The Jewel of Greatness
Book Review: I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness, Michael Holmes (c)2009
On the back cover it says: “There is greatness inside of you“. Ya, I know, yada, yada, yada. We know that right? Deep inside, there is greatness inside of all of us. The question is…do we believe it? Did I believe it? Really believe it? No.
You see, when I first received my copy of Michael’s book, it was last fall. I was on the verge of a burnout and I was so consumed by busyness, stress, exhaustion, and borderline depression that I didn’t really believe there was any greatness left in me. I was done. As a result of my circumstances, I didn’t want to read this book. I was curious and I felt obligated to (because Michael had autographed my copy). But, I couldn’t. It subsequently sat on my bed-side table until March.
With Spring Comes Renewal
I started to come back to “life”, to my healthy self, in March. As I did, one day I decided to pick the book back up. It captivated me and Michael took me on a wonderful spiritual journey. I Shall Raise Thee Up draws wonderfully on solid, time-tested Biblical principles to remind us that there are indeed seeds of greatness inside of us…even me. God created me with a purpose and a plan.
He wants me to be great!
Great for His use. Great to be a blessing to others. Great to be God’s hands and feet in everyday action. When we hear the proclamation of greatness, our human nature grasps for our own glory. Our culture has taught us that greatness is prosperity. That however is not the “spirit” behind what Michael has written here. He leverages the stories of great people, great companies, and great teachings from the Bible to guide us to discover the greatness that each of us was created for. His passion is to help you genuinely realize that you (and I) were created by a Great God with a Great plan. It is God who invites all of us into relationship with Him and into a Great mission and a Great life-adventure.
Desire: The Jewel Of Greatness
Michael Holmes breaks the book up into eleven chapters that draw us to visit some key principles that God uses to help us discover and unlock the greatness that He created in each of us. For me personally, the jewel principle came out in the shortest chapter (Chapter 5): Desire.
“God will often keep you away from the thing you desire to make you want it more! He knows how to turn up the heat! When He feels the temperature is right then He steps in – He wants to make sure you want it as bad as He wants it for you!“ (page 51)
I cannot describe how this resonated with me. Yes, some of it was my current life-circumstance – but this chapter, this principle, hit me. I can attest that this is a truth. I have experienced first hand over the past 6-months. Further, Michael writes:
“When a person sees an obvious need and has the desire to do something – them doing something births leadership.” (page 52)
This is what Bill Hybels called Holy Discontent. When you (or I) see a need that must be addressed, leadership is indeed birthed in us to find and implement the solution. Something must be done. This book invites you to seek the solution to the problem that God has given you the eyes to see…and do something about it!
It is not a sin to desire greatness
I believe that all of us need a wake-up call to nurture the seeds of greatness that are planted inside of us. Michael’s goal is to help you identify that they are indeed there inside of you and to encourage you to give them some water and spiritual fertilizer to help them grow. I would encourage you to take your own journey with Michael and Jesus and push forward to greatness. I am on my journey. Won’t you join me?
Special: (limited time) free audio book offer. Who doesn’t like free – download your copy while you can!
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Disclaimer: This is an honest and heartfelt review, however, I must disclose that I was paid by Michael Holmes to develop the branding and website for this book. Truthfully, the book itself has been an incredible blessing to me and I am honoured to have been invited to play a small part in marketing this wonderful project.
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