Book Review: The Promise is His Presence

I had the privilege of being part of a book launch for the brand-new book, The Promise is His Presence: Why God is Always Enough, by Glenna Marshall.

Glenna speaks out of much suffering, including two things that resonated deeply with me: chronic illness and church pain. She talks about the many unmet longings we wrestle with in suffering and how it’s easy to believe that if God would grant our heart’s desires (especially good desires!), we would be fulfilled.

And yet through her season of lack, Glenna shares how God’s withholding of good things taught her to cling more closely to Him. She gently, but powerfully, comforts with the promise of God's presence being more than enough. No matter the pain or heartache we face.

Weaving the narrative of Scripture throughout her book, Glenna encourages readers by showing how God’s presence sustains and brings hope in the midst of difficult circumstances. She also shares honest glimpses of how God brought her personally to a place of resting in this truth of God being enough.

I love the way she expresses it in chapter one:

“Whatever plagues your heart with longing cannot be answered satisfactorily outside God’s faithful presence. He might give you every tangible desire you could ever dream up, but if your heart is not satisfied in Him, you will never stop yearning for more.”

Anyone who has suffered will tell you that God met them in deeper ways than they ever encountered in seasons of blessings and fulfillment. They realize the emptiness of temporary things. The truth of God's nearness sustains and strengthens through the darkest of days. His presence is the only place of rest and security.

No matter where you find yourself today, you will find encouragement and hope in this book. Take a moment to order!