God Built: Forged by God ... in the Bad and Good of Life

This is a great book. It wont provide much for the reader who is maybe new in the faith. It WILL be helpful to the believer who could uses refresh on Joseph's story. For me, I needed the reminder of the 7 years blessed, and 7 Yeats tried. Its a great reminder to count your blessings. Tough times can and WILL come. Yet God has been kind enough to bless us first, you just need to ask yourself how much of the good in your life you've taken or are taking advantage of, trials will come, have you stored up your blessings to make it through?

This book continues to linger in my mind in a way that continued pondering yields up. It has revealed a new and deeper truth to me about the essence of God, and in some ways disturbing but more so in a reassuring way. I think any new revelations of truth leave us in this tension, for at least a while, until we become more comfortable with them. The truth is God is in control of ALL of it. Paraphrased, "we as Christians often attribute everything good to God and everything bad or evil to the devil." But nothing passes into existence or circumstance without at least being allowed by God to which He then configures to His good purpose. Ouch! And thank You all at the same time. The focal Biblical account that this book is based on is the life of Joseph and how in a human context where we as physical beings are constrained by time and space (I believe it was 13 years for the molding and intricacies of God's plan to come to culmination for Joseph), often feel our suffering or injustices go on and on without any word or explanation from a Holy God. And yet, out of God's ability to see all and know all, things that appear evil and difficult and painful to us, can and do come around to a miraculous purposing for good.What often adds to this difficulty is that there is no written warranties that we as followers of God will see the workings of a Holy God or come to full understanding of His purposes and what He accomplishes. The times when we get to "see" are indeed blessings and enhancers of our faith, but our having to walk by faith without always getting the full explanations of his intents deepens our faith and dependency on Him. It draws me to Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 speaks of such things.Steve's wisdom about such matters stretched and contorted my previous beliefs. It takes a willingness to pursue new ways of thinking and an open mind. But, in essence, to become more like the Holy One, is to become willing to open our minds and hearts rather than constricting them with the law. Open minds begin to see our humanity and our commonality in this human condition and help us to love ourselves and then in so doing be able to radiate and extend such love to others, while at the same time maturing in our faith enough to trust God even when it doesn't make sense.

I couldn't wait to read this book because Joseph has always been one of my favorite characters in the Bible. I was looking forward to a deeper study into his life. What I wasn't expecting was to have some of my beliefs challenged. I really struggled to agree with what the author was saying and as a result, I really wrestled with my faith and ended up with a strengthened faith. I wanted to grow and this book really helped me to do that.This book is for you if you want to grow in your relationship with God and if you're willing to stretch and question your beliefs. Some of this can be tough to swallow, so if you're not looking to have your faith stretched, this isn't for you. I found it to be very inspiring and encouraging while at the same time convicting and challenging. I definitely have a stronger faith as a result of going through this book.

I really liked how this book was able to take a simple story from the Bible and give myself hope during difficult times. It refers to the story about Joseph being abandoned by his brothers, in which Joseph becomes ruler over Egypt and saves many lives through the famine. Not only that, but the author gives many examples of historical people making poor decisions, and how it ultimately affects their livesThis book is well-written, using simple language in order to convey a strong message. It does not rely on a lot of biblical knowledge, making it a simple read even for beginning Christian. At the end of the book, there are discussion questions for each chapter great for reviewing and reflecting on what you just read. This book has given me hope and has helped me try to hold a positive outlook on life even when times are tough.

Steve Farrar puts forth a life changing perspective utilizing the Biblical story of Joseph. Most of us will never face the setbacks that Joseph did but in his 10,000 foot flyover of Joseph's story, Steve points out some Biblical truths that bring us encouragement in a world of chaos and uncertainty.We are God built and God maintained. There is not an event in our lives, past, present, or future that God is not involved intimately in. This is one of the best treaties on this subject that I have ever read and it's done in a wonderful storytelling fashion that I have not seen before. If Steve Farrar was my professor in my college days, I would have been a far better student and much further along in living a meaningful Christian life.I recommend this to everybody, but most especially to those going through very difficult and dark times in their lives. It is a wonderful story of hope, faith, and promise.

This book is well worth reading. Farrar tells the tale of Joseph and underscores how God directs our paths through good times and bad, all for a purpose. Farrar challenges the readers to trust that God is good. Through Biblical examples and examples of people from real life, we see how, even trials and challenges are tests that build us for the ultimate outcome that God has in store for us. Our purpose should be to trust God in the midst, do what we are called to do to the best of our ability, and keep looking toward God for guidance. This book contains a helpful list of discussion questions for small groups.

Loved this book. I got to read it at a very opportune time, when the world seems to be losing its mind. God is still in control!

Really opened my eyes to aspects of the Joseph story that I have never seen before.Good practical challenges to apply to personal life.Helped me to identify different ways of doing things and how I related to some people.Would recommend to both men and women.Good to work through in a group.This book has changed my life.

Steve Farrar flies in the face of some well respected voices in the Christian community today with this well written book. Although tailored for an American audience his thoughts and insight into suffering and the providence of God is definitely food for thought. Some bold statements in regards to sickness, suffering and God's part within that, whilst rooting his convictions in scripture, provide a good counter discussion for all sickness, suffering etc is from the devil. Well worth a read even if it's to marvel once again at the life of Joseph and his amazing coat!

A true revelation to the Sovereignty of The Lord. The author wrote Joseph's story in an imaginative way that captured my attention from beginning to end. I too could turn from Victim to Victor just by understanding and knowing that The Lord sits on the throne always, he's in control and knows by end from my beginning

Great life changing book.

Steve Farrar is a good author. This book helps bring to light some good lessons to grow as a man and be a better leader. Only thing i would change is the Bible references used throughout are from a large variety of versions so some of the versus lose their actual meaning/importance and can confuse newer readers that may not be familiar with the Bible