Into the Fire

Kristen Smeltzer has written a stunning account of a particular trial with one of her three sons while he was in high school that led to a reassessment of who she truly believed God is, was, and will ever be. It's not that we don't do this on occasion. As Christians, we re-evaluate our faith and walk with the Lord. We take inventory of our basic beliefs, our conduct, our thoughts and deeds. It comes with the territory of being a believer. But this book, Who Do You Say I Am?, challenges us to take a deep look inside ourselves and come to real terms with who we are and who the triune God truly is. Is He in fact who He says He is? 

Anyone who's ever watched their child of any age get into a life-searing struggle with the enemy of our souls knows how heart-wrenching, sometimes hope-slaying, tear-jerking, anger-inducing, and defeat-plaguing the battle can be. It leads us down terror-filled paths full of pleading with God, railing at God, and occasionally closing ourselves off to Him because of feeling forgotten and abandoned. The experience can leave us scarred, but if we bear down hard to gain a victory, we will find what God had always intended. He never took His hands off the circumstance, but with Him all things are teaching moments as horrid as some of them must be. 

This isn't really just a "how-to" or "self-help" book for Christians. It's an account of a severe struggle and a sharing of the depths of defining who God really is – whether you believe it or not – and who we truly are in Him. The war for our souls is real, lifelong, and always threatening, but the conclusion must arrive at the soul's definition of who God is in the battle and how to employ His strategy to defeat the wicked one. It's written well without the onslaught of Christianese but with significant inclusions of proprietary scriptures, the Names of God – who He is, and the scriptural references for all we are in Christ. 

Friday I noted I rarely read non-fiction. As a novelist, I read fiction partly because I believe stories are equally capable of telling truths. Kristen tells a true story of her family's experience in an extreme battle with the enemy of our souls and the questions she was forced to ask herself for her son's sake as well as her own. It's not a battle in which any of us would desire to engage, but having been through a similar journey with one of my sons when he was only seven years old, I know the agony of spiritual warfare. And the importance of prevailing when you think of giving up, knowing you can't, of being at a total loss to do anything more, of walking in excruciating heartbreak as you watch the utter pain and confusion caused by the enemy trying to steal your son's soul.

This is a book that will drive you from page to page, to consider everything that is written concerning this mother's and family's experiences during this incredibly hard season. It's worth the quick read to discover the solutions that worked for Kristen and her son, and to come to terms with who you really are in Christ, where God is and desires to be when anything difficult shows up and presents a real struggle.

After reading Who Do You Say I Am?, I highly recommend it to all Christians who want to go deeper with the Savior, relearn God's heart for us, and define once and for all for us who He is.    

An amazing book. 

Father, I know you will continue to bless Kristen for all of her efforts to communicate your goodness, that you are Love, that you define what is holy, just, and righteous. Please give her ample opportunities to share this important information with others in need of clarification, Truth, Love, forgiveness, repentance, and the ability to fight like a warrior in the faith. Hold onto her close, Lord, continuing to give her Spirit-filled and Spirit-led direction for all that you've called her to do. Bless her husband Richard with wisdom and courage, and continue to lead all of their boys into strong faith and your perfect callings on their lives. In the Name, Authority, and Blood of Jesus, Amen.