We live in a world where it’s easy to get caught up in striving. For the next promotion, for the next big thing, for our child to excel, for our home and marriage to be photo worthy. It’s just as easy to strive in the church- for our perfect attendance to be on record, our family to be well known and respected, to be on every committee to show we’re involved. This book brings us back to the focus: grace upon grace.
I loved that she admits she hasn’t reached the end, isn’t perfect. Hearing others experiences is some of the best ways we can learn and I’m thankful for a reminder that my strivings will get me nowhere without a solid foundation in Christ and the grace poured out on all of us daily.

Ruth states that her goal for this book is to "help you realign with what it really means to trust in the grace of God". Ruth writes beautifully throughout the book and is very personal and relatable. She throws in "gut-punching truths" and really points to Jesus throughout the whole book. It is filled with the beautiful calligraphy and illustrations that Ruth is known for.

When Strivings Cease
Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace
by Ruth Chou Simons
Pub Date 12 Oct 2021 |
Nelson Books, Thomas Nelson
Christian | Religion & Spirituality


I am reviewing a copy of When Strivings Cease through Nelson Books and NetGalley:




Written in the midst of the 2020 Pandemic, when most of the world was on lockdown, When Strivings Ceases is a book that I believe will resonate, and help many.


In this age of hustling, and image forward opportunities, we are more anxious than ever. Despite seeing social media feeds that dominate social media feeds, approval and worth often seem assigned to what we do rather than who we are. And we end up constantly feeling like we’re behind, lacking, and failing—at home, at work, with friends, with God.




Ruth Chou Simons knows something about feeling measured by achievement, performance, and the approval of others. As a Taiwanese immigrant growing up between two cultures, Ruth was always on a mission to prove her worth, until she came to truly understand the one thing that changes everything: the extravagant, undeserved gift of grace from a merciful God.




In When Strivings Cease , Ruth guides the reader on a journey to find freedom from the never-ending quest for self-improvement. She shows you how to confront the ways you look to superficial means of acceptance and belonging, it will show the readers how to realize that self help isn’t the answer, and to find relief in that because you can’t be so amazing that you won’t need grace;stop seeing God as someone to perform for and start finding delight in responding to his welcome. The readers will come to realize that relying on your own your own abilities, and your own savvy, and instead understanding the freedom Jesus purchased for you.



This book includes personal insights practical applications, and touches of original artwork by Ruth, this transformational book helps you see the beautiful truth that God’s favor is the only currency you need because in Christ you are enough.



I give When Strivings Cease five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

If you ever feel like you just aren’t good enough no matter how hard you try, you’re not alone, my friend! I highly recommend reading When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons. This book will give you a whole new insight on God, grace, and what exactly it is that you keep striving for but can never attain. I’d love for all women who have struggled with trying to live up to the impossible to read this book and feel the sense of freedom that I have. In a world where we’re being bombarded with self-help strategies from books, podcasts, and yes even sermons, Ruth’s words of truth are a heartfelt reminder that no matter how hard we strive we can’t possibly save ourselves, and we aren’t meant to either.

I love this quote from Ruth: "The answer we're looking for isn't the latest and greatest strategy for self-improvement; it's the transforming gift of amazing grace."

We wear many hats in life. We may be mothers, daughters, sisters; nurses, teachers or marketers. We are church members, community members, sometimes gym members. We serve those around us, getting busy doing all the ‘right’ things, yet wonder why we feel empty and weary.


When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace by Ruth Chou Simons equips us to face those questions.

Her aim in writing is to help us “realign with what it really means to trust in the grace of God. And to stop thinking of your relationship with Jesus as something adequate to save you from eternal despair but not enough to secure your identity here and now.”

The first section helps us identify what holds us back from serving in a place of grace. She challenges us to consider how much we do in order to gain approval, meet personal expectations of perfection, or to avoid deep-seated shame.

“I wonder how many times I’ve forfeited freedom in doing what God’s called me to do because I’ve been more aware of my performance than God’s purpose in creating me for the task.”

The second section introduces us to a life of striving in grace; how we can live in forgiveness, freedom and faith to serve the Lord in all we do by keeping the gospel at the forefront.

In all my own comings and goings, the different hats that I wear, I constantly reflect on my reasons and intentions within it all; realigning my mindset, my heart and my identity to grace and not works-it’s a daily battle.

Yet, what a beautiful place this is to sit! There’s so much freedom to serve the Lord by grace and through faith; none of it is my own doing, it’s all his! And from that place of grace the Lord Jesus has equipped us for good works (Eph 2:8-10), that we would do them, not sit with our feet propped up until he returns.

Friend, this is a good word for us today. Whether we’re struggling with perfectionism, fears or purpose, the gospel gives us our firm foundation, the answer to the fulfillment we’re searching for, and the strength in our weariness. It boils down to what we truly believe about God, and about ourselves. Where we place our worth and how we live it out.

If this sounds like what you need right now, I’d encourage you to head on over and order it!

