I like to be in control – of plans and people’s reactions and my own emotions. Yet, when I get around to surrendering that desire to the One who is actually in control, I find freedom. Honestly, that paradox never made much sense to me, but while reading “None Like Him” by Jen Wilkin, I found myself nodding my head and realizing claiming God as my savior comes with many surrenders and contrasts.
Because God is different than us.
And that is indeed a good thing.
I should note here that the subtitle of the book is “10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why that’s a good thing).”
Specifically, “None Like Him” looks at how God is self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal, immutable, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign, infinite, and incomprehensible. We’re not – and that’s a good thing.
My favorite chapters were the ones on God being self-existent, eternal, and immutable. And when I say “favorite,” I mean those are the attributes that struck me deepest because those are the faith concepts that bring me to the cross over and over again.
Wilkin brought to life for me what it means to be an image bearer of God – and that’s quite different than aspiring to become like God. We are designed to reflect his glory, not rival it.
If I would continually surrender to that, I’d be a whole lot less controlling and have a perception that makes me quicker to trust God’s ways, which are unchanging. Yet because he’s unchanging, my habits and circumstances are able to change.
“None Like Him” brought so many paradoxes to life, showing me how often I try to be the god of my own life when there’s a God who is perfectly fitted for that role and created me to be who I am. I marked long passages that I need to revisit. But I wanted to share one of those sections with you:
“The sadness or frustration we feel about changes to something that we believed to be unchanging reveals our tendency to ascribe what is true only of God to people, possessions, or circumstances that are not him – to expect earthly places to be heavenly. I tell myself that my love of routine and my aversion to change are a longing for the God who does not change, but if I am honest, they are just plain idolatry. In truth, I am telling temporary, changing things, ‘I need you to be God. Please just stay the same.’ … The worst part is that, when confronted with my own entrenched sin, my immediate defense is to say, ‘That’s just who I am. I can’t change.’ … Whether uttered in hopelessness or defiance, this statement is a lie. Only one person does not change, and that is God. … Just as my assurance of salvation rests in the fact that God cannot change, my hope of sanctification rests in the fact that I can.”
{Jen Wilkin in “None Like Him,” page 87}
This book would be a good one to read, study and discuss with other women. Each chapter concludes with questions. Scriptures are also referenced throughout, making it a natural Bible study.
ABOUT THE BOOK :: Our limitations are by design. We were never meant to be God. But at the root of every sin is our rebellious desire to possess attributes that belong to God alone. Calling us to embrace our limits as a means of glorifying God’s limitless power, author Jen Wilkin invites us to celebrate the freedom that comes when we rest in letting God be God.
“None Like Him” is a 163-page paperback book published by Crossway (April 30, 2016).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :: Jen Wilkin is a speaker, writer, and teacher of women’s Bible studies. During her 15 years of teaching, she has organized and led studies for women. Jen and her family are members of the Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. She is the author of “Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds.”
GIVEAWAY :: And I have a copy of this book for one you! This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents through Monday, May 16. A winner will be randomly chosen on Tuesday, May 17. Use the Rafflecopter below for multiple ways to enter.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review, thanks to Propeller Consulting/FlyBy Promotions. FlyBy is also providing the winner of this giveaway with a copy of this book. If you have won a prize from Propeller/FlyBy in the last 30 days or have won this book from another blog, you are not eligible to win.
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