{"id":1364,"date":"2023-01-25T03:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T03:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1364"},"modified":"2023-01-24T16:02:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T16:02:31","slug":"friend-of-god-in-the-heights-and-depths-guest-post-by-rachel-yarworth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1364","title":{"rendered":"Unseen Miracles: Guest post by Rachel Yarworth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Today I&#8217;m delighted to welcome Rachel Yarworth to the blog to share some of her story. Rachel has written a wonderful, relatable book called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Friend-God-miraculous-ordinary-person-ebook\/dp\/B0BP2SQ4BV\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=TIXWWNSW909K&amp;keywords=friend+of+god+rachel+yarworth&amp;qid=1674573941&amp;sprefix=friend+of+god+rac%2Caps%2C87&amp;sr=8-1\">Friend of God<\/a>, which I found compelling and encouraging. What I particularly liked about the book is that Rachel is not afraid to be real: she shared about the difficult times in life as much as the triumph, the sorrows as well as the joys. It&#8217;s also packed full of hope and a few miracles along the way, so do pick it up for an encouraging read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Christianity is not about \u201cCome to Jesus and all your troubles will go away\u201d.&nbsp; Actually, that\u2019s not only foolish, but heretical, considering Jesus promised in this life we <strong><em>would<\/em><\/strong> have troubles<\/p>\n<cite>Rachel Yarworth<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Friend of God: The miraculous life of an ordinary person\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"843\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.co.uk\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=kpd&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_7q07qvN4QS6Wsz&#038;asin=B0BP2SQ4BV&#038;tag=kpembed-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So, without further ado, welcome, Rachel, to Great Adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UNSEEN MIRACLES &#8211; by Rachel Yarworth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When God asked me to write a book about my life experiences with Him, after I overcame my own horror of putting myself out there, I started to feel excited about sharing the amazing things He has done in my life.&nbsp;But the more I wrote, the more I became aware of those around me who had not received the miracles they longed for, and I faltered often, not wanting to cause them to stumble into discouraging comparison.&nbsp;Then a beta-reader gave voice to my fears through her own concern, saying I should try to sound less smug so I don\u2019t make people feel they have failed compared to my life, or as if they were less loved by God than me \u2013 the very opposite of what I wanted.&nbsp;I\u2019ll be honest, if it weren\u2019t for the encouraging feedback of many others spurring me on, I might well have quit at that point.&nbsp;I\u2019m especially thankful for the wise friend who expressly reassured me that my book was not a smug showing off of \u201clook how many miracles I\u2019ve had\u201d, because in it I am also very frank about the miracles I didn\u2019t receive: the babies I lost, the healings that didn\u2019t happen, the times I utterly failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because that is the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christianity is not about \u201cCome to Jesus and all your troubles will go away\u201d.&nbsp; Actually, that\u2019s not only foolish, but heretical, considering Jesus promised in this life we <strong><em>would<\/em><\/strong> have troubles<a href=\"#_ftn1\" id=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>.&nbsp; So why then do we still act like troubles are our fault, a result of inadequate faith, or some sort of punishment for accidentally failing to measure up to an impossible standard?&nbsp; Why are we so quick to decide in times of trouble that God has forgotten us or left us behind to struggle in pain?&nbsp; He hasn\u2019t left us \u2013 He promised He would <strong><em>never<\/em><\/strong> leave us<a href=\"#_ftn2\" id=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a>, and He cannot lie<a href=\"#_ftn3\" id=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a>.&nbsp; His compassion towards us is endless!<a href=\"#_ftn4\" id=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, I have experienced some wonderful miracles, as described in my book, and like I said, I am hugely grateful for them: I love it when God shows His power and moves immovable mountains out of the way!&nbsp; But you know what I\u2019m even more grateful for?&nbsp; The times \u2013 also in my book \u2013 when I didn\u2019t get the obvious miracles, but God still showed up.&nbsp; In the midst of all my pathetically weak, broken-hearted, sobbing messes, He NEVER FAILED to pour His love, compassion and grace into my heart.&nbsp; Sometimes I got so engulfed with my own pain that I failed to recognise Him at first (and honestly, I don\u2019t know a pain worse than not being able to find Him), but He always patiently waited until I stopped railing against the storm and quieted enough to hear His voice again.&nbsp; His love never fails<a href=\"#_ftn5\" id=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So no, Christianity isn\u2019t about \u201cCome to Jesus and all your problems will go away\u201d.&nbsp; But it <em>is<\/em> about Matt 11:28 &#8211; \u201c<em>Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus took on flesh<a href=\"#_ftn6\" id=\"_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a> and became one of us so He could experience the struggle and the suffering of humanity \u2013 not to judge us and write us off, but so He could speak to us in our times of struggle and pain, to open His arms wide and say \u201cCome here, let Me embrace you\u201d.&nbsp; Sometimes He takes our burdens away in obviously miraculous ways; other times He just shoulders the weight and helps us to carry them.