When we rely upon God rather than on our own limited hands, we strip Satan of his power. God is the only one who can quell the brittle hunger of our souls.


Seeing first hand the suffering of others puts this author in a place where others can learn. I was ministered to not because of suffering but what suffering does and how I need to look at suffering. Suffering is meant to draw us to near to each other and to God and to be honest I struggle with that. There is a blessing that is missed when we isolate or withdraw from others. We live in a world where convenience is king and everything is fixed quickly. Need a quick fix, do this and this but life does not work that way. For a doctor, you cannot fix everything. You see all evils and you cry out! It is in suffering, we are invited to worship!

This book is a journey of faith. Questions asked and many not answered. What do you have left? A hope, a longing. Remembering the goodness of God and knowing that there is another side that we do not know but hope for. Jesus is enough.

A special thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Glimmers of Grace by Kathryn Butler is a beautifully written book about a Christian doctor’s experience in the health field—the struggles she grappled with and what God taught her through the struggle. I absolutely loved this book. Each chapter had a different health scenario and/or talked about how the body functions and how it correlates to God/Jesus and our relationship with Him. Being a person who has often been a patient in the hospital, I appreciated the Author’s stories and I sympathized with her struggles. I liked how real the Author was in her stories about her struggles. I also liked that there was a list of Bible verses in the back for health care workers and a list of things of what to say and not-to-say to patients. Glimmers of Grace is one of my favorite books of 2021 and I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

Faith and Fear; Hope or Despair; Health or Sickness; Life and Death. These are the daily issues that plague hospitals all over the world. As a critical care surgeon who sees patients experiencing struggles of life and death, author Kathryn Butler has seen a wide spectrum of human ups and downs. As a Christian, she has also questioned why God had allowed people to go through pain and suffering. Where is God in all of these? What happens when one does not see the promises of God fulfilled in their lives? How do we locate our feelings in the field of grace? This is what this book is about. Seeing God's grace in the midst of medical calamities. Written in three parts, Part One shows us how medical situations could challenge our faith. Part Two looks to the Bible for insights into who God is and how we can find comfort in God. Part Three moves forward to show us how to live with hope based on the Resurrection Promise.

Butler shares many stories about the amazing grace in the hospital room. She sees how a dying man was able to hang on to his very last breath until his wife arrives. She marvels at how one Christian by the name of David continues to minister to his Church members in spite of his health condition. She remembers a strong and independent friend who just needed prayer even in the midst of discouragement. She notices how the best of medical sciences cannot measure up to the miracle of God's design. God heals from the inside out and the outside in when humans can only apply a band-aid. Each chapter comes with reflections about various medical situations and assurances from the Bible. Readers can sense quickly that the author needs the assurances herself too. Recognizing the limits of science and medicine propels her to embrace the mystery of God's assurance and eternal comfort. Science might define life as a beating and death as flatlining. Faith enables one to go beyond these parameters into the mysteries of the afterlife.
This is Butler's second book. Her first, "Between Life and Death" deals with practical guidance where she writes more from the perspective of medical research and science. In contrast, she writes this book more from the angle of "testimony and devotion" focusing on care and reflections on God's grace along the journey of life. Feeling a need to link science and humanity, she believes that healing and comfort must come down to a warm compassionate level rather than heady science and cold data. She also laments that faith perspectives have often been cast aside deliberately as if faith and medicine are mutually exclusive. With her medical background and a conviction about the necessity of faith as a channel of hope, Butler shows us that faith and modern medicine are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they not only complement each other, but they also guide the patient through the journey of pain, of healing, and of hope.

Recently, there has been a spate of medical dramas on TV. Many of them tend to be sensational in order to maintain viewers' attention. Sometimes, the scenes seem too dramatic to be true. This book however is different from what we watch on TV. The stories are real. The struggles are true. The marriage of faith and science is practical and possible. The best doctors in the world may not save patients in their worst conditions. Only God can heal totally and perfectly. The hospital can sometimes be seen as the final battleground between life and death. If that is so, why exclude God? Butler gives us a fresh look from the scenes inside the hospital as a Christian doctor. Even though she confesses herself as a "nominal Christian," her reflections show that she is a seeker, a growing child of God. She wrestles with human suffering and like Jacob, will not let go until she sees glimpses of grace. Readers are privileged to watch how the scenes play out, and at the end of it all, see the way God helps her maintain sanity and belief that things will get better eventually. This book is her personal psalm.

