Walls Fall Down (Book Review)

In life you will certainly come against obstacles, trials, or problems that will make you feel overwhelmed, defeated, or just plain horrible. As a Pastor of a large church in LA pastor Dudley Rutherford has certainly see his fair share of couples who are going through marital troubles, parents whose children have gotten caught up in worldly ways, people who have lost it all in this financial crisis, people who are in bondage to porn or to drugs and alcohol, and families who have lost loved ones – so without a doubt pastor Dudley knows that everybody in this world is struggling in some way or another. Dudley has written a book for these people. He believes that if people were to follow God’s instructions to Joshua before the battle of Jericho, then people would have the same results that Joshua and the Israelites did – “any obstacle, trial, or problem you are facing will crumble at your feet.”

In his book, Dudley offers 7 spiritual strategies to make the walls before you fall down:

1. Stand in awe of God and know his is good and sovereign.
2. Place your trust in God’s unique plan for your life.
3. Endeavor to honor him in all that you do.
4. Immerse yourself in a culture of like-minded people.
5. Be consistent with your Christian walk.
6. Obey God’s commands because there is a direct correlation between your obedience and his blessing on your life.
7. Embrace God’s perfect timing regarding your current trail and know that a season of joy and victory is coming.

According to Dudley, if you follow these seven principles the walls that stand before you will fall to the floor and you will experience complete and total victory.

Review

I will be completely honest with you… I had a hard time getting through this book. It seemed to me that it was continual fluff. Essentially it is a Christian self-help book that promises that “if you do these things – God will help you out in your tough situation.” Despite the fact that its filled with a “think positive, positive things will come your way” and “here are 7 surefire steps to success” type message there are a few glimmers of hope in this book. The first principle emphasizes God’s sovereignty and wisdom, it accurately teaches that God is in control and that we can have peace in any situation knowing that he is good and in control. Dudley also briefly mentions that our definition of victory might not be God’s definition of victory – he sites Paul and his life as an example. In the world’s eyes Paul’s life doesn’t look so victorious, but in God’s eyes Paul ultimately experienced victory. I wish Dudley would have began this book with this truth. Unless you define victory people will tend to define victory according to cultural norms, in this case the American dream. This is extremely dangerous for believers because it will either lead them to chase false victories or it will lead them to feel like God has abandoned them because they aren’t experience the “good life” (at least according to upper-middle class standards).

Overall, I can’t say that I’m too excited about this book. I believe that the message that is contained in this book is necessary for every believer to hear – That God always wins – but the self-help nature of this book makes me hesitant from really recommending it to anybody.

[Note: I received this book courtesy of Thomas Nelson publishers in exchange for an honest review.]