The Study Room, Christian library, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

“God doesn’t talk to me,” she said with held-back tears, abject sorrow emanating from her. “And the one time I thought He was…this is what I get.” How to help her? Is a hug really going to solve her deep longing to hear from her God during this traumatic time of her life? Saying “I’ll be praying for you” just sounds hollow. Giving her an object lesson about the sun being just behind the clouds and not gone seemed to spark hope but didn’t cut the mustard on real answers. Aside from the obvious, what resource could help us know if, when, and how we can hear from God? Then, while getting books ready to be labelled for The Study Room, I came across Charles Stanley’s How to Listen to God. As a comprehensive yet concise book on this topic, it is a perfect start to anyone wanting to know if, when, and how they can hear God. The purposes, the approaches, and the hinderances to listening to and hearing from God are all explored, along with many other facets you’ll just have to borrow the book to read for yourself. Let’s look at a few highlights though.

“This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” – Corrie Ten Boom.

The Hiding Place was written by Corrie Ten Boom with the help of John and Elizabeth Sherill. It is about the life of Corrie herself. More than just being about Corrie’s life, it is about her family, their house, the people they helped, and (most importantly) the lessons God taught Corrie through these experiences. What were these lessons Corrie learned? What was God teaching her through the trials she endured? What can we learn from Corrie’s life? How can we apply these lessons to our own lives and for our future?