Larry Crabb

My day today has been spent mainly reading Finding God by Larry Crabb. If any of you have ever experienced a significant trial in your life I believe that it will minister to you the way that it is me right now. Dr. Crabb is saying so many things that I am completely relating with right now. He is some how taking what I am feeling and expressing it in words that I have not been able to. And he is saying things to me that probably nobody could right now, but reading them has been incredibly helpful. 

"Modern thinking encourages us to find ourselves, to heal our shame, and to pursue self-fulfillment. And as a consequence, we value healing for our pain more than pardon for our sins; we view Gods kindness as more appropriate than surprising, more immediately helpful than deeply humbling. (pg59, Finding God)"

"We need to see ourselves as more sinful than wounded. We need to face the ugly, self-centered energy present in all our conversations. (pg 59, Finding God)"

"The elimination of struggle and the ability to love someone else perfectly describe our lives in heaven, not maturity on this earth. No matter how well I come to know the Lord, until I actually see him, my life will still be a mess- and so will yours. Finding God in this life does not mean building a house in a land of no storms; rather it means building a house that no storm can destroy. Am I building that house? Are you? Are we moving through our problems toward finding God? Do we know what it means to dig deeply enough to discover something other than more problems- to discover Someone beyond ourselves? Have we hit rock?...But the more I wrestle with life as it really is, the more I am aware that loving a spiritually disciplined life develops at best only a nodding acquaintance with God. ... My countless hours counseling providing therapy for hundreds of people suggests that a focus in increased knowledge of self rarely leads to richer knowledge of God. Getting better acquainted with ourselves in order to find God-and do nothing more- is like endlessly studying an X-ray of spot riddled lungs without ever submitting to surgery. pg 72, Finding God" 

Man that's good for me...