By Lysa TerKeurst

Reviewed By: Ashley Davis

Embraced: 100 Devotions to Know God Is Holding You Close

By TerKeurst, Lysa

We’ve all experienced a season in our lives when we needed a quick, open-and-go style devotional that required no outside Bible reading and no in-depth study. This is a devotional that could be helpful during a season like post-partum, a moving transition, or summertime out of routine; the examples could go on and on. Truth is, we all have a season that’s marked by busyness. The goal is keeping that season from also being marked by distance from God. Lysa TerKeurst’s devotional Embraced, is a great tool for a season when 15-30 minutes of time in Bible study or reading isn’t doable.

This devotional is 100 entries long and is broken into the following four parts: embracing the pursuit of Him and His direction; embracing the fullness found only in Him; embracing Him in the midst of hurt and heartbreak; embracing His call to be transformed. Each devotion entry is numbered and titled and then followed by a scripture. The devotional entry itself comes next, and it is concluded by a prayer written by the author. I think most readers would spend about five minutes on each devotion, but don’t let the brevity fool you! These devotions do pack a punch. Just to pique your interest, here are some titles from the entries: Stop Reading Your Bible (WHAT?! – yeah.); The Seduction of Satisfaction; Is God Good?; Her Success Doesn’t Threaten Mine. Told you they were practical! The 100 devotion entries are concluded by a prayer from Lysa, 31 personalized scriptures, and an index.

Now, I don’t typically share too many negative comments in our reviews here, but I do have a couple qualms with this devotional that may be helpful for you to be aware of. I wouldn’t recommend this devotional for women who have already read a lot of Lysa’s books. For me, Lysa is an auto-buy-author, meaning if she writes it, I buy it. I’m a fan. That being said, I’ve read the majority of her books. I found several of these entries redundant and nearly copy/paste from a few of her other books (Made to Crave and Uninvited specifically). At first, this was annoying to me, but I figure for those that don’t have the time or “want to” to read an entire book on the topics covered in Lysa’s full-length works, this devotional could be a great option!

My second qualm lies with the title. Personally, I don’t feel like the title matches the content of the book. Embraced: 100 Devotions to Know God Is Holding You Close seems like a very specific season-based kind of devotional to read after loss or during a hardship. In my opinion, this devotional was comprised of very general content directed toward women. The topics weren’t necessarily about the fact that we’re being held by God. Then again, a title like “Cliffs Notes of All the Best Stuff Written by Lysa TerKerust” may not have sold as well.

Instead of sharing some helpful quotes from this devotional like I would in a typical review, I’ll share with you how I used it. Because this devotional is largely practical in nature, it could be a helpful pairing with more in-depth personal Bible study or reading where application can sometimes be difficult. (Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s hard to glean a lot from certain portions of Scripture. Does that mean we shouldn’t read them? Nope!) I used this devotional alongside my normal Bible reading plan. I read one entry each day. There’s a handy section in the Following Titus 2 prayer journal with a prompt to write a response to today’s reading, and there, I wrote a response prayer to what I had read in the devotion entry for the day. To help me hone in on the point of each entry (and know from where to really draw my concise, intentional prayer), I highlighted the main takeaway from each entry. This is quite helpful because later, I can look back at the devotional and quick scan those highlighted portions to find one a may be looking for specifically. Pairing this devotional with the FT2 prayer journal also helped me actually apply it. I know I’m not the only one guilt of reading a devotional, checking that off my mental “Christian girl to do list,” and moving right along without even really considering how to use the devotion in my own life. Highlighting the main point and crafting a prayer of response to it was pivotal to my successful use of this devotional.

Audience:

Women, 16+; The age appropriateness of this book will depend greatly on the maturity of the teen reader.

Usefulness Rating:

Embraced is very practical and useful.

Entertainment Value:

If you’ve never you read Lysa TerKeurst, you’re definitely in for some laughs. She’s always entertaining but never strays away from the hard topics of life!