ECPA BESTSELLER • The lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for award-winning contemporary Christian band Tenth Avenue North shows readers that by seeking God first and focusing on serving Him, we can live daily in His will.“Perhaps God isn’t giving me the plan because He wants to be the plan.”This was the aha moment for Mike Donehey after years of wrestling with his obsession to know God’s … obsession to know God’s specific plans for his life. He came to the realization that waiting for absolute certainty from God before making decisions may seem uberspiritual, but it can lead to a life of intense stress, paralyzing fear, and crushing regret–just the opposite of the freedom granted to those living a Christ-filled life.
“This is my story…how I gave up begging to know God’s will and began to ask His life to come and change my will.”
With his signature humor and relentless hunger for God, Mike will show you that discovering the Father’s purpose and plan for our lives is not the shell game that we all too often make it out to be. If you’re unsure what to do next, take heart and accept the ultimate invitation: learn to see God as the plan, not simply the formula to the plan.
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I am a big fan of Tenth Avenue North and their significant songs such as “Strong Enough To Save”, “I Have this Hope”, and “Greater Than All My Regrets”. Just like his songs, Mike Donehey’s book, speaks about the moments in his life that God lead him to better dreams. Mike has a great way of working relevant points about life into his own personal story. I enjoyed hearing about some of the stories behind the songs, and how God supported him throughout. There are a lot of moments in this book that are relatable, and encouraging. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for God in their life. “At the end of the day, God will always invest far more in us than we’ll ever be able to return to Him”.
Humor mixed with vulnerability & done so in the most beautiful & prolific way.
What if the weight of the world wasn’t on your shoulders? What if the success of your ministry didn’t rely on you? What if you didn’t have to lead? Sounds crazy, right? Sacrilegious? But here’s the point Mine Donehey wants to make: All those responsibilities don’t really rest on your shoulders anyway. They are God’s job, and far too often we’ve yanked control from Him.
What does the Bible call us to do and be? Be fishers of men and make disciples. Seek God. Love others. Meditate on Scripture and pass it on to our children. I’m sure you can add to that list, but where does the Bible call us to be ‘leaders’? Does it call us to help create and run big, successful ministries? Or does it tell us to love God, seek His kingdom, and allow God to take care of the rest?
Many of you need to understand that the author is not advocating laziness. And some of you need to stop the arguments running through your head and think for a moment. One of the big points of Mr. Donehey’s book is this: Obedience and trust. Faithfully do what God tells you to do then release all other aspects to Him. He will determine the future.
As an author, I feel the weight of doing my part to make sure my books are successful. Weekly blog posts, activity on social media, and more are designed to interact with readers and spread the word about what God’s given me to share. Shouldn’t I tell the world about the message He’s given me? Or, do I merely put the book out there and trust that He’ll take over from there? Finding where that line is between what I’m pressured to do within my career (what I’m told I must do if I want to be ‘successful’) and what God has actually told me to do is difficult on good days.
But I look back and see the same difficulty bleed over into when I led within ministry. When I was on staff at a church. When my kids were small and I wanted to be a good mother. Now, as I seek to be the wife and mother and grandmother and friend God has called me to be. It’s so much, and many days I feel like I’m constantly failing.
But that returns me to my original questions. What if I’m doing too much or the wrong things? And what if the real problem is that my focus is off?
Mike Donehey’s book is simple but thought-provoking. He doesn’t claim to have all the answers but invites you to journey with him through discovering pieces of the answers. It’s a breath of fresh air in the plethora of books available on leadership and growing in God as we are reminded again and again that God is not after our achievements. He’s after our heart.
The lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for award-winning contemporary Christian band Tenth Avenue North shows readers that by seeking God first and focusing on serving Him, we can live daily in His will.
“Perhaps God isn’t giving me the plan because He wants to be the plan.” What an awe-inspiring, challenging, life changing book Michael has written. The theme throughout the book is surrendering your will to God to allow Him to live His plans and purposes through you.
Micah 6:8. He wants you to walk with Him. He wants you to be humble. He wants you to carry yourself fairly and justly. He wants you to love mercy.
With all the humility you can muster, repeat John’s simple soul-saving words, “I am the disciple Jesus loves.” I highly recommend the book.
I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher, Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.