When God Takes Too Long: Learning to Thrive During Life's Delays [Paperback]

Joseph Bentz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2005

One of the greatest frustrations of the Christian life is having to wait for God to act. We wait, sometimes for years, for our prayers to be answered, for our deepest longings to be fulfilled.Some devoted Christians get stuck in dead-end jobs even though they feel certain they could serve God in greater ways if only He would open the opportunity. Why doesn’t He? Some wait for a godly spouse, some couples wait for the gift of children, and some, who have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord, wait in disappointed bafflement as their work seems to yield no fruit. Why?As Christians, we yearn to serve the Lord, to step forward and obey Him like the great heroes of the Bible, but we are confused, waiting for clear orders, kept at a distance by the invisible barriers of God’s silence, His inaction, or His unhurried pace.In When God Takes Too Long, Joseph Bentz examines the mysteries of God’s timing and shows Christians how to thrive in the midst of one of life’s greatest frustrations--waiting. He offers those who have been discouraged by a life of waiting a chance to alter not only their perspective on waiting, but also their actions in response to it, transforming this frustration into a positive force that will enrich and change their lives.When God Takes Too Long addresses:How not to wish (or wait) our lives awayHow to better understand the nature of timeHow to master the discipline of waitingHow to cast off the boundaries of time to view our lives from an eternal perspective

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph Bentz is the award-winning author of five books and numerous articles in magazines and scholarly journals. He is professor of English at Azusa Pacific University, where he teaches courses in writing and American literature. He earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in American literature from Purdue University and a B.A. in English from Olivet Nazarene University. He lives with his wife and two children in Southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City (December 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0834122189
• ISBN-13: 978-0834122185
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #552,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph Bentz's books span a variety of genres, including a fantasy novel, three contemporary novels, three non-fiction books on Christian living, and one book/DVD package. Bentz is a frequent speaker at writers conferences, churches, and other venues. He is a professor of English at Azusa Pacific University. He earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in American literature from Purdue University and a B.A. in English from Olivet Nazarene University. He lives with his wife and two children in Southern California. More information on his writing and speaking is available at his website, www.josephbentz.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take time to digest, March 29, 2006

By 

A. Campbell (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When God Takes Too Long: Learning to Thrive During Life's Delays (Paperback)

A friend gave me this book during a waiting period in my life otherwise I probably would have taken a look at the title and decided I could skip it. Had I skipped it, however, I would have missed some really wonderful insights. Joe Bentz takes the stories we so lightly read over in Scripture and delves into them pointing out the silences in the stories that are so important and yet so easy to miss. I especially appreciated the "Almost, not yet" sequence with Moses and the plagues.

On a practical level, the book is divided into comfortable sized chapters/sections that make it work very well as a daily devotional. It's a book that will make you want to keep reading, but it's best taken one bite at a time (with plenty of time in between to chew and digest).

If you want a new perspective on all those waiting times from stop lights to career moves to retirement, this is the book to read. It will almost make you grateful for that red light!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what M. Galishoff complains of..., May 19, 2006

By 

Swimming Rabbit - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: When God Takes Too Long: Learning to Thrive During Life's Delays (Paperback)

Not sure exactly where said reviewer is coming from, especially since the exact same review has been posted by him/her for yet another book by a different author! This sounds like more of a soapbox than a fair review of the book.

You can't compartmentalize the spiritual from the material aspects of our lives, and I think this is what this book makes clear. The things we see within our own human perspective aren't the whole of reality-- if anything, this book reminds us that our own ideas of success, failure, good and bad are pretty relative in the scope of eternity. If you can't compare the details of our 21st century lives with Biblical characters, you're boxing the Bible in and overspiritualizing the omnipresence of God in all the details of our lives.

And there's no way the author is making all the mistakes M. Galishoff is pointing out-- just read the last 2 chapters and you'll hear about Scriptures imcredibly hard for Western American Christians to deal with, such as Hebrews 11 (all the people who never got to see the ultimate ripple effect of their lives or the 'rewards' for their faith and yet lived for what they couldn't see) and passages in Paul's letters about how eternity makes the present pale in comparison. Seriously-- you can't come away from this book thinking that it's 'all about me.' Clearly, it's all about God-- learning to live in surrender to his ways that are totally different than ours.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Relevance, December 30, 2005

By 

Beau Johnson "amazon-a-holic" (Chico, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When God Takes Too Long: Learning to Thrive During Life's Delays (Paperback)

Bentz has an incredible relevence in this book to those of us who feel like we are waiting! I highly recommend this book and this author. He writes with a wisdom and clarity of understanding. His words are helpful and illluminating. A worthwhile read.