THE OTHER SIDE
by Seth Ramey
A debut book analyzes two well-known biblical stories to address the issue of survival during life’s most difficult trials.
In the first part of this volume, Ramey takes readers on a verse-by-verse exploration of Matthew 14:22-36, the account of Jesus’ disciples facing a violent storm. They witness Jesus walking on water, calming the sea, and eventually reaching the other side. The second part moves into the Old Testament with the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and their journey to the Promised Land. Ramey has written this work using the foundation of his own excruciating tempests in life, most notably his sister’s battle with cancer. His insights about these scriptural passages are focused on enduring hardships. Some of his premises include: God lets individuals experience tribulation so they can discover his faithful character and learn to trust him; “miracles happen on both sides of the storm”; and God is always “working, moving, orchestrating things, and preparing you for what is yet to come.” The author also advises readers: “God is healing, deliverance from depression, restoration in relationships, heart mending. God is good, and He is reaching out to you. Cling to Him.” The quality of Ramey’s writing is superb—rich with meaning, easily comprehensible, and highly engaging. He is able to extract profound meaning from every verse, employing the details available. He also takes the creative liberty to annotate the ancient setting from his own perspective, which truly brings the Scriptures to life; there is an organized and balanced harmony between scriptural commentary and present-day application that is ambiguous enough to pertain to a wide variety of situations but structured enough so as not to lose readers. The book is also interspersed with novel and memorable one-liners like “God, I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow” and “God loves an underdog story and a good comeback. We can never place a period where God has placed a comma.”
Rich scriptural commentary with real-life relevance that offers hope, direction, and encouragement.