Book review

"The Insanity of God" - Nik Ripken

Title: The Insanity of God. A true story of faith resurrected (Insanity #1)

Release date: January 1st, 2013

No. pages: 322

Cover: paperback

This is, hands down, the best book I've read in 2020. I cannot think of another book that can be better than this. Not one. And it's not only the best of the year, it's reached top 5 all-time favourites. Let me tell you why (I cried like a baby countless times whilst reading this book):

The Insanity of God is, more or less, the autobiography of Nik & Ruth Nipken, a missionary American couple. Their story starts in countryside Kentucky and carries them around the world, all the way from Malawi, South Africa and Somalia to Russia and communist China. It is, without a doubt, a raw, unfiltered story about destruction, lostness and despair. But it is also a mind-blowing journey of discovering hope, relentless faith and joy in the midst of suffering and persecution that goes beyond human comprehension.

The message of the book raises very important questions in the mind of the reader, questions that the author too stumbles upon in his work. And whilst he isn't answering those questions directly in a very theological manner, his story and the stories of the people that he encounters throughout his journey give more specific and in-depth answer than any theologian ever could. He's asking God about all the suffering in the world, about all the opression that this world is putting on believers. He is wondering if God is still at work, still in control, still as omnipotent and present as He was in the Bible. He is provoked to trust God in a way that seems crazy, insane even. He is compelled to embrace his doubts and face his hears, only to find every answer he needs in the amazing works of God.

This book tells the story of a simple man that encounters God in a very specific and personal way and embarks on a journey with Him that completely transforms who he is. His way of thinking, of living, of believing. Even though in so many situations what he (and his wife) chose was not the most rational thing to choose and the places they traveled to and the places they lived in weren't the world's most comfortable places to do so, their obedience to God's word is astonishing. And the only possible outcome of total surrender to God's will can only be experiencing God's power in a unexplainable, unthinkable way.

But this book tells not just the story of the Ripkens and their spiritual journey. It's also a biography of the Church, the Body of Christ in its entirety. For so many years now, God has used Nik Ripken and his family to uncover for the entire world the ways He has worked amongst this world most persecuted communities of believers. He are faced with incredible stories of Christians that seem to have risen straight from the book of Acts, men and women that live and talk with God like one speaks to a friend, a brother, a father. And the most astounding aspect of all these stories is the way they prove that good will win over evil, that love always find a way, even in the darkest of places, how joy can suppres pain, how the message of resurrection, the Gospel of Christ can pierce to the cruelest of hearts and minds and bring people into the Kingdom of God.

There are not enough words to explain and to put out there that could make you understand the power that lies in the pages of this book. The only way to experience what I've experienced is by reading the book itself. Nik Ripken will lead you on a unforgettable journey of faith resurrected, using words that will open your eyes, blow your mind away, break your heart in a million pieces and, most importantly, it will challenge you to live the life you're supposed to live. Not a life of hiding and fear, but rather one of going and sharing, of courage and outstanding faith.

"Long after I heard that story, I kept thinking about God's final instruction to the deacon: 'You just have to go.' You don't have to come back. You just have to go. The instruction is so clear. You just have to go. You just have to go. Even if there is no clarity about your return, you just have to go."

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