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It's Not Supposed to Be This Way

Written by: Lysa TerKeurst
Narrated by: Lysa TerKeurst,Jolene Barto
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Publisher's Summary

Includes an audiobook exclusive interview with Lysa!

New York Times best-selling author Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances and shows listeners how to live assured when life doesn't turn out like they expected.

What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, His lack of intervention hurtful, and His promises doubtful?

Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned, and we quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness.

Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But she's also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In It's Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith and, with grit, vulnerability, and honest humor, helps us to:

  • Stop being pulled into the anxiety of disappointment by discovering how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations.
  • Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes.
  • Discover the secret of being steadfast and not panicking when God actually does give us more than we can handle.
  • Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us.
  • Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God's truth.

Reflection questions available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Lysa TerKeurst (P)2018 Thomas Nelson

What listeners say about It's Not Supposed to Be This Way

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Helpful!!

What a helpful book. As a woman in ministry myself, you never hear about problems in women in ministry relationships... I’m sure there are some 😉, but they are hard to find publicly. I appreciate Lysa’s honesty about the pain. Because we serve a great big God we need to remain in him no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. This book helps to show you, you’re not alone, other people go through the same sorts of problems, and that you can still be an over comer through Jesus Christ! Thank you Lysa and God bless you!

2 people found this helpful

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Solid teaching, read slowly

Solidly grounded in scripture. Honest and genuine. Caution: Read slowly to reflect and absorb. Can be hard to listen to.

2 people found this helpful

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I loved this book!!!

I chose this book as my free trial book and I am so thankful I did I was so blessed!!

2 people found this helpful

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Thank you, Lysa.

I love to hear authors read their own audiobook. It helps me to understand her side of the story better, plus what she wants her readers to know about God. Thank you, Lysa.

1 person found this helpful

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Excellent Book on Believing God

Anyone with a broken heart will relate to this author. We all go thru times where its hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Lysa TerKuest is an animated speaker/reader and I found her very engaging.

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Il y a toujours quelque chose mais il n'y rien...

J'arrive à presque à un demi siècle de vie.

Peu importe où j'ai habiter auparavant et les gens de différentes cultures que j'ai côtoyés.

C'est toujours la même chose.

Pour eux il y avait toujours quelque chose. Mais pour moi il n'y avait rien du tout.

Ça dépendait vraiment de la personne qui était avec moi.

Aujourd'hui si je rencontre quelqu'un mais je ne le sens pas. Bien ça n'ira pas loin.

J'aime bien le livre. Mais je pense qu'on capote un peu trop sur Dieu, l'église etc

Je pense que personne ne doit attendre pour personne.

On ne doit pas subir. Mais agir.

Les choses de la Bible ça devient trop tannant. C'est comme laisser la faute sur quelqu'un d'autre.

Après le chapitre trois j'étais plus capable. J'ai décidé de marquer le livre comme terminé.

C'est trop de passage par rapport à la Bible. C'est vraiment n'importe quoi.

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Excellent

loved it. reaches right in to where hurt has found a home and reveals truth to illuminate the darkness. call us to look at life with truth and with a push to become more than our lies have t
old us we are limited to becoming.

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Great Support for Christian Women

At first I thought “this so doesn’t apply to me” but wow was I wrong !!
This is a beautiful book that helped me to tie into my deepest strengths and to trust in God’s will even more than ever ❤️

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It's Not Supposed to be This Way

Absolutely loved this book! Lisa is so easy to listen to. I have a condition called Dry Eye so the audible books are a God send for me.
Listening to this book makes me want to read anything that she has written! She really has a solid understanding of Scripture and she shared the references so anybody could look them up and be then reassured of the truth she was speaking of.
Her testimony would, I expect, attract many different types and ages of women. A winner for the glory of God!

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inspiration

an insightful book that offers hope through the tough times. When the seasons of life are overwhelming at times, the Lord offers hope.

