Ruth Graham, author and daughter of famed evangelist Billy Graham, brings a message of hope for troubled times in Fear Not Tomorrow, God Is Already There. Based on a Bible study she presented at her local church titled “Enjoying God,” the book aims to expose misconceptions about the Creator through a series of biblical encounters.
“If we want to know if God can be trusted, let’s look at how Jesus dealt with people,” she says. “What was it about Him that calmed whatever situation He was in?”
One such encounter that stuck with Graham was the account of the woman caught in adultery.
“Certainly there was a woman who had no future,” she says. “She is dragged before the Lord full of fear and anxiety. It’s interesting to note Jesus’ posture. They threw her on the ground. Jesus stoops. Her Creator, the God of the universe, stoops to her level. Isn’t that what the story of the incarnation is?”
Graham says she believes too many people have the idea that God doesn’t care, that “He’s waiting to zap them.” Instead, she proposes that God is the Abba Father. When she presented the idea to her Bible students of figuratively crawling into God’s lap, many reported they could envision it.
“I think people will come away from the book realizing that God longs to have a relationship with us,” she says.
Graham said that many Christians struggle with performance in trying to please God, but she presents the idea for a God whose love isn’t based on what they do.
“We are so consumed with doing,” she says. “‘If I’m nicer to my neighbor, then God will be happy with me.’ It really has nothing to do with that. God loves us anyway.”
Graham’s aim—to present a loving Father who can be trusted in the midst of difficulty —came true in her own life even before the book was published.
“When I was writing this book, God put me to the test,” she says. “I had to keep pushing through. I thought, OK, God, you’re having me write this for a reason and more for myself than anyone else. “
For readers, Graham hopes the book will help them sharpen their focus, no matter what the situation is in their lives.
“God is our comfort and our strength,” she says. “When everything else is changing, we have to focus on that. When we keep our eyes on Jesus and His character, we can be calm. We don’t have to be anxious and fretting.”
Click here to purchase Fear Not Tomorrow, God Is Already There.
