“You Are Stronger Than You Think Because God Is Nearer Than You Know”
Nashville, TN — According to a 2020 article in The New York Times[i], loneliness before the COVID pandemic was already troublesome, as damaging to one’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Now after weeks of sheltering at home and social distancing, loneliness is reaching epidemic proportions. Before the pandemic, 61% – 3 out of 5 – of all adults 18 years or older reported they were lonely. The young are not immune to loneliness – 71% of young adults ages 18-22 years describe themselves as significantly lonely.
“America’s Pastor” and New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado offers a way out of the new tsnumani of loneliness in his newest book, You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God’s Presence and Power (September 2020, Nelson). Lucado addresses the unprecedented isolation in our culture with a pastor’s heart of compassion, diving into the miracles of Jesus found in John’s gospel for specific examples of how God’s loving character offers hope and respite for society’s loneliness.
“The hope of John, the hope of this book,” Lucado explains, “indeed the hope of God, is that we would believe, not in our power, not in humanity’s ability to help itself, not in tarot cards or good fortune, not in good looks or good luck. But that we would believe in Jesus. Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Jesus as the Son of God.”
Although You Are Never Alone was in the works long before COVID-19, it was in final edits when millions of people were hunkered down and uncertain of the future. This crisis has exacerbated an already rampant epidemic of isolation and depression. Max offers practical application and unchanging truth readers can hold onto in the midst of their loneliness. “The message of the miracles is the Miracle Worker himself. He wants you to know you are never alone. You are never without help, hope, or strength. You are stronger than you think because God is nearer than you might imagine.”
Specific miracles of Jesus addressed include:
• How the water to wine miracle reveals that Jesus can restore what life has taken.
• How the faith of the nobleman asking for his son’s healing underscores that Jesus hears our prayers even when we think he doesn’t.
• How the miracle of the lame man who took up his mat or the blind man who washed the mud from his eyes illuminates a Jesus who sees a new version of us and gives new vision to us.
• How the miracles of walking on water, feeding the thousands, and raising the dead offer evidance of a God that still calms the storms of life, still solves the problems of life, and still brings the dead to life.
Filled with his endearing humor and poetic storytelling, Lucado makes the truth of the gospel easy to grasp for readers wherever they are on their spiritual journey. A six-session study guide and video curriculum will also be available with this new title.
Max Lucado is the leading inspirational author in the United States with more than 140 million books in print in over 54 languages. His writings have been shaped into bestselling books, videos, devotionals, songs, greeting cards, booklets, Bible studies, commentaries and theatrically-released movies. According to a LifeWay national survey, 1 in 6 Americans are familiar with Max Lucado and 1 in 7 Americans have read a Lucado book. During the first 45 days of the Coronavirus, Lucado has had more than 10 million views of his daily online video “check-ins” and online church services. Lucado has been featured on countless national media outlets including The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Huckabee, and Fox & Friends. Max and his wife of 39 years in August 2020, Denalyn, call San Antonio, Texas, home. Max has served the people of Oak Hills Church since 1988. www.maxlucado.com
Thomas Nelson is a world-leading publisher and provider of Christian content and has been providing readers with quality inspirational product for more than 200 years. As part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the publishing group provides multiple formats of award-winning Bibles, books, gift books, cookbooks, curriculum and digital content, with distribution of its products in more than 100 countries and translated into more than 65 different languages. Thomas Nelson is committed to one central mission: inspiring the world by meeting the needs of people with content that promotes biblical principles and honors Jesus Christ. Thomas Nelson is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. For additional information visit www.thomasnelson.com.
You Are Never Alone:
Trust in the Miracle of God’s Presence and Power
By Max Lucado
Available from: Thomas Nelson
Release date: September 2020
Price: U.S. $26.99
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 240
ISBN-13: 978-1400217342
BISAC category: Religion / Christian Life
Review copies, reprint permission and interviews are available.
Contact Jana Muntsinger, McClure Muntsinger Public Relations,
832-247-9308 or [email protected]
[i] “How to Manage Your Loneliness,” The New York Times, April 20, 2020 (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/smarter-living/how-to-manage-your-loneliness.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_NN_p_20200421&instance_id=17817&nl=morning-briefing®i_id=38974712§ion=aBreak&segment_id=25631&te=1&user_id=f5c75c0cce21ea5b59d89f48da2dc919)