Uptempo Book Gains Momentum in Hard Times

Not long ago, weighted down by the dread of knowing my father would die soon, I read a book by Brian Zahnd, a Missouri minister. Called What To Do On The Worst Day of Your Life, it examines the lowest point in the life of the biblical David and how he survived and then thrived.

While the title sounds more like a glib how-to book, the story is part inspiration, part testimony and part Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's stages of grieving -- but with a twist. The story imparts that faith can turn what seems like disaster into something that ultimately strengthens us.

The story opens as David and his army return from a battle and find that their homes in Ziklag have been destroyed, their wealth stolen, and worst of all, their families taken away to be sold into slavery. Chapter by chapter, Zahnd writes how David dealt with the situation, from weeping, to praying, to facing off with the accusers in his own camp, to pursuit and eventual success far beyond what he imagined.

Based on a sermon Zahnd gave and then self-published in a slim volume that went out of print, he was encouraged to republish it last year when hard economic times struck. After some revision, it was released this March. While the book contains some of the Christian-speak you could expect from a minister, it does deliver the message in a way that makes it fresh. I liked it so much that I gave it to my son to read.