Thank you so much of my gifted arc in exchange for my review. This book hit me at a time in my faith where I was saying “why me” and it was definitely what I needed in this season. I can honestly say I haven’t spent much time in Habakkuk but it was so eye opening and educational.

This felt more like a commentary on Habakkuk than a book that was reflective. It was not bad but it was not what I was expecting. It gives good context and perspective to Habakkuk. I wish it had a self application aspect.

If you are looking for a book to help you read Habakkuk this would be perfect for you.

The world is chaotic right now. It seems there is something else to add to the stack every other day. Are you feeling overwhelmed and struggling to keep the faith amidst the chaos? This book might be for you. 
Taylor Turkington explores the story of Habakkuk, the prophet in the Bible. He uses the chaos of that time to parallel our time and encourage readers that there is hope, maybe not in this life, but in the next.

This is the book I didn't know that I needed to read. I often struggle with the injustices I see in this world, and the injustice that I contribute to, and this look at Habakkuk was both convicting and faith building. I highly recommend Trembling Faith for a Biblical look at lament, justice, suffering, and faith.

Our faith sometimes trembles. We doubt, or we question, or we wonder how what we're going through can ever be reconciled with who God is. Sometimes it's events in our own lives, sometimes it's events in the world. 

How do we keep going? What do we say to God? How do we not just become numb? 
Turkington's accessible exposition of Habakkuk answers these questions. She talks about lament, paying attention, responding with the emotions of Scripture (not social media), and waiting in faith, waiting for the justice and relief that God has promised. 

A quote from page 6 to whet your appetite: 
"Habakkuk models how to speak to God when life is agonizing. He teaches us a way to face the corruption around us without sticking our heads in the sand, becoming so angry we explode, or so depressed we wither. It’s a way of faith. Faith like that which made Abram upright before God even when he couldn’t see how the promises would be realized. Faith that brings perseverance. Faith that leads to real, full life. Faith that isn’t cliché, but resilient and gritty. Faith that sees what God is doing on the horizon and today."

(I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley)

The world is not as it should be.

Your friend's daughter is diagnosed with leukaemia, your brother struggling with mental health can't get the help he needs, a veteran is denied his benefits, tragedy hits close to home. 

Every morning the world seems to deteriorate one headline at a time.

Have you felt the frustration of injustice? The deep sorrow of suffering? The powerlessness to make a difference?

It's in these moments the little book of Habakkuk models for us how we can talk to God in our agony without losing our head or our hope; in Trembling Faith: How A Distressed Prophet Helps us Trust God in a Chaotic World, Taylor Turkington shows us how. 
Habakkuk’s situation can feel far from our lived experience, but it really isn’t. He lived in a time of political chaos, violence, and a whole lot of wrong. He had witnessed strong leadership, and even revival. Then, he saw it all crumble before his eyes as leaders lived for their own power and believed in their own authority.
Can't we relate?

When the world seems to be going haywire, it deeply affects our emotions as we wrestle, and our beliefs as we consider God in the midst of it all - our faith trembles. Taylor points us to Habakkuk's prayer and the importance of lament as a response to all we see that's wrong in the world. Our desperate prayers remind us God hates the evil we're seeing and how the world is revealing its brokenness.

We grieve and mourn losses, wars and tragedy in the world because things aren't right. Yet, for we who love and follow the Lord Jesus, we don't have to stay sitting in despair or submerged in powerlessness. We are tempted to doubt but in our cries to the Lord we can ask for the grace of deeper faith.

Because God is present. He is active. He is ruling.

And all the brokenness we see reminds us of our own brokenness and God's gift of grace to redeem us. He hasn't left us as we were, He won't leave this world the way it is now, this is our firm and constant hope.

How we respond to the happenings of the world has been on my mind lately. It's been a theme with patients I've been seeing at work who've been failing to reconcile what they observe with what they believe - some holding onto their True Hope and others who do not. 

But I see what a privilege it is for us who believe to have hope, that our prayers are not powerless, they are powerful because He is Almighty. I wonder at the grace given us to come to our Lord with our wrestlings - because we will surely have them. know and believe, as Habakkuk reminds us, "yet I will triumph in Yahweh; I will rejoice int he God of my salvation! Yahweh my Lord is my strength" (Hab 3:18-19).

If you've been struggling to hold onto faith in the midst of injustice and disheartened with the world, this book will be polysporin to your wounds as you dig into Habakukk's prayers and mine the truths of God within them. 

Quick Stats
# of pages: 224
Level of Difficulty: Easy
My Rating: 4 stars