The Grace of Catastrophe: When What You Know about God Is All You Have

by Jan Winebrenner

Book Overview

Catastrophes can strike anyone, at any time. No life is immune. No place is invulnerable. The only difference is what we do with them when they come. Jan Winebrenner writes to encourage women who have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802450415
• ISBN13: 9780802450418
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Powerful Encouragement to Embrace Grace

I recently had the privilege of meeting Jan Winebrenner, who gave me a copy of her book The Grace of Catastrophe. In addition to being an extraordinary woman and the author of seven books, Jan serves as the director of the Dallas Christian Writers' Guild. I love everything about Jan's book, including the title. I keep mulling over the paradox of it: the grace of catastrophe, and the catastrophe of grace. Winebrenner weaves her own wisdom and reflections with powerful quotations, Scripture verses, and illustrations drawn from a life devoted to dispensing God's grace to the hurting people of this world. Winebrenner reveals that, through eyes of faith, we can see God's grace at work even in our lives' most excruciating catastrophes. And, by the same token, God's grace - granted both to us and to others - is a catastrophe of sorts, in the sense that its extravagance causes a crisis for us as human beings. We can't fathom it. This catastrophe is what causes so many to doubt God. Why? Because Christians (and I'm preaching to the choir here!) say that we want grace, but what we really want, deep down, is justice. We tend to want the so-called "good people" of the world to be rewarded and the "bad people" to be punished. When we see the floodgates of heaven opened and God's grace poured out on the deserving as well as the seemingly undeserving, many of us act like the miffed older brother of the prodigal son or the laborer who worked the entire day for a denarius and grew disenchanted when he saw another worker receive the same pay for one hour's work. The catastrophe of grace is this: For BY GRACE you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9 But the grace of catastrophe teaches us that God is greater than our circumstances. It demonstrates that through our weakness, He is strong. It affirms that we can consider it pure joy when we face trials of various kinds, knowing that this testing produces ENDURANCE and ENDURANCE leads to SPIRITUAL MATURITY (James 1:2-4). This book will challenge you, refresh you, and dramatically reveal to you the gritty and vital truth that GOD IS THERE in your trials as well as in your triumphs. Winebrenner writes of a conversation she had with a young Albanian woman named Brikena. Brikena told Jan, "Talking with you, having conversation, it's like after you've been thirsty for a very long time, and then you get a cool drink of water and it tastes so good." This book is a cool drink of water for those parched by the catastrophes in their lives. I highly recommend it!

Finding God in the Midst of Trouble

No one is immune from the hardships of living in a fallen world. They come in many forms, and when we least expect them--the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, a rift in a long-term relationship. In her book, The Grace of Catastrophe, Jan Winebrenner depicts a loving, caring God who is with us always. She shows how, when life is at its worst, God is still there, speaking, encouraging, nurturing, challenging us to grow. Using Scripture, personal experiences, and the insight of wise saints that have traveled this journey before, Ms. Winebrenner sets out to show the hurting, the wounded, the confused, that God knows our pain and desires for us to seek Him in the midst of it, that we may overcome it. With the the insight of Charles Stanley, the poignancy of Jan Karon, and the simplicity of Max Lucado, Ms. Winebrenner, in my opinion, succeeds. The reader comes away with a lighter heart, a knowing that a personal, loving God is with us even in the most incomprehensible circumstances. I highly recommend this book for everyone. Even if you're not going through a hard time now, you will eventually, and the truths gleaned from the pages of The Grace of Catastrophe will be a great encouragement and help to you.

God meets you in the pages of this book.

I opened Jan Winebrenner's The Grace of Catastrophe while flying over Europe, far above my own catastrophes. Her words of authenticity and raw spirituality gave me hope that someone else had walked the journey I was now stumbling through. Quoting classic authors like A.W. Tozer, Julian of Norwich, John Bunyan and C. S. Lewis, Winebrenner shows that we are all dusty, needy pilgrims who serve an immutable, sovereign God-a God who allows our craziness, welcomes our questions, sees our frailty, and communes with us in the most personal way possible. Stripping away Christianese and the all-is-well façade Christians sometimes hide behind, Winebrenner offers readers a genuine picture of God-not the easily manipulated deity we've become comfortable with, but the wild, holy, loving God of the Bible. Woven throughout are the author's personal catastrophes as well as those of other pilgrims, backdropped against the grace of God. If you are struggling to understand God in the midst of catastrophe, benefit your soul by buying this book. Grace awaits you.

Grace in the Storm

Thank you Jan for your sensitive, thoughtful approach to the subject of pain. You have taught us how to apply God's Word to our hurting hearts and showed us His Love is ever present. It is in the midst of the catastrophe that His Love is more and more evident and you have given us the tools to see Him more clearly.

God's grace through trials

Who among us enjoys those times in life when catastrophe strikes? Yet, which one of us has successfully avoided them? Jan Winebrenner invites readers to "track God's grace" in the midst of life's messiest moments -- to flesh out their theology,when the going gets tough -- and discover the depths of God. She vulnerably shares her own experiences of finding markers of God's faithfulness in the midst of catastrophe, when what she knew about God was all she had. This book helps readers see trials as opportunities to trust, even as evidence of God's grace, in the darkest valleys of life.