Embrace God’s Divine Intentions for You Your story began before you were even born. You have existed in God’s loving, wildly creative imagination for all eternity. His plans are perfect and His thoughts about you are not limited by time, space, or any situation. You may have wandered away from God’s plans. You may have suffered soul-level injuries that affect your identity. You may be hurting … may be hurting from past circumstances…or feeling trapped in your current ones. There’s good news: God is still ready to help you realize the wonderful life He has planned for you.
Divine Intentions:The Life You’re Supposed to Live, The Person God Meant You to Be takes you on a journey of self-discovery through four key concepts: rescued, restored, relabeled, and redirected.
Author Doug K. Reed offers hope and direction for those who are searching for answers to their identities in Christ while struggling with wounds from the past or present. He shares his own personal story of restoration and soul-level healing, leading readers into the light of God’s love.
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This book, based on Scripture and filled with verses that support the author’s teaching, offers a faith boost to encourage believers to live the life God intended for them. Many do not know God’s Word well and do not incorporate all of His truth into their lives. So many suffer from wounds from their past and need healing and restoration. The book takes readers on a spiritual journey through rescue, restoring, relabeling, and redirecting. This discipleship tool could be used in personal counseling, group study, or on your own as a self-help resource. The author also shares from his own life and how the Lord took him through this same process. We need to know who we are in Christ and appropriate what He has given us. I would recommend this for teens and adults. Some of the teaching was different than I’d heard before, but I agreed with most of his biblical interpretation. I received a copy from Celebrate Lit. All opinions are my own.
My thoughts on Divine Intentions:
I like the concept of this book. It is going to help everyone heal from the inside out. I do agree that we all have some kind of hurt hidden within. We’ve been injured somehow and now hold that close as part of our identity. We think to ourselves, “I am wounded”. Inside of us is this voice saying we are not worthy because that one time that one person told us we weren’t and God certainly must think the same.
This is a non-fiction work and shares personal stories from the author which does make it feel less like a self-help book and more like a memoir that teaches which is nice. It was written well. I could easily understand what the author was saying and put it into practice.
This book is one that I would recommend to those who have struggled or are struggling. It would also be good really for anyone to read even if they feel they don’t have a hidden hurt. You might be surprised at what you discover.
I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.
Writing with a direct and sympathetic tone, Doug Reed shares his insight into how readers can come to understand the life they’ve been given and how they can seek to glorify God in it. The most important thing, by far, to remember when contemplating our identities is that the Lord created us and planned our lifespan and every detail long before we were born. No matter how many mistakes we make, there is nothing that can separate us from God if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord. It is once we recognize our priceless identity in Him that we can move forward and become the godly Christian men and women whom God has called us to be—true light bearers. As Reed asserts, “We begin our new life of seeking God’s divine intentions for us by acknowledging that we are individually inadequate, desperate, and sinful, and recognizing that we don’t have the ability to save ourselves. In short, we admit our need for rescue.”
Divided into four main sections, “Divine Intentions” speaks to the brokenness in each of us by addressing how, through Christ, we are rescued, restored, relabeled, and redirected. Because of the redemptive work of the cross, we can rejoice that “Our God is a God of forgiveness and He also is a God of restoration.” Much of this book consists of the author’s personal accounts, which not only illustrate his points but also demonstrate practical application. Brief, summarizing quotations taken from the text itself appear on each page, and there are Discovery Questions at the end of each chapter, with spaces given for writing responses. As either a guide for personal study or for group use, “Divine Intentions” is a compassionate, versatile book with a focus on healing and restoration.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
The author does a good job of using illustrations to help us understand how much God wants to rescue us from things that turn us away from Him. I grew up as a pastors kid so many people thought I was grounded in the Word. I did have a foundation of God in my life but I was far from being a Christian. There were many times I wanted to give up but something inside me said to keep fighting. We sometimes don’t understand that we are slipping away from God until one day we feel all alone. The good news is that He has always been there with His arms opened wide ready to rescue us.
I enjoyed the chapter about forgiveness. The author shares a story about taking his dads’ rifle without permission. He brought the rifle home in less than perfect condition and knew he was in big trouble. His father was upset but instead of showing anger, he told his son he forgave him. It may be a simple story but one I found powerful. It illustrates how our Heavenly Father forgives us even when we don’t think we deserve it. Forgiveness is something that God wants us to do every time. There is no limit of how many times Jesus forgives us, so we need to do the same for others. I can remember thinking that if this certain person hurts me one more time, I will not forgive them. In fact I will stop talking to them and remove them from my life. What I did was say I was better than God and didn’t need to keep forgiving over and over again.
At the end of every chapter are questions to answer which I found helpful while going through the book. They go over what was talked about in the chapter and gives you things to apply to your own life. The author is open about his struggles and shares how God has changed him. The book uses scriptures and stories from the bible to enhance the points the author makes. I enjoyed the book and found it helpful in many ways.
“No matter how far you are from the life that God planned for you, your purpose has not changed.”
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.