My wife, Abby, and I pondered the question, “How can we a construct a powerful, life changing, experience for our young adult ministry without them needing to raise a ton of money, quit their jobs, uproot their lives, move far away, or even pack a bag?”

Enter the 40-Day Transition. We designed a forty day program that leads participants to abstain from the distractions of the world and pursue Jesus with radical diligence. We like to think of it as a detox for the soul and an AED for the faith.

However, it didn’t begin as a book. Many years before the genesis of the 40-Day Transition my pastor encouraged me to write a book, so I did. I started a few books but ultimately finished one! But there was a big problem.

It was some time in 2020 that after many hours and thousands of words, the Microsoft Word file of my completed book became corrupted. The other files were somehow intact. Despite much effort, no one could salvage it, including my pastor who used to be a software engineer. Needless to say, I was disheartened and gave it up.

The second weekend of February 2022 is a weekend I will never forget. That Friday afternoon my wife and I were in our prayer room as I vented a load of built-up emotions.

I’ll spare you the details, but I complained about four or five things, the last of which was about writing a book. Through many tears I told Abby, “I feel like I’m supposed to write a book. But we see how that went the last time... If God wants me to write a book I will, but if He doesn’t I don’t want to waste my time! I just need to know.” Have you ever been there?

The very next morning we went to the church building for a leadership meeting with a guest speaker, whom I knew nothing about. Towards the end of the meeting, he spontaneously asked my wife and I to come up front.

As we stood in the front of the church, he began to address every single thing I secretly vented about to my wife the day before, in chronological order. He finished by saying that I was to write manuals. He added that God would provide a download on what to write, and that the testimonies of what God does with them will go around the world.

It was in this moment the Lord revealed to me that He truly is El Roi, The-God-Who-Sees (Genesis 16:13). He sees every moment of every day, and He was in that room with Abby and I. And so is He with you.

Sure enough, the Lord gave me a download of what to write, He supernaturally opened doors, He connected me with incredible professionals, and He continues to blow me away.

The book being written is just the starting line. Our prayer now is that we see and hear many testimonies from around the world, including your life and ministry, about what God does with the 40-Day Transition.