If Only (Book Review)

Jennie Pollock’s story could be mine.

I can’t remember when I started wanting to get married but throughout my teens and twenties, it was where I was expecting my life to go. I would meet someone and get married. Simple.

However, at the time of writing this, marriage is not on the cards for me. My plans do not seem to be God’s plans. There seems to be a gap between the life I planned for myself and the reality God has for me now.

It is this gap that Jennie Pollock addresses in If Only. What do we do when the life we long for isn’t the life we have? How do we cope with the desire ‘if only things were different’? It is a desire that comes up in so many different areas of life. Disappointment comes as life doesn’t go as we expect or plan.

To help us cultivate godly contentment in the face of ‘if only’, Jennie takes us through three key questions:

• Is God good?
• Is God enough?
• Is God worth it?

As she answers these questions, each chapter is full of biblical truths which give a resounding ‘yes’! Alongside these truths, Jennie interweaves practical advice which enables us to come to the point where we can echo that yes.

She realistically recognises that it is not easy or quick to get to that point of contentment and we need help to refocus on God and his truths each day.

Throughout the book are stories of others who have wrestled with disappointment, doubt, and this feeling of ‘if only’. Within these stories, there is a helpful balance between those who have seen God blessing them with a change in their circumstances and those who have been blessed with rich contentment in the face of no change.

If Only is an exceptionally helpful book for all who have experienced life’s disappointments and it shows us that the secret to finding contentment is in Jesus. A daily lifelong practice of fixing our eyes on him is the antidote to our feeling of lack.

You can order If Only from 10ofThose or The Good Book Company for £6.79 (RRP £7.99)