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Review: When Strivings Cease

When Strivings Cease book cover on blue background

I'm thankful that I was able to read this book during a time when being sick forced me to slow down and realize that I couldn't do much, even if I tried.

As a result, When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons is the perfect reminder that no matter what season of life I am in, whether it's one full of vigour and energy or one that is depleted where I'm barely hanging on, I can cease striving and rest in the work that Christ has already completed for us.

Content to be aware of: mention of the Enneagram, self-forgiveness

Book Synopsis

Find true freedom and peace for your soul when you discover that God's grace secures what striving never could.

In this hustling, image-forward age of opportunity, we feel more anxious than ever. Despite all the affirming memes and self-reflections that dominate social media feeds, approval and worth often seem assigned to what we do rather than who we are. And we end up constantly feeling like we're behind, lacking, and failing—at home, at work, with friends, with God.

Ruth Chou Simons knows something about feeling measured by achievement, performance, and the approval of others. As a Taiwanese immigrant growing up between two cultures, Ruth was always on a mission to prove her worth, until she came to truly understand the one thing that changes everything: the extravagant, undeserved gift of grace from a merciful God.

In When Strivings Cease, Ruth guides you on a journey to find freedom from the never-ending quest for self-improvement. She shows you how to:

  • Confront the ways you look to superficial means of acceptance and belonging
  • Find relief in realizing self-help isn't the answer because you can't be so amazing that you won't need grace
  • Stop seeing God as someone to perform for and start finding delight in responding to his welcome
  • Let go of trying to rely on your own strength, your own abilities, and your own savvy by truly understanding the freedom Jesus purchased for you

With personal stories, biblical insights, practical applications, and touches of original artwork by Ruth, When Strivings Cease will help you see the beautiful truth that God's grace is the only thing you need—because in Christ you are enough.

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

It is such a blessing to read a book from an Asian-American perspective that touches on many cultural practices and teachings I am familiar with and continue to struggle with in my Christian walk. In highlighting how expectations around performance and the quest for approval can pervade our lives, this book hits the hammer on the head when it discusses how easy it is to fall into patterns of striving as our ingrained operating system. It's a comfort to know I am not alone while I am also convicted that God's ways are far better than mine can ever be and that I can never strive enough.

Terming it the gospel of self-improvement, this vicious trap provides an unending illusion that we can be self-sufficient while spurning the notion of rest, worship, and reliance on God. Instead, we are to look to Christ and accept His gift of grace as we are transformed more and more into His created being by His doing. With beautiful artwork sprinkled throughout the book, it's an opportunity to slow down and receive God's presence and love. Readers wanting to quiet their hearts before Jesus will find simple yet life-changing truths to reflect on in When Strivings Cease.

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📖
  • Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Recommendation: 👍
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