&nbsp; Either way, He is always, ALWAYS there, with endless compassion and grace to carry us through. &nbsp;It might be unseen by others, but His loving presence with us really is the best of miracles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" id=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> Jn 16:33<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" id=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> Heb 13:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" id=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> Tit 1:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" id=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> Lam 3:22-23<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" id=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> 1 Cor 13:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_ftn6\" href=\"#_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a> Jn 1:14<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"251\" height=\"300\" data-attachment-id=\"1366\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?attachment_id=1366\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-scaled.jpg?fit=2143%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2143,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D3300&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1546682601&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;52&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"profile pic\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-scaled.jpg?fit=843%2C1007&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-251x300.jpg?resize=251%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-scaled.jpg?resize=251%2C300&amp;ssl=1 251w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-scaled.jpg?resize=857%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 857w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C917&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-scaled.jpg?resize=1286%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1286w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/profile-pic-scaled.jpg?resize=1715%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1715w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rachel Yarworth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Thanks to Rachel for sharing today! Do add your comments on the post and your experiences of friendship with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like this post? Why not join my mailing list &#8211; you&#8217;ll receive a free PDF copy of Catching Contentment: a six session Bible study course, which accompanies my book Catching Contentment (IVP, 2018)<\/p>\n\n\n<p>[mc4wp_form id=240]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today I&#8217;m delighted to welcome Rachel Yarworth to the blog to share some of her story. Rachel has written a wonderful, relatable book called Friend&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[175],"tags":[142,255,256,169],"class_list":["post-1364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","tag-book-review","tag-guest-post","tag-miracles","tag-suffering"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mock-00974.png?fit=1600%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8T2j8-m0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1515,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1515","url_meta":{"origin":1364,"position":0},"title":"Finding Jesus in the Wilderness: Review and Interview","author":"liz","date":"February 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes as followers of Jesus we fall into the belief that our lives should go easily if we are trusting in him. We think that if things go wrong, it's down to us messing up or that we're not doing it right; maybe we are not trying hard enough. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?cat=175"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1439,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1439","url_meta":{"origin":1364,"position":1},"title":"The Jesse Tree Anthology &#8211; Interview and Giveaway","author":"liz","date":"October 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas is coming, everyone! It's that time of year again. Everything gets to be a huge great rush, and we long for something to help us slow down and take hold of moments, particularly through Advent. There are many Advent devotional books that help readers reflect on the waiting time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"book review\"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?tag=book-review"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate-1.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate-1.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate-1.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate-1.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":628,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=628","url_meta":{"origin":1364,"position":2},"title":"Can the craziness of Advent be redeemed? Interview with Lucy Rycroft and giveaway!","author":"liz","date":"November 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"For many people this coming season is one of non-stop rush and busyness. Even for those of us unable to be as busy, it's a time where there is so much competing for our attention - on TV, on social media, at church, in the street. Our focus can so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?cat=175"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/72453950_2588705291216552_8827835639434051584_o.jpg?fit=960%2C639&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/72453950_2588705291216552_8827835639434051584_o.jpg?fit=960%2C639&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/72453950_2588705291216552_8827835639434051584_o.jpg?fit=960%2C639&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/72453950_2588705291216552_8827835639434051584_o.jpg?fit=960%2C639&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1001,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1001","url_meta":{"origin":1364,"position":3},"title":"Treasure in Dark Places &#8211; Interview with Lesley Crawford.","author":"liz","date":"October 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was first posted on Lesley's wonderful site, Life in the Spacious Place - check it out! \"Today I\u2019m delighted to introduce you to a new book: Treasure In Dark Places by Liz Carter. As you know, from time to time I like to share about books that I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"book review\"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?tag=book-review"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/MVFG9xAbkPw\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1449,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1449","url_meta":{"origin":1364,"position":4},"title":"Unloved and Unloveable? &#8211; Guest post by Joy Margetts, author of The Bride","author":"liz","date":"October 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As you all know I love reading and I especially love talking to authors about how they write, their inspiration and their dreams. Today I'm delighted to welcome Joy Margetts to the blog for a guest post she has written about value - which fits in so well with my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?cat=175"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/celebrate.png?fit=1000%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1083,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1083","url_meta":{"origin":1364,"position":5},"title":"Stuck in the Mud &#8211; Interview and giveaway with John Prockter","author":"liz","date":"February 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I've recently had the privilege of reading John Prockter's new book, Stuck in the Mud? John is a youth worker who is local to me. Here's the book description: At times of difficulty or transition we can often feel unable to move forward. 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