Paul Mani - Summary of Its Not Supposed to be this Way

Summary

of

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way

Lysa TerKeurst

Busy Readers Conversation Starters

Paul Mani,

London Sky Press

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First Published in the United States of America 2019

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Table of Contents

T

he New York Times bestselling author Lysa Terkeursts latest literary offering to her readers is It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered. This book is TerKeursts raw and harrowing account of a very difficult period in her life, together with the spiritual lessons that she has learned from these faith-testing experiences.

The theme of the book It's Not Supposed to Be This Way is living in the midst of disappointments. As the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa TerKeurst has certainly experienced more than her fair share of challenges in the recent past. In the past few years, TerKeurst needed to come to terms with a serious illness, treatment for breast cancer, and the breakdown of her marriage with husband Art. TerKeursts book included a number of moving accounts of the nights of solitude that Lysa TerKeurst had to suffer alone during a time when she felt estranged from her husband and from her grown up children who had all left home.

Many Christian apologists have already tried to justify the mysterious ways that God moves towards humankind. They all try to answer the question of why God, who is a loving creator, would allow much pain and suffering in the world and the people whom He died for. However, what the best-selling writer is content to assert is that this world is fallen and that all of us are living in between two gardens: one is the Garden of Eden before the fall and the new heaven and earth when all of Gods creation will be restored.

Our present circumstances would most likely be different from what we would like them to be, but nonetheless, we all have to find our way through all the challenges that are arising. Lysa TerKeurst recognizes that many of her fellow Christians are actually suffering in their own way. Everyone is fighting their own battles, and they do not always feel that they are able to talk about what they feel and what they are going through. TerKeurst says that so many of us are very disappointed with, but we do not feel free to talk about it. Perhaps we just dont know how we can process our complex emotions and our grave disappointments, especially not during a Bible study or a church service on a Sunday because everyone in the church says that we should be positive, grateful, and let our faith overcome your feelings. Lysa TerKeurst thinks theres a very dangerous aspect in staying quiet and just pretending that everything is okay. Everyone has limits, and we can easily get exhausted by the disappointments in our lives.

Lysa TerKeurst is not someone who can be accused of remaining silent about the difficulties that she was experiencing. She recalls the many hurtful and thoughtless words that Christians have told her during her times of suffering. However, TerKeurst acknowledges the encouragement and support that she has received from many believers. TerKeurst also records the therapeutic value of learning something new and taking up a new interest in her case; it was painting. During the most difficult times in her life, TerKeurst recalled the spiritual lessons that she learned from her new experiments with paint and brush.

Lysa TerKeurst also suggests that none of us need final answers to our most difficult questions. All that we need is Jesus, just Jesus. TerKeurst recognizes that many Christians have had our most valued hopes and dream crash and turn to dust, but she points out that this dust is mixed with living water that eventually becomes clay. TerKeurst emphasizes that God is the master potter who can mold us and reshape the clay of our broken lives and then prepare us for new possibilities that left to ourselves, we could never have thought or imagined.

TerKeurst referenced the biblical character Job who was advised to curse God and die during the most difficult time of his life. Christians who are suffering difficult circumstances may be tempted to just fall into sin. Lysa TerKeurst includes a very helpful chapter on exposing the enemy, wherein she suggests that when we give in to temptation, it is often followed by the sense that we have already failed as human beings and as Christians. Consequentially, we would no longer feel qualified for Gods forgiveness. TerKeurst argues that Satans favourite entry point in Christians is through our disappointments. She says that the enemy would come in as a whisper, then it lingers like a gentle breeze, and finally builds like a storm inside us that we dont even see coming. Eventually, Satans insatiable appetite to destroy Gods children will unleash the tornado of destruction within the person. That is what he planned all along. God, on the other hand, is such a loving Father. Grace and mercy are awaiting those who seek it. Lysa TerKeurst also provides many verses from the Bible to help her readers to cope with adversity. She also offers prayers that can be helpful for her readers when the times are difficult. The end of the book recalls the ending of Jobs story. Jobs fortunes were restored after a long time of his suffering. Lysa TerKeursts relationship with her errant husband has been restored, and she has also been declared cancer-free after major surgery. However, Lysa TerKeurst is aware that her readers would not find a similar resolution to the problems they have and that life on this side of eternity will always be less than perfect. But she emphasizes that God is perfect all through these times.