Synopsis: Len's Star Rating: 3 out of 10. A Christian book that contains reflections on how a person could gain encouragement and insight into their difficulties through the ups and downs of the life of Joseph.

BY LEN LANTZ, MD / 2.27.2022; No. 77

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Star Rating – 3 out of 10

Rating guide: 1 = horrible, 5 = average and 10 = wow

Author

Max Lucado

About the author

Max Lucado is a prolific and best-selling author who is reported to have written nearly 100 books with 130 million copies in print. He is a pastor at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, and he and his wife Denalyn previously served as missionaries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for five years. He has been named “America’s Pastor” by Christianity Today and listed as “The Best Preacher in America” by Reader’s Digest.

General description

You’ll Get Through This is a Christian book with lessons on how God used the peaks and valleys of Joseph’s life. The book includes a Bible study prepared by Christine M. Anderson in the appendix. The theme of this book is built on Max Lucado’s perspective that, “You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don’t be foolish or naive. But don’t despair either. With God’s help you will get through this.”

Unique and most important aspects

You’ll Get Through This is about dealing with difficult things in life. The “this” in You’ll Get Through This could mean any bad thing, such as loss of a loved one, a financial problem, loss of a job, a health crisis, etc. Because the problems addressed in this book are potentially so broad, it appears overreaching to offer advice in such a nonspecific way and risks becoming a series of platitudes. The author seeks to overcome this difficulty by indicating that God will always bring good from bad things. Mr. Lucado bases his perspective on the verse from Genesis 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. (50:20 NASB)” From this verse and others like it (Eph. 1:11 and Jer. 29:11), Max Lucado concludes, “In God’s hands intended evil becomes eventual good.”

The author does mention depression in this book, however, the only example that he provides is the situation in which his wife attributed the beginning of the healing of her depression due to the prayers of her church members (Chapter 3). While this is a helpful story for some, many people do not experience relief from major depression through prayer alone. I had some other concerns with this book, such as negative labeling in the chapter title, “Stupid Won’t Fix Stupid” (Chapter 4), and the suggestion that the two years Joseph was in prison was the equivalent of boot camp (Chapter 5).

Best quote

“Seek counsel from someone who has faced a similar challenge. Ask friends to pray. Look for resources. Reach out to a support group. Most importantly, make a plan.”

Who would enjoy this book?

Readers who desire reassurance that the difficult times in their lives will improve would likely enjoy You’ll Get Through This.

Who would not enjoy this book?

Readers who are not interested in platitudes and instead desire specific direction and action steps for depression, trauma, and loss are unlikely to enjoy You’ll Get Through This.

Conclusion

You’ll Get Through This is a Christian book that contains reflections on how a person could gain encouragement and insight into their difficulties through the ups and downs of the life of Joseph.

Buy this book at your local, independently-owned bookstore (or below)