Book Review: Shattered Dreams (Crabb)

As a counselor and someone who has asked where God was in the midst of difficult times, I decided to read and review Shattered Dreams.  Crabb artfully weaves together sound theology, self-disclosure, case studies, and the stirring Biblical story of Naomi to explain God’s purposes for unfulfilled dreams and what we learn are often sinful expectations.  Truly, I believe, Crabb is a gifted writer who speaks not only to the mind, but also to the heart in the area of sanctification.  Oftentimes after reading a book like this, I have the “right” theological answer, but am left to still struggle with the daily application and the emotions that don’t seem to change with just knowing the right answer.  Crabb is not afraid to ask the hard questions or to even voice those doubts and thoughts we often think we need to hide as Christians.  I’ve come across many friends and clients who, in their darkest moments, voice the same tear-filled thoughts, and this book could help to put more than a band-aid on their pain by lovingly and truthfully pointing them to God.

Crabb’s main point is that God uses suffering to create in us a desire for an encounter with Him that not only points us to a better hope, but fulfills God's own purposes of His glory.  This encounter with God allows for community and our lives to be transformed to be more like Christ.  He takes us on a journey the first few chapters, acknowledging that bad things happen and expressing the frustration we often feel towards God when we think He is absent from our pain.  He then proceeds to strip away the too-often believed idea that God’s purpose is to make us happy and that He is an object to be used to get what we want.  Crabb painfully extracts the hidden ways we do this, oftentimes laced with good intentions or Christianized meaning.   He weaves in the story of Naomi, inviting the reader to experience her loss of hope and struggle towards seeing God for who He, desiring an encounter with Him, and creating in her a deeper hope.  As a gifted writer, Crabb keeps the reader’s attention, as the chapters are short and cliffhangers or questions to be answered are presented at the end of most chapters.

By the end of the book, the reader has read the initial discouraging thoughts of Naomi, felt the painful emotions of shattered dreams, and has rejoiced with her in her better hope.  The reader hopefully comes out the other side more inviting of these shattered dreams, even seeing them as desirable and good, knowing that the hope from God that comes from these trials is far richer than anything that this world has to offer.

Crabb assumes the work of Christ in the reader’s life, so this wouldn’t necessarily be a book for a non-Christian.   He also leans heavily towards the use of the name “God” (though uses “Christ” interchangeably), speaking to, but not obviously fleshing out the Gospel.  This would be one area that I wish would have been stronger and a little more complete.

Overall, this book is most helpful with changing our paradigms of who God is and His purposes.  I echo Crabb in his desire for a revolution that focuses more on a hunger for God than fixing problems and feeling better.


(Waterbrook Multomah Publishers/Blogging for Books provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.)