Amazon.com (ISBN 0062517090, Hardcover)

We suffer from the disease of melancholy, the sickness of self-hatred, the darkness of doubt. Yet, author Brennan Manning sees the place of our worst despair as a tangible starting point for the remedy: a ruthless trust in God. In his sequel to The Ragamuffin Gospel, Manning pries us loose from our shame, our mistakes, and our doubts and encourages us to let go and trust God--ruthlessly.

It's been 40 years since author Brennan Manning was "ambushed by God" and on the far side of despair himself. As a gutter-alcoholic who was completely broken, he found an unshakable trust in the love of Christ for him as he was then, not as he could be or is now.

Authenticity with God is critical in developing this trust relationship. In his own inimitable voice, Manning tells us, "Raw honesty with Jesus about our doubts and anxieties, our lust and laziness, our shabby prayer life and stale religiosity, our mixed motives and divided hearts, is the risk we take in the certainty of being acceptable and accepted. It is the full and mature expression of invincible trust." Over the years, this trust ripens into confidence and bears certain fruit, such as gratitude to God. But it's not always easy, he admits. "Ruthless trust is hanging tough in the dark nights, when we are plunged into desolation but know that absence of God is only apparent."

For author Brennan Manning--and for us, if we choose--ruthless trust is not just a concept, it's a way of life. As Manning observes, "Ill winds may blow, more character defects may surface, sickness may visit, and friends will surely die, but a stubborn irrefutable certainty persists that God is with us and loves us in our struggle to be faithful." Now, that's ruthless trust. You won't fail to be moved. --Cindy Crosby