August 2023 is a bit late to post my favorite reads from 2022…but better late than never! I read more books than my average last year, and paring them down to a top 5 was difficult! So, my loose selections are below, in no particular order.
1. Deserted by God? – Sinclair Ferguson
This book was my favorite of the year, largely because I read it at a time when I needed the content. You know how books can read differently depending on our situation.
“Deserted by God?” is like Biblical counseling in book format. Ferguson walks through nine separate Psalms to address feelings of discouragement, disappointment, hopelessness, and (of course) desertion by God. Because it is heavily derived from scripture, his words have a poignancy which go beyond one person’s opinion about dealing with dark valleys. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone feeling abandoned by God or discouraged in their faith.
Deserted by God? Discusses what our forefathers in the Christian church called ‘spiritual desertion’, the sense of God having forgotten us that leaves us feeling isolated and directionless.
2. Evidence Not Seen – Darlene Deibler Rose
The subtitle, “A Woman’s Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II” gives a pretty good synopsis of what this memoir is about. Darlene recalls her experiences as a young missionary in New Guinea, her imprisonment in a Japanese concentration camp, and at last her liberation and return to America eight years later. Over the course of the book, Darlene is stripped of everything, and everyone she loved. As the title suggests (taken from Hebrews 11:1), Darlene’s story centers on her faith in God, how it was tested, and how God proved himself during the eight years that shaped her life forever.
As the Catalina became airborne, carrying me away from the bomb-scared terrain, the flooded rice fields, the coral coastline, and the mountains of my long bondage, I handed over eight long years of my life into the faithful, wise hands of a gracious God Who alone could help me to understand the mysteries of deep pain and suffering.
3. Persuasion – Jane Austen
Persuasion has been my long-time favorite of Austen’s work…at least when it came to the film productions (the 2022 film excluded). Feeling the need for a good novel, I decided to pick up the book and see if my bias applied beyond the movies.
Austen is a brilliant writer, her characters are vivid and often symbolic, adding a deeper layer to the storyline. The reason this book makes it into my top 5 is because it sheds significant insight into the perspective of the heroine, Anne Elliot, which is somewhat lost in the movies.
The film versions highlight Anne’s regret for having been persuaded in her younger years to give up the man she loved. The subtle message being: follow your heart and don’t let anyone tell you who to love. However, in the book when all is said and done, Anne actually does not believe she made the wrong decision in turning Wentworth away. See the quote below.
These nuances do better justice to the complexities of life and love. The story is an interesting case study of regret for things which occurred because of our actions, but not necessarily because of our fault.
I have been thinking over the past, and trying impartially to judge of the right and wrong, I mean with regard to myself; and I must believe that I was right, much as I suffered from it, that I was perfectly right in being guided by (my) friend … To me, she was in the place of a parent. Do not mistake me, however. I am not saying that she did not err in her advice…but I mean that I was right in submitting to her…
4. The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer
Not everyone likes Tozer’s writing – but for whatever reason I do. His words seem acutely applicable to the church today. If you’ve never read him, start with this book and see what you think!
According to Tozer, “This book is a modest attempt to aid God’s hungry children so to find Him.” Often, we may have a genuine desire to know God, but a dissatisfaction in our ability to “find” Him. This is a shame, considering God also desires to be near us, and has promised if we seek, we will find. In theory, closeness to God should not be so difficult. Yet, in a sin-steeped world the most simple goods can become veiled to us. Tozer’s insights are, as he says, “nothing new”, but they are a useful signpost to guide us toward deeper communion with our divine Father. It is a book I’ll certainly be re-reading!
The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heartbeat of New Testament religion.
5. Transforming Grace – Jerry Bridges
How would you define Grace? Not very easy, is it? And yet, its central to the Christian worldview! If we don’t understand grace (and I would venture to say most of us don’t understand it well), then we cannot understand the gospel of Christ. It is astounding how frequently works-based righteousness sneaks into our belief system. Take prayer, for instance. How often do we feel that if we only prayed longer, harder, or with more conviction, then our prayers would have been answered?
Jerry Bridges does an excellent job expounding on the beauty of grace, why we may not feel God’s grace, and exposing self-righteous thinking.
Here is a spiritual principle regarding the Grace of God: To the extent you are clinging to any vestiges of self-righteousness or are putting any confidence in your own spiritual attainments, to that degree you are not living by the grace of God in your life.
If you’ve read any of these books, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of them!
What a great set of books! The only one I’ve read is the pursuit of God. It will be one of the Sacred Roots volumes coming out next spring and a new addition edited by G Scorgie. I’m hoping it helps a new generation discover the pursuit of God. It was the first theology book I read and has continued impact me ever since. Thanks for sharing your list!
That’s neat to hear, Hank! I am looking forward to reading the couple books in the Sacred Roots series you gave me last July. They look golden.
Abby— a great list of profitable reads. Many we have discussed during your reading regime. All of them have in common a yearning to understand while being understood— to make sense in time and memory what we know, the meaning of suffering in an impersonal world, and how God’s grace upon our embrace comforts and provides the will to carry on. Thanks for sharing your recollection of the 2022 best list.