Enough for Today: Forty Reflections for Surviving the Wilderness

In 40 devotions, author Donna Barber vulnerably and honestly relates anecdotes about her walk with God and describes some of the wilderness happenings she and her family navigated with the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance. Recalling the biblical wilderness experiences of the Israelites, Jesus, and others, Barber fleshes out what they can teach present-day Christians as they face wildernesses of their own—economic hardship, poor health, death of loved ones, political turmoil, war, racial injustice, divisions in the church, and more.

In an introduction, Barber writes, “For a follower of Jesus, the wilderness is a place of testing, a special place where our identity as the people of God is established. It is the period when we are questioned by the enemy and the world and even ourselves on who we are and what we believe. It is a place of trial and temptation, discomfort and thirst. It is a place between. Between death and resurrection, between the inhale and the exhale. Between Egypt and the Promised Land.”

Barber invites readers to use her book as a tool for their journeys. Her desire is that her reflections will remind readers of “what is true and honest, just, pure, and lovely, and despite this present darkness, still worthy of praise.”

Enough for Today is a suitable resource for those who desire to feel God’s comfort in their personal wilderness, and it could serve as a gentle and invitational gift for a Jesus-seeker who has questions about who Jesus is and why he allows suffering.

(IVP)