Skip to main content

When Mountains Won't Move by Jacob Hawk





When Mountains Won’t Move: How to Survive a Struggling Faith by Jacob Hawk
http://start2finish.org/product/when-mountains-wont-move/

These days we hear a lot about people losing their faith, finding their faith, or being lost and eventually shoring up their faith near the end of life, but rarely do we hear about surviving a struggling faith.  Pastor Jacob Hawk in his new book, When Mountains Won’t Move, seeks to address the issue of struggling faith with a sincerity and biblical faithfulness that is both wonderful and unique.  The beauty of this book is that Jacob doesn’t wave to us from the side of the road as we read but opens up his own struggles with faith, giving us a sense that we are on the same road as he.

Jacob lays the table at the beginning of his book by addressing some similar experiences humans face; the hard work of an employee hoping for a promotion but being passed over, and the death of a family member.  These events catapult us into the front row of a theatre that is playing the movie Struggling and Not Sure How to Move on.  We cringe at the thought that life is not supposed to be this way.  Yet, Jacob offers us some sane medicine that soothes even the deepest pain.  In the chapter 2, Jacob writes that the first principles is to Embrace Weakness, “to confess that we don’t have it all together, to admit…that even we-Jesus following, Bible-believing people – need to return to the basic matters of faith (19).”  There is a healing that occurs when the church exudes a beautiful solidarity for others as we all confess with Jacob, “We’re broken too.  Let’s heal together (26).”

In this little book there is simple yet profound message here about struggling faith and the church.  After Jacob’s youth group in sixth grade went to Arlington, Texas to help paint the house of a Mr. Pheres, a retired painter, the strength of the gospel showed up on their return trip.  Mr. Pheres, though not sure about the kid’s painting quality, embraced this act as a moment of grace.  He writes about his own struggle with faith, “I’ve heard a lot of sermons in my day.  For 80 years, people and preachers have visited my house, begging me to come to church.  I’ve read books.  I’ve been to seminars.  I’ve even been to the potlucks.  But I never believed it, and I never understood why, until I met you kids.  When you painted my house, on your own time, with your own money, I finally saw the love of Jesus (53).” 

Yet, Jacob challenges those who see the church as irrelevant, boring, or full of hypocrites by pointing out that the church is real, a gift, heavenly, it cares and its stable.  Even more, he asks a pointed question, “Do you really think that if you turn to your job, your money, or anything else, you will always find what you need (78)?”  If the church has damaged your faith, an apology is on offer.  Although the church can’t bring healing to every scar we experience on this earth, she does offer grace, healing, and hope without reservation.

I was really encouraged by this book and the way Jacob really offered healing to those with struggling faith, including myself.

Thanks to Start2Finish and BookCrash for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv
Post a Comment
Read more

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to
Post a Comment
Read more