Book Review (and a Giveaway!): Incurable Faith by Andrea Herzer

INCURABLE FAITH: 120 Devotions of Lasting Hope for Lingering Health Issues by Andrea Herzer
GENRE: Devotional / Chronic Illness
PUBLISHER: Multnomah
RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2023
PAGES: 304

Discover the riches of abundant life that pain and illness can never take away in this encouraging devotional full of hard-won insights and powerful biblical inspiration.

In Incurable Faith, Andrea Herzer writes from the midst of her own long-term illness to give you hope wherever you are on your journey with medical issues. Whether you are facing a new diagnosis, mysterious pain, or any other illness, you can go from being a victim to being victorious through God’s sustaining love.

Far from suggesting you must “have faith and get over it,” Andrea validates your suffering while offering sustaining hope for your soul. Through devotions, Scriptures, spiritual exercises, and suggested worship music, Incurable Faith helps you:

• unlock the key to joy through praise, presence, and purpose
• understand the difference between acceptance and resignation
• nurture grace-filled relationships throughout the stresses of illness
• navigate the isolation of being bedridden or homebound
• develop practical strategies for coping with pain, fatigue, and anxiety

The 120 devotionals are grouped in varying lengths, so you can engage with shorter passages on days when concentration is difficult. Each devotion offers a Scripture verse, prayer, suggested worship song, and takeaway to keep your mind anchored in truth.

A testament to how the joy of the Lord gives strength even when our bodies are weak, Incurable Faith invites you to know God’s sustaining power and comfort in a deeper way—because no illness can diminish His abundant provision for you.

Includes a topical Scripture index and multiple resources for caregivers.

If I take nothing else from Incurable Faith by Andrea Herzer, it will be this concept: I have Jesus. Yes, I have Lyme Disease, but I have Jesus. Yes, I have all sorts of things that are messed up in nearly every system of my body thanks to the seven years it took me to be diagnosed, but I have Jesus. As Herzer put it in one of the devotions included in this fabulously encouraging book, “My disease stays in the proper place when I put my trust in Jesus.”

And if I had to give this devotional resource a defining statement, that would be it. Through Herzer’s open and honest glimpse into her life with chronic pain and cancer, she reminds fellow spoonies that we are held – always – in the arms of Jesus. Everything in these pages points back to Him and the HOPE we have because we are His.

“You can move forward during a health setback because you have sure hope that is not bound by circumstance, strength that is stronger than you feel, and patient endurance to bear absolutely anything that comes your way.”

At the same time, she acknowledges what life is like with chronic illness/pain and encourages readers to be honest, too. We can tell right away that the author ‘gets us’ even just from something as simple as how the devotions are organized: because she understands how treatment, side effects, and the illness itself affects concentration and brain power, the devotions in Incurable Faith are organized by length – ‘a satisfying snack’ section of shorter readings for those days when focus is impaired, and ‘a marvelous meal’ or ‘a fabulous feast’ sections for the days when you feel well enough to sit a while with the Word. From admitting to God that we are weary or discouraged to acknowledging that we are homesick for the life we used to live and grieving the things that illness and pain have taken from us, the author knows what we are going through and she is living it with us. But she doesn’t let us – or herself – stay there in the negative space that so easily comes along hand-in-hand with always being sick or in pain. Time after time, she gently teaches us how to refocus our thoughts, reset our hearts, and reframe our illness as a child of God.

Bottom Line: I’ve been looking for a while now for a devotional that meets me where I’m at in my chronic pain/illness, written by someone who understands and makes formatting accommodations that other authors might not think of, but also one that challenges me to get out of my pity party and keep my eyes on Jesus. Incurable Faith by Andrea Herzer is exactly what I’ve wanted, and I’ll be adding a hardcover copy to my own collection as well as keeping it mind for gifts for fellow spoonies. The author spoke to my pain, my exhaustion, my self-frustration, and my discouragement… but even more importantly she reminded me that I don’t fight alone and to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I loved the playlist she links to in the introduction, as well as the specific song recommendations for each day’s devotion. Herzer not only encourages us in our faith, she also gives us the tools to fill our lives with hope.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 5 stars / loved it!

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Having spent the last twenty years with multiple illnesses—including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma—Andrea Herzer is intimately acquainted with the hardships that accompany debilitating health issues. Navigating life while undergoing infusions, chemotherapy, more than 100 medical procedures, and all the complications in-between has given her deep compassion for others who also suffer.

Andrea’s writing has been featured in multiple devotional series on iBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com. She is passionate about building others up in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ by helping them embrace a truly abundant life.

Andrea grew up in Florida and is a beach girl at heart, but for now she is content to use the therapy pool in her Texas backyard. Andrea and her remarkable husband Mark are blessed with three grown children, each of whom is their favorite child. You can learn more about Andrea and sign up for her free monthly newsletter at andreaherzer.com.

I so badly want others of you who suffer from chronic illnesses to have access to this devotional that I’m giving away a hardcover copy to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Incurable Faith by Andrea Herzer?