Quick Stats
# of pages: 224
Level of Difficulty: Easy
My Rating: 5 stars!

Beautifully written, full of vulnerability and practical “how can I actually apply what I’m reading” written in a way that is engaging. Love the authors heart for Christ. It’s obvious through the entire book. It’s fitting for our time in history. I struggled a bit to get into it at the beginning but kept plugging and fell in sync with it quickly and enjoyed it so much. So many takeaways. Everyone should read this book. I recommend it highly.

I loved when Strivings Cease for two main reasons. The book has solid biblical teaching focused on God’s grace and how that helped the author and can help us get out of the endless cycle of striving to perform and improve. This is considered from several perspectives in informative and readable chapters, with the main focus on God’s grace. Scripture is used throughout to support and the discussion prompts self-reflection and critical thinking. I highlighted over a dozen passages for future reference. While not the main objective of the book, there are elements of memoir as the author provides an honest reveal into her own life and background as she looks back and processes where she has struggled and grown – this was woven in seamlessly with the topical discussions and brought the concepts alive. Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for an early copy to read and review.

“I wish we were sitting down over a cup of coffee…”, begins Ruth Chou Simons, in her latest book, When Strivings Cease. This is exactly how the book reads—as a friend sharing what she has learned along her journey. Ruth opens up about her own personal attempts at doing and being “enough”; she relates how we all get caught up in the hamster wheel of striving. It felt as if she were sitting across the table saying, “You too? Here’s what I learned. I can’t wait to share. It’s freedom, friend.”
Honestly, I have been living much of my life as if God graciously invited me into His house but now expects me to earn my keep. When I ignore His grace and frantically attempt to do life in my own strength, I’m left exhausted and overwhelmed. Ruth opens God’s Word to reveal the freedom and rest we can find in receiving and trusting in God’s grace instead of our own efforts. She gently reminds us, “The gospel can feel like old news if we believe it merely good for salvation and miss its potency for true life.”
For my fellow believers who are weary from striving, pull up a chair and grab a cup of coffee. Learn to rest in Jesus. Ruth grabs your hand, looks into your eyes, and encourages: “God sees us beloved and unblemished—he sees us as he sees his perfect son, Christ. He chooses to apply grace and call us forgiven because of himself, not because we’ve proven our worthiness.”

Ruth Chou Simons has a way of captivating me with her words and eloquent way of describing the tension we all feel in trying to strive and achieve “success” while serving God, our families and community. I have done a few of Simons Bible studies and this book has her wisdom and it showcases her storytelling in greater depth. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to rest more in the grace of today and desires to strive less in this already chaotic world.

Ruth Chou Simons writes with a tender humility. Her newest release, When Strivings Cease, reveals the lies we've been told by this pervasive culture of self-improvement and reminds us instead of God's life-transforming grace. As an anxious, people-pleasing perfectionist, this was the exact message I needed to hear. Her gentle wisdom and understanding of scripture coupled with her honest and vulnerable prose makes When Strivings Cease a must-buy for any Christian overwhelmed by anxiety and the need for others' approval. It is both accessible and rich in God's truth. Compared to Allie Beth Stuckey's "You Are Not Enough (And That's OK), which treads similar ground, Chou Simons's When Strivings Cease is like a deep well, where Stuckey's stays near the surface. For Christians longing to go deeper, I whole-heartedly recommend When Strivings Cease.

Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for the free e-ARC. It was an honor to be a part of the launch team for this wonderful resource.

I love the way Ruth's writing always points back to the Gospel and the Good News of what Christ has done for us. Such a great reminder that it's not about what we do but what Christ has done for us.

In When Strivings Cease, I felt like Ruth was speaking directly to me and her words were like a "mirror" of my childhood, where I struggled to navigate being both Chinese and American. I felt so encouraged to see my Asian American heritage represented in this faith space.

When Strivings Cease addresses the universal yearnings of acceptance, belonging, and wanting to be welcomed just as we are, not based on pressures to perform perfectly in ways that others expect of us or perhaps that we even put on ourselves. Ruth shares how Chinese customs like "mianzi" and a culture that values honor and shame can affect how we view ourselves. Instead, Ruth points to real freedom found in God's grace. I highly recommend When Strivings Cease and even bought multiple copies so I could share this beautiful book with friends.

The message of the book—that we don’t have to, and will never be able to, strive to earn God’s grace—is something I need a constant reminder of and is at the heart of the gospel.

The strength of the book is the personal testimony Ruth shares about the ways she has experienced this struggle in her own life, and she shows particular ways the emphasis on striving to be good enough played out in her experience in Asian-American culture. The gospel message is the same across cultures and times, but different cultures and individual experiences can make aspects of it especially evident.

The writing style was personable, which worked especially well with the personal stories, but contributed to the more theological parts of the book feeling a little rushed. The quotes that she incorporates fit into the book’s message seamlessly.

