“God took me by the Hand,” Jerry Bridges

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Photo courtesy of NavPress

This was a delightful read of a very humble man who is able to look back at his 80+ years and see how God has His hand on so many small and large happenings during those years.

I haven’t read any of Jerry’s books and felt led to read this for some reason and am so glad for it.

There are so many takeaways from this short memoir of sorts, a few of which I’ll mention in this review. Jerry is an example of a person the world would least expect to make such an impact; he was born with a number of physical shortcomings and grew up in a very unassuming home. It reminds me how God loves taking the unassuming and use them to do great things for His Kingdom.

Jerry is a disciple of the Navigator Scripture Memory System and throughout this book he demonstrates how important the memorisation of Scripture has been in his life. As he says, if there are no verses hidden in your heart, what words can the Spirit nudge you with when He wishes to make a point? I love that.

Jerry’s idea of “dependent responsibility” which I believe is a theme through many of his works is a great concept. As he writes:

“We are responsible for sanctifying our lives but we cannot make one inch of progress in the Christian life apart from the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.” (p 75)

And finally, Jerry attributes his greatest period of fruitfulness to the last 20 years of his life. That gives me great hope that there is still much I can do that can bear fruit for the Lord.

I’m so appreciative of having read Jerry’s memoir and I will be sure to start working through some of his other books in due course.

2 replies
    • Ian Acheson
      Ian Acheson says:

      Thanks Elaine for popping by and leaving a comment. Jerry’s book was such a pleasant surprise to me and is such great encouragement that God is close and He is in charge. Keep leaning into Him, Elaine.

      Many blessings to you, Elaine.

      Reply

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