When Shauna Letellier explained her book concept to me and a couple other writers last fall at a writing workshop, I gave her my information and begged her to let me be on her launch team. “What an interesting concept for a book,” I thought to myself while she outlined the premise. I couldn’t wait to read it, and when I finally did read it, I was not disappointed.
In her book Remarkable Faith: When Jesus Marveled at the Faith of Unremarkable People, Shauna digs deep into the stories of eight people whose encounters with Jesus were marked by their faith. Sometimes it was desperate faith, sometimes a panicked faith. The neediness of these largely unknown and unnamed people moved them to seek Jesus because they had exhausted every other resource. Desperate for their own healing or forgiveness (and Jesus addressed both), each of these characters had a back story that Shauna reimagines for us to give some insight into what the lives of these people might have been like prior to their encounters with Jesus.
When I read the book, it didn’t seem to matter that I was familiar with each of these stories. It didn’t matter that I could tell them by heart at any given time. It didn’t matter that I’d read them countless times throughout my life as a believer. With Shauna’s retelling of each person’s encounter with Jesus, I found I couldn’t read the words for the tears in my eyes.
That meeting with Jesus in each story is the denouement, the moment of climax, the point of every detail. While Jesus remarked on the faith of these people and offered both the healing of their bodies and hearts, He still shines brightest in each account of healing and forgiveness. His healing overrides illness, His strength overshadows weakness, His generosity meets every point of neediness. Coming to Him needy is entirely the point. He is the One we are desperate for. Remarkable Faith demonstrates the way Jesus meets our deepest needs.
I hope you’ll order a copy of Remarkable Faith today. You’ll be captivated by Shauna’s storytelling and greatly encouraged by the ways Jesus responds to weak, unremarkable neediness.
You can connect with Shauna at her website, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Glenna Marshall is married to her pastor, William, and lives in rural Southeast Missouri where she tries and fails to keep up with her two energetic sons. She is the author of The Promise is His Presence (P&R) and Everyday Faithfulness (Crossway), and Memorizing Scripture (Moody). Connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.