In "God Does His Best Work with Empty" authored by Nancy Guthrie, readers are invited to explore the profound and transformative concept that God's most remarkable work often occurs in the emptiness of our lives. With a blend of heartfelt personal anecdotes, insightful reflections, and deep scriptural insights, Guthrie's central thesis revolves around the idea that it is in our moments of brokenness, loss, and vulnerability that God's grace and purpose shine the brightest. Through stories of her own experiences and biblical narratives, Guthrie masterfully weaves a narrative that resonates with the universal human experience of emptiness, while offering a hopeful perspective on how God's redemptive power operates in those very moments.

As I delved into the pages of this book, I was struck by how Guthrie artfully navigates the complex terrain of pain and loss. She doesn't offer pat answers or easy solutions; instead, she guides readers through the process of embracing the voids in our lives as opportunities for God to work miracles. Her exploration of biblical figures like Naomi, Job, and the apostle Paul serves as a roadmap for understanding how emptiness can be a conduit for divine transformation. Guthrie's insights highlight the paradoxical beauty of finding God's presence amidst sorrow and finding purpose in the midst of seemingly unfillable gaps.

"God Does His Best Work with Empty" is a must-read for anyone grappling with life's uncertainties, disappointments, and hardships. Whether you're going through a season of personal loss, questioning your purpose, or simply seeking a deeper connection with God, this book offers profound solace and encouragement. Both Christians and those curious about matters of faith will find Guthrie's words relatable and inspiring. Through her compassionate and relatable storytelling, Guthrie reminds us that emptiness is not a sign of defeat, but a canvas on which God can paint His most magnificent work. This book is a beacon of hope for anyone who wants to discover how their brokenness can lead to a fuller and more meaningful life in the arms of a loving Creator.

Are you also empty?
Bible teacher, speaker, and author Nancy Guthrie presents her book "God Does His Best Work with Empty," published by Tyndale House Publishers. At the beginning Guthrie shows that there are different kinds of emptiness which the people of God faced and which are reported in the Bible. Then she shows how God fills our emptiness (with provision, presence, grace, . . .) in eight chapters entitled: 1) A Strong Craving, 2) A Tent at the Center, 3) A Desperate Need, 4) A Royal Table, 5) An Unquenchable Thirst, 6) A Vanishing Breath, 7) A Trembling Trust, and 8) A Hidden Treasure. For conclusion she offers "A Prayer for Filling" which she bases on Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19 and then turns into "My Prayer for Filling" which is her prayer for filling for her readers. According to Guthrie emptiness has never been, and never will be, a problem to God. She tells her readers at the end of the introduction: "As you work your way through the pages that follow, my hope and desire is that you will find page after page of grace, page after page of tangible hope that your emptiness can be filled. My prayer is that you’ll begin to believe and experience that, in fact, God really does do his best work with empty as he fills it with himself."
Guthrie is open and honest about her personal life and challenges. She has based her book on the Bible, talking about the experiences of God's people in the Old and New Testament, but she has also added quotes from others (e.g., Augustine). It is a basic book about God's relationship with us. The book also offers footnotes and a bibliography which can help those readers who want to verify things or go deeper in their studies. I highly recommend the book. It is good to read alone, but it is also an interesting book for the study in a Bible study group or in a book club. It is for all those readers who want to fill their emptiness with something more than what the world offers.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#GodDoesHisBestWorkWithEmpty #NetGalley

Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. Ecclesiastes 1:2-8.

If you are feeling empty, lonely, or even without purpose, God is calling you to himself. It is these feelings that we question why and how. We all feel these inadequacies but what do we do with them. How can we draw close to the Lord?

Guthrie is probably one of my favorite bible teachers and I gleam insight to faith and how God may be working in my life. I appreciate her getting to the root of my sin and to the hope of the Gospel. This study does that. It looks at the emptiness experienced by the people of God thru the people of Israel in the wilderness. The losses that Naomi suffered and the circumstances faced by Mephiboseheth. The woman at the well and the concerns of Habakkuk. There is also the parables of the field worker and the pearl merchant in finding what is the most important thing.

