Fractured Faith: Finding a Way . . . (Moody Publishers, 2022)
The full title of Lina AbuJamra’s latest book is Fractured Faith: Finding Your Way Back to God in an Age of Reconstruction. Lina’s a pediatric ER doctor now practicing telemedicine. She’s also a Christian author and speaker. The author stresses that her book is about coming clean with the truth. Hence, Lina’s no longer afraid to ask the difficult questions. As a result, Lina advocates, choose to lean into disruption. Let your conscience overrule the status quo. Therefore, it takes grit and willingness to honestly lean into the truth. Certainly, it matters that you recognize where you’ve been. But it’s much more important to know where you’re going. Thus, Fractured Faith also centers on understanding that God’s already found His way to you.
Above all, Lina observes, your expectations can make or break your faith. Consequently, we must base our expectations on God’s promises. In contrast, we can tell the depth of the lie we’ve embraced about God by the level of disappointment we experience in our lives. So, you must be careful not to allow disappointment to undermine the goodness of God in your heart. Because God uses your painful experiences with rejection and suffering to redirect your calling. Most significantly, other people’s sins or your response to their actions fails to sabotage God’s purpose for your life. And when you lump God and the people who hurt you in the same category, you eventually isolate yourself from God.
In addition, Lina underscores, the crisis of faith we need differentiates true faith from inauthentic faith. It’s an essential part of the discipleship process. So, wrestling with God functions as an exercise that strengthens faith. In those moments we thirst for the presence of God, usually looking for God to manifest His presence in our lives. Therefore, Lina emphasizes, longing for more from God deconstructs our faith. As opposed to longing for more of God. Practice the Christian rhythms of silence and solitude, prayer, fasting, fellowship with other believers, and reading God’s Word.
In conclusion, Lina exhorts, discipline yourself to hear God’s whisper. The truth of God’s Word pierces us and the power of God’s Word changes us. Furthermore, Christ’s call for us to be set apart = a call to mercy and compassion. Love paves the way for others to hear the truth and maximizes its impact. Finally, Lina concludes Fractured Faith with these words:
“The glorious truth you can’t escape is that God is reconstructing your faith. God hasn’t failed you. He’s been right there all along, waiting for you to come home and He’s holding up a sign that says, Welcome back to Me!”
