ENCOUNTER GRACE

Eldredge offers a spiritual guide that aims to help readers to deepen their relationship with God.

“God resides within each of us,” writes the author, a spiritual retreat facilitator trained in the Ignatian tradition of Catholic spirituality. She uses the metaphor of “the inner chapel” to argue that individuals need not depend on a physical place to renew their connection with God. They have a sacred space within themselves, he asserts, to “pause for prayer” and “call on God.” This slim volume is intended to support readers who journal and use prompts to reflect on their inner life. Each page has two parts: It opens with a brief passage from Eldredge’s previous book The Inner Chapel: Embracing the Promises of God (2020) and ends with questions that facilitate introspection. The questions are thoughtfully worded, such as “What helps you become more aware of God’s presence? What interferes with your ability to connect with God?” Instead of sermonizing, the author invites readers to examine their own experiences and learn from them: “When was a time that God reminded you that you were not alone?” The content is aligned with Eldredge’s mission of “helping people live and lead with Christ.” Although this goal is lofty, the language is relatably written for the layperson eager to “connect with God in [their] everyday life” or keen to re-establish a relationship that’s grown distant. The author’s recommendation to dip into the book at the start and end of a day, as well as in between, is a sound suggestion for those who find modern life draining and would find it useful to have an “ever-present source of hope, joy, and peace” for replenishment. It’s particularly powerful in parts where it shows readers how to interpret Scripture in the contexts of their own lives. Other parts, though, may seem disempowering to questioning readers, as when the book accusingly asks, “Why is it prideful to not relinquish control to God or to refrain from asking God to help us shoulder our burdens?”

An often-well-crafted book for Christian readers seeking tools to build safe spaces inside themselves.