Review: Where God Finds You

Where God Finds You
By Anita Higman
Standard Publishing, 2012


Where God Finds You by Anita Higman is a collection of 40 devotions that stands out among all the other devotional material in the market today because of its unique and fresh approach. The vehicle of biblical fiction gives voice to what each character might have felt in his or her situation, followed by Scripture, devotional thought, and questions for personal reflection.


Summary

In forty devotional tales, Where God Finds You breathes new life into ancient Bible characters. Live with and learn about more than forty Bible men and women, including the wife of Pontius Pilate, Esther, John the Baptist, Delilah, Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene. Through reflection on Scripture and prayer, you’ll discover a place in each of these lives of vulnerability, tenderness, truth, and love—a place where you can find God . . . and where God finds you.

Where God Finds You is unique among devotional books in that it brings dozens of men and women of the Bible to life through dramatic short stories, connects biblical truths to today’s culture, and offers readers an opportunity to reflect on what they’ve learned. Each devotion features:

• A dramatic retelling of Scripture that allows the reader to crawl into the pages of the Bible
• A quote or paraphrase of the applicable Bible passage in a reader-friendly version
• A personal reflection from the author to help link the passage to life today
• Prompts for personal reflection or group discussion that lead to practical application


My thoughts

There are a number of excellent devotionals on the market today, but Where God Finds You is different from anything I've seen and is refreshing in its approach, which infuses devotions with first-person biblical fiction.  The reflective questions at the end of each chapter are especially well thought out and will cause some serious soul searching. I had to read this book quicker than I would have liked for review purposes, but I'm eager to go back and work my way through at my own pace.

I couldn't pick a favorite character, but a few stood out to me. One devotion revolves around Leah, when her son gave her mandrake plants and Rachel asked for some of them. Anita focuses on the jealousy aspect, writing that "Resentment is a universally acknowledged sentiment, and it doesn't appear just when two women are fighting for the love of a man." And from the man at the pool of Bethesda devotional: "Ever since the Garden of Eden, people have been overlooking what is eternal for what is temporal."

Anita ends the book perfectly with Simeon, as he was blessed to hold the long-awaited Messiah in his arms. "I lay down and closed my eyes, knowing peace. I could see the Christ child in my mind, growing strong and becoming filled with wisdom. The grace of God was on him wherever he went. And the world, the whole of the world, would never be the same again."

The cover pictures a woman with hands held up in openness and surrender, which makes me think it is being targeted to women, but men would enjoy this devotional as well. In fact, 17 out of the 40 devotional characters are male. This is a devotional that all can relate to, from teens on up. I highly recommend this devotional for personal or group discussion.

 Anita Higman

Visit Anita's website at anitahigman.com to learn more.

This book was provided by BookFun.org in exchange for my honest review.