Close Enough to Hear God Breathe: The Great Story of Divine Intimacy

Full disclosure. I didn't want to like this book. I've read several books that seek to remind us of how special we are to God. I see their place, but they also frustrate me. Usually as I read them I feel as if the author is trying to bring God down to us instead of reminding us of His greatness and power. They seem to forget that it is all about Him; it is His world, His story that we are living out for His purposes and His glory. Far too often these warm and fuzzy books tend to keep the spotlight on us instead of on God. So I didn't want to like Greg Paul's book.

But I had no choice in the matter. Paul structures his book around the major themes of Scripture (Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation). Within that structure he beautifully tells stories from his own life, using them to provide constant reflections on the intimate relationship we have with God our Father. His personal stories resonated with my own experience as a parent. Even though the focus was how much God loves us, the flow of the book never once let me forget the greatness of God and the power of His grace.

In short, this book was nothing I expected it to be and everything that I hoped it could be. It's an easy read that communicates the powerful truth that we are loved by God, but it does it in a way that leaves us standing in awe of God instead of dwelling on ourselves. I highly recommend it.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Thomas Nelson".