These are the things we must be reminded time and time again. That God does his best work on empty. It is only then we can be filled with his love, his security and his promises. Sometimes it might be the act of us emptying ourselves so we can be filled with those things that last and gives us peace.

Each Chapter begins with what God fill us up with and how we can experience his goodness. Highly recommend.

A special thank you to Tyndale House Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest revie

“You know the aching emptiness you feel inside. You wonder if God can even use you because you see this emptiness as crippling or disqualifying.” You wrestle with feelings of loneliness, disappointment, and dissatisfaction, and wonder if God sees you. “But emptiness has never stopped God from His work.” In her new book, Nancy Guthrie shares how, when we look at the story of Scripture, we see that God actually does His best work with empty. This is one you don't want to miss.

This is a tremendously encouraging call to let go and surrender all we have and all we are & let the Lord fill us with more of Himself.

Using both personal stories and Biblical stories to illustrate elements of 'emptiness', Guthrie encourages the reader to come 'empty' to God. Some of the chapters were stronger, particularly 5 and 8, however, all of it was a rewarding, provoking read. The last chapter (8) on the 'pearl of great price' was great and then Guthrie concludes with an interpretation of Paul's prayer of filling from Ephesians 1 using the individual stories from each of the chapters.

I've printed this out and will go to it regularly during my own times with God.

One aspect that I appreciated was that most of Guthrie's references were from sermons of other people rather than published books. This indicated her thoroughness in research and demonstrated to me that often the best references are those from the pulpit as many of these have actually never made it into a book.

I received an ebook copy of the book from Tyndale via NetGalley with no expectation of a favourable review.

What do we do when we are empty? This book addresses various types of empty from the Bible and shows us how we should respond to being empty.

Chapter 1 begins with how God fills our emptiness with His provision. That is exactly where we need to begin as we think about empty. God has what is needed to fill the emptiness we have. I know at times it is not necessarily what I want but it is from God and therefore good. What do we hunger for and want? Are we looking to God or others to fill out longings.

The book continues God fills our emptiness with His Presence. God wants to be with us.

Each chapter looks at a different way that God fills our emptiness.

This book is packed with Biblical truth. I thnk it would be great to read with a friend or a mentor.

Thanks to net galley for a copy to review.

Sometimes it is not what is in a book that captures your attention, but what makes you think... sometimes is related to the actual words printed in the book and sometimes it just led you to a way of thoughts and you just can´t stop. This was the case. As weird as you may find my words, this book made me think a lot in motherhood and the meaning of life (and the author was not even talking about this, well... she shares some of her own struggles with motherhood, which I found odd because she lost children, I don´t get it, and probably never will). I´m thankful to Nancy for the reflections she lightens up inside of me and because I was encouraged to remember that even when you feel left out, drained, burned out, and basically empty, it is a good thing because God needs you to be in order to fill you. In this book, if you are a Christian, you will find things that you already know, but I´m sure you need to remember, why? because we tend to forget, and we need to remember. You will find some paragraphs where she quotes from other books she wrote and I have also enjoyed (like Holding on to hope with Tyndale, 2002 and Hearing Jesus speak into your sorrow, also with Tyndale, 2009, and the latest from Even Better than Eden, 9 ways the Bible´s story changes everything about your story) but you won´t find that annoying because those are some short passages that are short and truly related).

I can relate... Here some quotes...
"...we simply can’t expect any human to fill us up completely. No human relationship, no matter how good, can bear the weight of our expectations of complete satisfaction, perfect harmony, and intimacy that only this ultimate and eternal marriage will provide. Instead, our less-than-perfect marriages or our longings to be married can serve to keep us thirsty for this perfect marriage to come. We can expect God to be at work in our emptiness to woo us to himself. Whether we’re married or single, divorced or widowed, our lives are meant to be spent nurturing our longing for this better marriage. And someday that longing will be fulfilled. Don’t stuff down those desires to be loved in this way; direct your desires toward the only one who can love you this way".

