules, is all, and knows no mystery."

"You don't have to be anxious about the future. A God of grace has invaded your life, and he always completes what he starts."

The first time I read a book by Paul David Tripp was last year, with the title Awe:Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do, and I really enjoyed it. It gave me a lot of new perspectives and I really liked his writing style. That's why I decided to read this book, especially since we're nearing the end of the year and it's almost Christmas time, I thought it will be very fitting to read a book about faith. This was supposed to be a 40-day devotional but instead I read it in only 4 days because it's fairly short, each day consists of only a few paragraphs. Each day starts with a sentence or two that represents the devotional's theme and ends with a suggested scripture for further study and encouragement.  In this series of devotionals, the writer tackles some misconceptions about faith and encouraged us to have real living faith. As Paul David Tripp writes at the start of this book, 'faith is much more than a one-time decision; it is a lifestyle lived with the presence, promises, and call of God always in view'.

"You don't have to worry about whether the world is under control. God rules. You just have to learn to trust him when his rule isn't evident."

In this review, I will be sharing some devotionals that speaks to my heart personally. The first one is about having an active faith: 'It never works to ask people to do what only God can do. It never works to wait for God to do what he has clearly called you to do.' Some people might think that always waiting on God is a sign of faith. But I love how Paul David Tripp uses the example of people who were dealing with broken relationships saying "I'm waiting for the Lord to reconcile our relationship." It might sound spiritual but it is not the kind of faith that God expects us to have. He also use stories from the Bible as examples. God was going to defeat Jericho, but He called his children to walk around it. God promises to provide, but He calls us to labor, pray, and give. So faith is not only about waiting on God, but a combination of being active in doing what God calls us to do while wholly trusting in what only God can do.

"So the life of faith is all about rest and work. We rest in God's presence and constant care (vertical), and we toil with our hands, busy at the work that we have been commanded to do (horizontal). We rest in our work and work in our rest. At times we work because we believe that God who is at work calls us to work. At other times, we rest from our work because we believe that the work that needs to be done only God can do. So rest and work, and work and rest. It is the rhythm of the life of faith."

Another one of my favorites is the part where Paul David Tripp acknowledges that faith is not natural for us. It's natural for us to worry, envy, panic; but placing our trust and hope in the hands of God whom we cannot see, touch, or hear is far from natural. While we are still alive, we live in the middle of a war between doubt and faith. It is a war of anxiety and trust. And this devotional has one of favorite passage from this book, because it is so reassuring for me personally—especially during a time when everything around us may seem uncertain, which says:

"When you hit hard times, when your weakness is exposed, be ready for the enemy to whisper in your ear, "Where is your God now?" and be ready to respond, "He is where he has been and always will be—with me in power, glory, and grace." You won't always feel his nearness, but you can rest assured he will never abandon you. He is the one who said, "Behold, I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20), and he never goes back on his word."

The last one that I will be mentioning in this review is the devotionals regarding faith in the midst of hardships. I think this one is especially relevant in our lives these days. The writer asks at the beginning of the devotional: When hardship comes your way, will you tell yourself it's a tool of God's grace and a sign of his love, or will you give in to doubting his goodness? There will be times when we are tempted to think that God has abandoned us during hardships, but we need to know is that God isn't so much working to transform our circumstances as he is working through hard circumstances to transform us. It is heart-transforming grace that we might not expect to get, but it is exactly the grace that we need. God is able to use the difficulties of life as tools to produce characters in us that would not grow any other way.

 "The faith of the Bible will never call you to deny reality in any way. The faith of the Bible is so in awe of the grandeur and glory of God that it is able to look at the darkest of realities in life and not be afraid."

"God is with you in your moments of darkness because he will never leave you. But your darkness isn't dark to him. Your mysteries aren't mysterious to him. Your surprises don't surprise him. He understands all the things that confuse you the most. Not only are your mysteries not mysterious to him, but is in complete charge of all that is mysterious to you and me."

This book was a perfect read to end this year for me; it definitely boost my faith in God as we are entering a new year that is full of uncertainties. The writing is very straightforward and easy to read, it really doesn't take long to finish. By the end of this book, I am reminded that we don't need to have it all figured out as long as we cling on to the One who has it all figured out. Life is full of mysteries; a lot of what-ifs and if-onlys that we are constantly struggling with. But I continuously learn to be content with not knowing about everything and rest assured knowing that God is sovereign and He is in control of everything. Will definitely pick up more works by Paul David Tripp because I really enjoy his writing style and am encouraged by the biblical truths that he shared in his books :)

"We all face things that appear to make little sense and don't seem to serve any good purpose. So rest is never found in the quest to understand it all. No, rest is found in trusting the one who understands it all and rules it all for his glory and our good."

by.stefaniesugia♥ .