TUMBLING SKY
Psalm devotions for weary souls
By Matt Searles
10Publishing. 76 Pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 911 272 861
Do you have to be happy to be a Christian? Matt Searles sensitively argues that you do not in this collection of 34 undated devotions from the Psalms.
Evangelical Christians have often been accused of lacking a minor key, of not really knowing how to cry out to God in pain, in having little time for lament. Searles wrote these – frankly rather excellent Christ-centred expositions – as an accompaniment to a music album of the same name. The aim is to give something to hurting Christians, to help them to sing, to pray, to weep, as they look to God to answer their cries of mercy in their pain.
The devotions can be read in just a couple of minutes each, making them perfect for reading with a member of your church who is suffering from depression, or sharing with the recently bereaved.
Brevity
The very brevity of the book is also its only weakness, and I was left wondering about the format: is an undated daily devotional really the best medium for Searles’ excellent meditations on suffering, hope, and the faithfulness of God in the Psalms? I suspect not. On more than a few occasions I found myself muttering: ‘Tell me more! Keep going!’, and I have doubts as to whether a daily devotional form will really give Tumbling Sky the wide audience that it deserves.
That quibble aside, I highly recommend these devotions to those in distress and those caring for the hopeless.