"I know the empty place is still there. There’s an empty place in your family photo, an empty place at the table, an empty place in the plans you had for your future. I’m praying that God will continue to do his best work, not in spite of your emptiness, but in it and through it. I’m praying that God will fill your lives with his life and light, beauty and purpose, hope and joy".

"I have often found myself fighting off a sense of emptiness, or perhaps more accurately wallowing in a wave of emptiness. Sometimes I feel as if there is a bottomless pit inside of me that no amount of entertainment, affirmation, or accumulation can fill. I’m ashamed of how envious I can be of what someone else has or does when I have so much and get to do so much. I’ve often wondered how I can feel empty immediately after accomplishing something I’ve worked hard for or while I’m still on the vacation I’ve dreamed of. I’ve wondered how I can feel lonely in a room full of interesting people or in a marriage to a wonderful man. I’ve wondered how it is that I can so quickly descend from thrilling satisfaction into nagging dissatisfaction after an expensive purchase, a successful event, or a sought-after experience. But I do."

"Sometimes your sense of emptiness haunts you as an undefined yet relentless ache. At other times it overwhelms you as an undeniable agony."

"When all you can see are the empty places, put your confident hope in what you can’t see. Put your hope in a God who is for you. God has not raised his fist against you; instead, God’s hand is at work in your life. See that even the hardest providences of life come to us through our Redeemer’s nail-scarred hands. He’s allowing this emptiness in your life, seeking to draw you back to the place where he intends to bless you beyond what you can imagine . You just can’t see it at this point in your story. Trust him to the end. He is guiding the story of your life toward restoration, toward redemption, toward resurrection."

"Whatever it is that has carved out a huge cistern in your soul, God wants to fill your emptiness with his grace and kindness. Your Redeemer longs to take you under his wing and cover you with his robe, to protect you and provide for you. He has done what is necessary under the law to redeem you from your desperate situation and has paid the price required with his own blood. He will take you into his home. He will satisfy your hunger with himself because he is the Bread of Life. He will heal your heart, which has been broken by the sorrows and losses inflicted on it by life in this world. He will be kind to you. He will love you. He will share with you his own inheritance in the heavenly land. He will fill your future with all of the royal privileges of being in the family of Jesus Christ, the son of David."

In a time where daily life and the future is unclear, we can be reminded of the hope and encouragement that can be found in the bible. I enjoyed how this author not only shared situations in her own life where her faith has been challenged but with other examples in history and bible stories. We are living in a time when many are seeking answers and others are just living for the moment, not giving a care for tomorrow. Everyone one is doing what is right in their own eyes.

I like how this author sheds light on that and helps readers recognize and head to the bigger picture. I loved this authors prayer for everyone at the end of this book. I wanted to leave you with a peek at her heart-felt prayer, “I pray that the day will come when you will be able to look back over the course of your lifetime and see that again and again, God did his best work in the empty places, the desperate times, and the difficult circumstances in your life, and that he has filled you with the fullness of Christ.”

This is a book is an encouragement for you soul. It’s one I’ll be reading over again!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org

I am sorry to say I'm fairly disappointed in this book. I normally love Nancy Guthrie, but I cannot make sense of the flow here. I can't keep track of really what her point is. Nothing seems terribly impactful to me. I've made it 50% and I'm going to move on.

What a refreshing, uplifting affirming and encouraging read, especially in these times of pandemic and chaos. Each time I have read a bit more of the book I don’t want to stop. This is a new author for me but I will not hesitate to recommend her to others. Guthrie shows great insight into scripture and relates it clearly to life and its challenges always pointing back to God as our authority.