Reviewed by: Madison Turpin, a Professional Writing student at Taylor University

Introduction

Title: Finding Favor: God’s Blessings Beyond Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Author: Brian Jones

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Publication Date: 2018

Format: Print book

Length: 174 pages

OVERVIEW

Brian Jones summarizes his entire book in a quote on page 92: “One of the greatest tragedies of the Christian faith is that so many Christians make assumptions about why God allows suffering without actually reading what God has to say about suffering.”

In Finding Favor, Jones does an amazing job of showing readers how to apply God’s will to their lives by walking his audience through various situations in life that require God’s help. Readers experience everything from encountering people with addictions to watching a dad shower affection on his adopted son. He also covers the biblical approach to facing sickness, experiencing disobedience in children, enduring financial struggles, not knowing God’s plan for one’s life, struggling to find a relationship with God, dealing with the responsibility of supporting a family, undergoing struggling marriages, and more. He checks all the boxes of a good, inspirational book.

Jones focuses greatly on the Bible by applying a biblical story to each chapter, and he bases his arguments off of the story within every section. Readers can compare their life circumstances to those of biblical characters such as David, Esther, and Job as Jones relates his own life experiences to them. He also pulls quotes from famous evangelists such as A.W. Tozer and Oswald Chambers.

Although the thoughts occasionally appear scattered, the author has a very active voice. His honesty and vulnerability shine through his writing.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5)

4.5 stars

Suggested Audience

Since this book grapples with life circumstances and seeking God in times of trouble, it will appeal to men and women ages 18 and older who enjoy reading inspirational and self-help books.

Christian Impact

This book is almost entirely biblically based and connects all of the author’s ideas to a biblical passage. It encourages readers to look to God for every area of difficulty in their lives.

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