BOOK REVIEW: God's Provision for Your Every Need by T.D. Jakes

 

For those of you who do not know this author, T.D. Jakes is an African-American preacher who is the founder of The Potter’s House, a non-denominational megachurch in Dallas, Texas. Born and raised in Charleston, West Virgina, he became a minister at the age of 25 and started a storefront church in 1982. After a few years and a continually growing congregation, he moved to Dallas, where he now resides and pastors an organization that boasts 30,000 members. His sermons are televised on such networks as Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment Television as The Potter’s Touch. He also has a production company that publishes his many books and has produced several movies.

Though claiming to be non-denominational, his teachings are actively conservative, and he has been targeted by LBGTQ+ activists as being hostile to transgender rights. This book, however, does not reflect that attitude. It is a book heavy on symbolism, most of which anyone who is not versed in the Christian lexicon will have trouble understanding. Basically, it talks about God putting water (help and encouragement) into our deserts (problems and circumstances). Though the sheer volume of this symbology can get monotonous, this is a relatively short book and so readable in spite of the repetitiveness of its theme. One thing that I did appreciate is the way that Jakes writes. He does not use large multisyllable words or theological arguments to get his point across. He writes as if he were simply sitting in front of the reader attempting to explain something, though, as previously stated, heavy in Christian terminology. This is a good book for a Christian who is going through tough times and looking for something to tell them it will get better. For anyone else, it may be something of a confusing read.