The Insanity of God

A True Story of Faith Resurrected

Author	Nik Ripken & Gregg Lewis
Narrator	Joe Geoffrey
Runtime	9.73 Hrs. - Unabridged
Publisher	christianaudio
Downloads	ZIP M4B MP3
Release Date	August 1, 2015

Availability: Unrestricted (available worldwide)

The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, "Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place? It sure didn't work in Somalia.

Nik recalls that, “God had always been so real to me, to Ruth, and to our boys. But was He enough, for the utter weariness of soul I experienced at that time, in that place, under those circumstances?” It is a question that many have asked and one that, if answered, can lead us to a whole new world of faith.

How does faith survive, let alone flourish in a place like the Middle East? How can Good truly overcome such evil? How do you maintain hope when all is darkness around you? How can we say “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” when it may not be visibly true in that place at that time? How does anyone live an abundant, victorious Christian life in our world’s toughest places? Can Christianity even work outside of Western, dressed-up, ordered nations? If so, how?

The Insanity of God tells a story—a remarkable and unique story to be sure, yet at heart a very human story—of the Ripkens’ own spiritual and emotional odyssey. The gripping, narrative account of a personal pilgrimage into some of the toughest places on earth, combined with sobering and insightful stories of the remarkable people of faith Nik and Ruth encountered on their journeys, will serve as a powerful course of revelation, growth, and challenge for anyone who wants to know whether God truly is enough.

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Description: The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, "Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place? It sure didn't work in Somalia.

Nik recalls that, “God had always been so real to me, to Ruth, and to our boys. But was He enough, for the utter weariness of soul I experienced at that time, in that place, under those circumstances?” It is a question that many have asked and one that, if answered, can lead us to a whole new world of faith.

How does faith survive, let alone flourish in a place like the Middle East? How can Good truly overcome such evil? How do you maintain hope when all is darkness around you? How can we say “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” when it may not be visibly true in that place at that time? How does anyone live an abundant, victorious Christian life in our world’s toughest places? Can Christianity even work outside of Western, dressed-up, ordered nations? If so, how?

The Insanity of God tells a story—a remarkable and unique story to be sure, yet at heart a very human story—of the Ripkens’ own spiritual and emotional odyssey. The gripping, narrative account of a personal pilgrimage into some of the toughest places on earth, combined with sobering and insightful stories of the remarkable people of faith Nik and Ruth encountered on their journeys, will serve as a powerful course of revelation, growth, and challenge for anyone who wants to know whether God truly is enough.

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews Add Review

Encouraging and a delight to listen to!

The reader is so good at story telling I often forgot he was reading as it felt like listening to him unravel the story chapter by chapter. I was blessed by "Nik and Ruth's" journey to the real question of the importance of getting to know Jesus, and I was especially blessed by his thoughts on persecution. I know these stories will stick with me for a long time.

Overall

Review by Kim / (Posted on 3/22/2021)

Faith Renewing

This book is awe-inspiring and faith renewing! It really got my heart fired back up and thinking about sharing the gospel and being willing to face persecution for my own faith.

Overall

Review by Chris / (Posted on 6/5/2020)

A stumbling block to maturity!

This book illustrates what the new church age movement has become. The simplest doctrines escape the writer on every page. His inability to objectively view circumstances through the light of God's word is breath taking. Emotionalism is used unabashedly as the criteria of satisfying God's word.

Overall

Review by David / (Posted on 2/3/2019)

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Blessed

What an excellent work. It made me cry and made me feel ashamed of the few areas in my life that I have complained about in the past. We are so very blessed in America and it is a miracle that we were born in this country rather than another.

Overall

Review by Arlene / (Posted on 3/13/2018)

Wow

Wow, what a lesson. God takes what is horrible and damaged and makes it something whole and glorious

Overall

Review by David / (Posted on 1/16/2017)

Christ inspiring. I'm awed

If I could I'd give this book 10 stars. God has used the writer to capture and communicate Gods passion in a way I've not known. I want to know and experience The savior in the fullness of Gods plan. I pray God will give courage enough to overcome the fear of rejection as He has to the author and those he encounters in the book. This is a transformational read. God Bless you

Overall

Review by Wayne / (Posted on 1/12/2017)

Persecution with joy!!!

If you are looking for another soothing and make yourself better christian book, then this book is not a good choice. This book is call to the action of real deeper and more deeper faith. Thank you Dr. Ripken for awakening my spirit once again, which has been sleeping for a while. I am not sure what to do with all this spirit awakening information which you have supplied through your book, but I am trusting the Holy Spirit to lead my way into the darkness of unfaithfulness in my country. God bless you!

Overall

Review by Sage / (Posted on 10/12/2015)

Very Challenging

This book will convict you to change your perspective on what it means to follow Jesus in the most dreadful places. Nik Ripken painstakingly describes his own suffering serving as a relief worker in Somalia. The story drastically changes directions after a dramatic wake-up call. The rest of the book is devoted to the Ripkens' journey to explore what it means to follow Jesus in the most heavily persecuted places, what he calls the insanity of God. This book caused me to explore my own thoughts and feelings on faith and suffering. Nik Ripken declares that persecution for faith is not the worst problem for Christians, but rather being silent about the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be silent in not making disciples of Jesus is no different than Muslim persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Persecution will always exist so long as Jesus is being proclaimed in the world. A note on the narration, it was about average. I received this book from christianaudio as part of a reviewing program and was not obligated to write a positive review.

Overall

Review by mattparks35 / (Posted on 10/6/2015)

A big impact on my walk with God

I had heard The Insanity of God by Nik Ripkin (pseudonym) was good. I even had a digital copy of it on my ereader, but I just never got around to reading it until now. It lived up to the hype.

The full title of the book is The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected. Ripkin tells of how he became a Christian, got married, and got appointed as a missionary to Africa. Once there, he ended up doing relief work in Somalia—he was in Mogadishu during the events portrayed in the book and movie Black Hawk Down. The things he experienced doing this relief work and a personal tragedy shook his faith. This led him on a journey through many countries to meet with and learn from persecuted believers around the world, which ultimately breathed fresh air into his faith.

Ripkin’s story drew me in. So many of the stories were heartbreaking or tense, yet there were moments of sudden relief, unexpected humor, and even joy. It’s not surprising that Ripkin struggled with what he was experiencing—feelings of doubt, failure, and being overwhelmed. As I read, I found myself challenged as well. This book wrestles with the problem of evil, miracles, God speaking, and persecution. It’s not systematized like a textbook. It’s stories. Much like the Gospels and Acts, the narrative calls for a response.

I feel invigorated after reading The Insanity of God. I’m in seminary, but I don’t just want my knowledge to grow, I want my faith to grow. This book has reminded me that believing God isn’t merely about knowing certain things and holding certain positions. It’s about trusting in him more today than I did yesterday, and acting on that trust more and more. It may end up having a bigger impact on my walk with God than any other book I’ve read this year. I wish I had read it sooner.

I received a copy of the audiobook from christianaudio for the purpose of review.