Customer Reviews

Faith in the Night Seasons: Understanding God's Will (King's High Way)

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Nancy does a wonderful job of reminding her readers that not all the darkness in our lives is a result of hidden sin. She does a remarkable job of relating how God's actual deep abiding love for us brings us to and through the dark times so that we look more like His Son Jesus when we walk out the other side into His Light. Thank you Nancy!

I was expecting an exposition of how the believer should stand on the promises of God, praising and worshipping Him for His goodness in the face of adverse situations. The author totally ignores the scripture in I John 1:5 that says "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." She attributes darkness in the life of a believer to God, as His way of perfecting and sanctifying the flesh to make it worthy to be in His presence. Wait a minute! Didn't Jesus Christ come to offer himself as a sacrifice because there was no man who was able to save himself? This book ignores the accomplished works of Jesus Christ, encouraging the believer to do the same works to accomplish the salvation of the flesh. For example, she encourages the believer to do as Jesus did when he "opened not his mouth" in the face of his accusers at his trial prior to crucifixion. He did that as our SUBSTITUTE, not as our example. We are now to open our mouths boldly and declare that we have been set free. The author exhorts the reader to NOT fight the evil circumstances but rather to embrace them and "submit to the confusion." The Word of God states in I Corinthians 14 that God is NOT the author of confusion, so who would the reader be submitting to?? James 4:7 says that we are to submit ourselves unto God and RESIST THE DEVIL. After about an hour of reading, I had written NO! in the margin numerous times, citing the scripture that refuted the author's theology. I was also aware of a heaviness that began to surround me as a result of the words I had been reading and the thoughts I was being encouraged to embrace.

Though there is a valuable truth taught about the importance of looking to God and God alone for our help, this truth is buried beneath a truckload of legalistic doctrine that exhorts the believer to work to make themselves worthy so that "the dark night of the soul" will end. In reality, God has already delivered us from the power of darkness and we are to speak boldly against it. We are sons and daughters of the most High God who loves us and gave his only begotten son for us. As human parents, we would hardly break our own child's arm to teach them not to touch the hot stove. Such behavior would land such a disturbed parent in prison. Why would our loving God orchestrate bankruptcy, death, disease and destruction in an effort to cause us to love Him more and depend solely on Him?? How absurd. This is the very doctrine that caused me to leave the Roman Catholic Church and to cause me to recommend that this book not be read by anyone who is not absolutely 100% convinced that God is NEVER the author of the darkness in our lives. Can He use the dark situations to bring us closer to Him? Absolutely. But He is NEVER the cause, NEVER. His enemy, Satan is always the one behind confusion and destruction. It is the thief that comes not but for to steal, kill and destroy. John 10:10 confirms that truth. If you have the ability to eat the hay and leave the sticks, you may get some value from this book. Just be prepared to be a little hungry when you are done.

I am thankful that the author has come through her trials and continues to stand for God but her theology encourages a works-based righteousness. The one who can stand through the toughest trials is the one who is the most sanctified and closest to God. Frankly, that is a lie. We are made righteous in Christ and in Him alone do we have righteousness and sanctification. (I Corinthians 1:30) Yes, trials will come in life because we do have an adversary, but we are to stand against them with the Word of God and the spirit of Christ that is alive within us. "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them beacuse greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." I John 4:4

I found much comfort in this book while going through my own night season.
It was a life-changer for me. It might be one of those books that is directed at a specific stage of life, a specific need. Whatever, I recommend it heartily for someone who is in a place of hurting and is not able to grasp the comfort of the Lord. It will help you to find a place of safety, comfort, and assurance believe me.

There are certainly some good things about this book, and based on limited exposure to Nancy's tapes I expected to like it far more than I did. First, I have a quibble with poorly edited scriptural references, something that always bugs me.

What bothered me the most, rather shocked me actually, is my feeling that Nancy has created her own theology here, another "God-in-a-box" way of looking at the scriptures. I'm glad to see that she refutes the fallacy that we sometimes run into, that when we have troubles it is somehow our fault, that we must be being punished for something. However, in place of that somewhat heretical but too common viewpoint, she has substituted a new rather legalistic and ritualistic program to somehow integrate onself with God and thereby get oneself "out of the valley". If you will do this, then God will do that... Examination of the biblical references provided (hampered by apparent editing problems) indicated to me that she was frequently taking verses and extending their meaning far beyond what is reasonable, and thereby creating formulaic "solutions".

It seems to me that God has gone to a lot of trouble to show, in the Bible as well as our world, that He is capable of anything, and that He cannot be expected to act in a way that is always consistent with our sense of order, or consistent from one person to another. In reading this book, I got the feeling over and over that in her anxiety to make sense out of the mysteries of our lives and tragedies, Nancy somehow lost sight of God's mystery and inscrutability.

This is an excellent and encouraging book for the Christian who is struggling to hold on to their faith when circumstances seem dark and out of control. I have read this book through several times becasue the reminders it holds are very powerful, not to mention Biblical, as I walk through trying circumstances. It is a great encouragement to keep fighting the good fight even when it seems everything has crumbled around me and to keep trusting and obeying God despite severe trials.

Missler's book is based upon personal religious theories. Often, I think the author(s) take biblical scriptures out of context to prove their theories. Those theories seem to have some holes, in my opinion.

I think this book is best for people who are really struggling with terrible tragedies in their lives, and looking for a way to explain why bad things happen to good people, but keep in mind that it is not the Bible; just a fellow christian's opinions.