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  • Ranae
  • 2018-12-20

My Brutally Broken Heart Needed This Book

I'm not sure I will be able to find the words to accurately convey the help this book can bring to a hurting soul. It by no means is better than the words we have from God but for those of us who need another hurting human to say "Hey I get it, I know pain, I know heartbreak, I know sickness, and I am walking this path in a broken world too" this is it. I doubt that a single run through of this book will do for I will surely listen to it several times. I have been faced with a different outlook of my own situation through the words of the author. The change in me will continue for days, months and years if I do not loose sight of the lessons I've learned. God is not cruel even when we can't see the truth of that statement. God does want better for us even when our life screams the opposite. God has not forsaken us even when we can't feel Him or see what He is doing for our good.
If you feel hopeless, broken, hurting beyond words and need God to reach down into the deep pit and pull you out; I suggest you let God let another child of God speak to your heart and bring some hope into the pain and darkness.
For me I am glad I did for I was so very close to loosing all hope and faith and that is a darkness all its own.

164 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2018-11-20

What we all need to hear...

Everyone will go through some kind of trial in life, but the way Lysa bares her soul and has searched for God and His goodness despite heart wrenching circumstances is inspiring, encouraging, and comforting. She has a beautiful way of communicating, and her story has resonated with me in a way I can’t adequately explain. She gives tools near the end to help give hope and a tangible way of persevering in the face of uncertainty and difficult times. Can not recommend this book highly enough! So, so good.

64 people found this helpful

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  • kim small
  • 2018-11-14

grateful for your insight

this book came at a most critical time for myself I too am going through much of what Lysa disappointments in marriage have been. I have been married 40 years and have worked diligently with God by my side to have a healthy marriage I am hoping that my outcome would be restoration but that story is yet to be completed thank you so much for your Insight

61 people found this helpful

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  • Laura Long
  • 2018-12-19

Powerful testimony and scriptures

This book was presented to me at the most difficult time thus far in my life and marriage. After 27 years of marriage, everything is a mess and all I have is my almost grown and grown up kids, plus my Savior!! I know HE will lead me through this seeming nightmare and grow me and my faith in the process. Thank you to Lysa for confirmation of these scriptural truths that God has NOT forgotten me.

28 people found this helpful

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  • Louisiana
  • 2020-04-08

Disappointed

Thought this would be an encouraging book, but it was way too redundant - kept saying basically "we all get disappointed because things don't turn out like we wanted." Well yes, that's why I bought this audiobook. But it was said over & over, rather than getting to the helpful things. The narration was also not what I like. I prefer straightforward with good inflection, but this sounded like a teacher talking to elementary age students. Don't mean to be mean; just not the book for me.

24 people found this helpful

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  • lranae26
  • 2018-12-20

Seems very preachy.

I am sure it speaks to a lot of people. I found it very sermon-like and monotonous. Not a bad book-just not my style.

21 people found this helpful

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  • DJ Hill
  • 2018-12-09

The Go-To book for heartache and weariness

I've read this book twice and it has earned a spot in my library as the "break glass in case of emotional turmoil". The first time I read it was because Lisa's latest book was being advertised to me by one of my favorite authors. The second time was during the CoViD-19 pandemic. Two opposite ends of the mental state, but both were welcome times for her words. Highly recommend for anyone during any time of hurt.

20 people found this helpful

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  • Chavonne Lenoir
  • 2018-12-11

One of the best books ever

This book is so encouraging! Within the first few minutes my entire perspective changed on a disappointment in my own life. I can’t recommend it enough. I will be studying this book again with notebook and pen in hand.

16 people found this helpful

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  • DG
  • 2018-12-08

Thank you God for leaded me here.

it felt like she was speaking to me and me only. Like she had written this book to help me travel through the rough roads that I have been going through. I so greatly needed this book right now. I'm not sure if I can find another one that will speak to me like this one asked. they are few and far between.

15 people found this helpful

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  • Karry Richardson
  • 2018-11-30

A book that speaks the words we wish we could say.

Great Book! It made me cry at points when it felt it talking to my heart. It is a great book and makes you realize that disappointments is part of our story but not the entire story.

15 people found this helpful