Unreasonable Hope



        

When I read the title of this book, I thought, "Okay, this is going to be another sappy story about someone that went through something tragic and got through it by just putting their hope in the Lord. Again." That sounds bad, but it was exactly what I thought. I wasn't necessarily saying that it was a bad thing to read about, because all of those different stories are great. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE those kind of stories. But honestly, I was prepared to skim through and just take the "highlights".

Well, I was surprised. This book doesn't have a sappy thing about it. 

Which made me LOVE IT!

Unreasonable Hope by Chad Veach is an inspirational story about a hope that we all forget to have. And UNREASONABLE one. Hence the title, right?

When we think of putting our hope in the Lord, we expect answers and reasons to what we're going through. Not this guy. Chad has come to accepting his situation, without answers. Without the known reasons. Yes, he believes everything happens for a reason just like I do. But just because there is a reason, doesn't mean that we have to KNOW it. God loves us without reason. 

I have learned so much by reading Chad's story. He tells about his daughter Georgia. She has a rare condition that makes things more challenging for her and their family. That sounds sappy, though. He doesn't just whine about it or make us say, "Aww, I feel so bad for them!" He tells it so we can laugh with him and feel the joy of the Lord that he has while going through it.


He compares everything that he's going through, or went through, with a verse or instance in the Bible. For example, in the sixth chapter, he titles a segment called Giants or Honey?. In this segment he talks about how in Numbers 13, there's a story about the spies that were sent to survey the promised land. Some of the spies saw an impossible situation and all of the bad things like the size of the giant people that were living there already. Two of the twelve spies saw a land flowing with milk and honey and all of the good things. Chad went on saying that sometimes, people see things differently even when they're in the same situation. 

He said that in his situation, he's going to look at the milk and honey through the hardships. That's so inspirational to me, because when I go through bad situations, the last thing I want to do is think about milk and honey; the good things. I want to focus on all the negative things and wallow in self pity. That feels more natural to me. But why since when is natural always the best thing?

My favorite quote by him (there was many, because him and I have the same thought process based on his writing)  is one of his ending paragraphs, "As we walk out this life, we'll continue to put our faith in the who behind it all, the one who is faithful in suffering, the only true remedy, who takes the pain and makes it into something more, something better, something beautiful."

Anyway, I highly recommend this book for anyone that is going through any kind of tough situation. Chad will give you a very unique and encouraging perspective on your situation as well as his! Please, take the time to read it and do so with an open heart.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest book review with booklookbloggers!