Ruth wrote a beautiful book that spoke truth right into my life when I felt like I needed it most. This helped me to realize that so many times I find myself trying to "self help" my way into God's grace but it was never enough. Here is the wonderful thing, we don't need to do that, God's grace is free and plentiful and He is just waiting to give it to us. "Because we naturally form patterns of thought in our minds based on our feelings, we must be intentional about replacing our faulty ideas of God with what is actually true about who he is and what he desires from us. Otherwise, we will operate out of self-pity, self-condemnation, our sense of guilt, and the cultural cues that define our worthiness.”

This book is…waw. It hits right in your pride and hope to be more, do more, leave a legacy, let them remember you kind of thing. For me this book was eye opening, I did not realize how easy it is to shift your focus from grace to do something to deserve your salvation. I thought that my struggle was a sign of being a good mom, a good christian, but all my good intentions lost their focus ( sometimes).
Turning back to the book, Ruth presents the beauty of grace and the trap that the enemy tries to set in front of us by making us strive for less that God’s presence. I think this book is the most personal book from Ruth and it strikes right in the heart.

I love Ruth Chou Simon‘s beautiful artwork and encouraging social media posts, and I was so excited to read this book. She discusses aspects of her personal testimony and the struggles she faced living in God’s grace as she grew up in a Chinese family with cultural and personal pressures to achieve and strive for certain goals. Although I am not Asian, I have a similar personality and always feel the need to do more and have very high expectations for myself. Some of the quotes that resonated with me most are:

- “When we are in Christ, we are simply aware of who we belong to first and foremost. And, friend, that’s when we can let go of all the world tells us to do in order to belong.”

- “The sad part is the way we’ve come to determine someone’s worthiness based on our different definitions of acceptability. We e somehow replaced identity with identification. We’ve bought into the paradigm that our “faces”—or Facebook pages, rather—are the summation of who we are.”

- “If unchecked against the true character of God and our true identity in Christ, our self-reliance and pride will cause us to resort to shaming and manipulation. And, similarly, if unchecked against the true character of God and our true identity in Christ, our self-condemning shame and feelings of inadequacy will keep us from drawing near—and coming home—to the Lord.”

- “Grace is not the reward in itself; knowing Christ is. Grace simply makes it possible for you to stop striving for yourself and strive out of love for God instead. Grace isn’t an excuse to be lazy or apathetic about the marks if a Christian life. Rather, it is the catalyst by which we can partake in it.”

I appreciated reading the aspects of Ruth’s personal struggles and growth, and this was the strongest portion of the book to me. I wish she had gone into more detail and allowed us to understand her testimony and see God’s grace in her life more fully. But overall, When Strivings Cease contains a wonderful, truth-filled, much-needed message, and it was a good read.

This is the first book I've read by Ruth Chou Simons. I've heard a lot about her work, and When Strivings Cease does not disappoint. The book is about grace and not doing everything on your own. I highlighted so many passages in this book as I was reminded all about God's grace and how to live in it. A book that you will want to read slowly. This will definitely be one I go back and reread.

"Striving doesn't simply look like keeping the law through good works or earning your salvation through right behavior. It can also look like constantly trying to repay the gift of grace with your offerings of holiness. It's being grateful for salvation but feeling so tethered to guilt and indebtedness that you miss the blessing and keep paying for the gift instead."

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Grab a cup of your favorite drink. Now find a good comfy spot in your house or wherever you happen to be, and enjoy spending time with Ruth Chou Simons in her latest book, When Strivings Cease. It will feel like she is there with you sharing stories about her childhood, her upbringing, and God’s amazing grace in her life.

I could relate to so many of Ruth’s stories from her childhood, which led me to reflect on how events, teachings, and relationships have shaped my worldview and how I view my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Throughout the book, her insights into how she was raised, and how that translated into her way of thinking would then be compared to Biblical truth in Scripture. Each story of her struggles became a picture of His grace.

What I found so interesting was how Ruth dissected the complexities of “striving” which really caused me to search my own heart. Then I am able to pray through and meditate upon the Scriptures that Ruth includes. It has taken me on a personal journey as I read along with hers.

Another gem by Ruth Chou Simons. It is packed solid with biblical truth and challenges the cultural tendency of proving yourself worthy. Ruth shares the journey as she transitions, culturally and spiritually, to know and accept the grace of God in every aspect of her life. A read that will challenge and encourage honest reflection.

Ruth Chou Simons’ new book, When Strivings Cease, describes how her Chinese cultural roots influenced her early years, coupled with the American Dream, and lead her to strive for achievement to gain a sense of self worth and acceptance.

In a candid account of her life, she explains how knowing Jesus gradually allowed her to let go of striving for acceptance and surrender to God’s grace and plan fir her life.

She presents herself as your coffee date intimately sharing her life and vulnerabilities only because of the security she has in Christ’s grace to redeem all of our struggles and life.

Ruth wants her readers to experience God’s faithfulness, forgiveness and favor. She overcomes the Enemy by the word of her testimony as she relaxes in God’s grace. It is her invitation to cease striving.