God is with us in our weakest and most desperate moments!

God does things in our lives that disrupt and change them forever.
The stories of eight biblical figures (Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Jonah, Mary, Jesus, and Ananias) show how God intervenes in our lives and guides us to do His will.
The author, a renowned New Testament scholar and early Christian researcher, rediscovers God through creative biblical reflections and engaging personal anecdotes, intertwining past and present.
As we engage in this conversation, we too will discover clues to God's involvement in our own lives.

“I was deeply immersed in and moved by ‘The Intrusive God.’
This book has the value of a classic.
“The ‘intrusion’ of God into our lives that the author explores is crucial to forming a godly spirituality.”
Dallas Willard, author of The Divine Conspiracy

The God of the Bible does not elevate brave souls to heaven.
We cannot find God by focusing on our abilities and digging deep into it.
God does something far more offensive.
God comes into this world.
Even when people neither expected nor welcomed him.
God is with us in our weakest and most terrible moments.
Every character in this book proves it.
The world is not a safe place at all.
If by safety you mean safe from the visitation of the Holy One.
The God who intervenes is among us.
--- From the "Introductory Note"

God knows how much Sarah suffered behind the tent.
Of course there was laughter, but he also listened to the disappointment and bitterness pouring down beneath.
God should have rebuked Sarah, but surprisingly, instead of rebuking her, he asked her a question.
Her existence hinges on this question: “Is anything too hard for Jehovah?”
In all this, could Sarah trust God? Nearly two thousand years later, in a Galilean village, another woman, younger and unmarried, received the message that she would become the mother of the Messiah.
When Mary struggles with her faith, God repeats the same words.
“For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).
--- From “Disillusionment with God”?

Our desire to know God is usually conditional.
Most people only want to encounter God (at least in a serious way) in times of crisis.
When things are going well, we don't feel the need for God, don't think much about Him, and don't want to meet Him.
Success and prosperity often lead to complacency rather than spiritual sensitivity.
No one prays for Christ's return at their wedding, graduation, or retirement party.
But when a storm destroys crops, a family falls apart, or scandal strikes, God suddenly emerges as a powerful alternative.
In times of need, there is no limit to how much people can turn to God.
--- From "Wrestling with God"?

The paradox of discipleship is that God must first make us weak in order to use us.
As the story of Gideon reminds us, God must humble us.
This is God's program for all acts of faith, not just the greatest acts of faith, but even the smallest.
Gideon was the same.
The intervening God infiltrates Gideon's covert operation, transforming him from a minor nuisance to a great liberator, from a vermin to a Terminator.
Jehovah overcomes Gideon, who laments his shortcomings and abandonment.
He grants our request for a sign and helps us overcome our fear of being conscious of others.
And finally, you make up your mind to take action.
God intervened in Gideon's life, pulling him out of his long lethargy and turning him into a warrior.
--- From "Faith in Action"?

We understand Jonah's feelings a hundred times over, but we lack the courage to admit it.
Let's think about it this way.
Let's say you die tonight and go to heaven.
Who would you meet there and feel sad about? An unqualified office colleague who snatched the promotion you thought was yours? A friend who stole a full scholarship you deserved? A spouse who betrayed you? An unscrupulous real estate agent who deceived you? A debtor who never repaid a loan? Don't be too quick to laugh at Jonah's ramblings about rejecting grace.
Because he's not the only one like that.
No one can escape.
The part of the gospel that we find most offensive is grace.
--- From "Sorrow through Grace"?

I once saw a guide in a European art museum explaining a medieval painting depicting the Annunciation.
The piece depicted the Holy Spirit shooting laser beams into Mary's ears.
Old painters, who considered the Annunciation as an important element of salvation as the crucifixion, often depicted the virgin birth as occurring from Mary's ear rather than her womb.
They knew the pregnancy process well.
However, they did not simply refer to biological information when describing the Annunciation.
As these works so clearly reveal, the culmination of the Annunciation was not the biological act of conception, but the response of trust in God's perfect promise.

--- From "The Impossible God"?