Book Notes: Who Does He Say You Are?

When you open up Colleen C. Mitchell's book, Who Does He Say You Are, expect to be surprised, challenged and changed.

I took the "Which Gospel Woman Are You?" quiz before beginning to read the book, and I got a result that didn't surprise me: I'm Martha. As Colleen observes in the chapter on Martha and Mary of Bethany, Martha is "stuck in her either/or mindset"--a place I often find myself as well. So when I started reading this book, I didn't expect the women in the other chapters to resonate with me; after all, I'm Martha.

Turns out, I'm challenged to be like Anna the prophetess, and the woman with a hemorrhage, and the Syrophoenician woman, and, yes, Martha. And so are you.

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Colleen brings out the qualities in each of these women (and several more) that are in every woman, and directs our spiritual journey as we discover how we can be healed as they were. Throughout the book, she shares her own journey of brokenness, faith, healing and trust. The Questions for Reflection at the end of each chapter aren't merely journal prompts: they are calls to action.

We are not all called to be missionaries in remote parts of the world as Colleen and her family are, but we are called, Colleen reminds us.

"I do not know your story. Yours may read a lot like mine, or it may be altogether different. But I do know this: wherever you are in that story, God desires to draw near to you and remind you who you are. In the midst of your cracks and suffering and hard places and pain, he has a love letter to offer you. He handed it to your sisters of the Gospels in person. He hands it to you now through their stories. And I believe that in these stories there is healing and grace and purpose for you. There is wholeness and newness for the having.
And I know with every fiber of my being that God wants that for you. Because he says that you are loved by him." (from the Prologue)

When you open Who Does He Say You Are?, open your mind and heart to the surprises and challenges within it. Be prepared to open your soul to God's transforming love.