For readers, or for anyone going through a difficult time dealing with health issues either personally or loved ones, this book brings us back down to earth. Faith cannot be limited to just healing miracles. There is the miracle of enlightenment, of insight, of deeper relationships, of humanity, of faith, hope, and love. Sometimes, it takes a health issue to usher us into the more important things in life. Having seen the many human struggles in hospital beds, Butler not only shows us the utter brokenness of this world, she reminds us that we are not masters of our own lives. There is only one Master, and that is our Creator. Just knowing that there is a loving God at the end of our journeys, ready to embrace us is reason enough not to fear death but to know life everlasting. Butler gives us a book that enables us to stay in the present but yet long for a better future with Jesus.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

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This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Over twenty years ago I heeded the call to healthcare because I believed were most open to the gospel when they were sick and dying. In her reflections, Kathryn Butler, MD, shows a glimpse into many such occurrences. Questions abound in the midst of crisis, but so does God’s grace. Each chapter recounts moments of frailty and how the Gospel does indeed rise to meet it. Not in glib platitudes, but with heartfelt meanings, born out of experiences. It is all too easy to become hardened to the routineness of healthcare, but here in this book, Kathyrn draws us back to remember the people we are called to serve and the promise that His grace IS sufficient. There is a perfect blend of story, testimony and Scripture to keep the reading pace steady while allowing the Truths to burrow deep. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

This book is a Biblical view of struggles we all have or will have to face at some point in our lives; with ourselves or with friends and loved ones. This book gives hope to even those who feel they will never recover, whether it’s physically or emotionally, or even spiritually. There is hope.

In Kathryn Butler’s own words…”Glimmers of Grace emphasizes testimony and devotion, as I aim to steward the narratives with which God has entrusted me during my years in medicine.” This book “explore(s) how medical settings can challenge our faith.” “Mine the Bible for who God is, considers what God has done for us, especially through Jesus’s death and resurrection.” Kathryn invites you to “join me in remembering that in Christ, our awesome, loving God has sapped even death of its sting (1 Cor. 15:55). When the heartbeat quickens and the monitor alarm sounds, God remains faithful, gracious, and merciful, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6). Things may fall apart. The waters will rise. You may grip a bridge railing and yearn for rescue. But in Christ, God’s love will always buoy you through the storm, and through his word, glimmers of his grace will pierce the gloom”.

Not only is this book full of hope and key Bible verses to keep our thoughts on our Hope, it also has practical tips for things not to say to people going through struggles as well as ways we can actually be of help to those with illnesses. With Kathryn’s medical background, this book comes from a unique perspective. One that actually has seen the inter workings of the hospital setting and how they lack in dealing with the spiritual and emotional needs of the patients and their families.

For people dealing with illnesses, whether short term or chronic, I think this book will uplift the spirits of all those affected by the struggle, both directly and indirectly.

For me, the struggle with this book is determining the target audience. As a doctor, especially with an interest in palliative care, I usually love books by medicos about their interesting anecdotes and life lessons. I love when they grapple with questions about life and death, suffering etc. As a Christian, I was excited to come across this book. For me, the medical anecdotes are too few, and the biblical explanations too simple. It feels like there are many paragraphs just listing biblical references without really relating them back to tangible stories. So unfortunately this wasn’t a hit with me, however I can still see that it may have a role for a Christian who is struggling to come to terms with their own or a close one’s suffering.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I felt that the author provided a good glimpse into the field of medicine and how that has influenced her faith. I do think that the transitions from story to story and concept to concept could be improved upon. I also think that her descriptions of medical procedures were well done and relatively understandable for someone who has limited knowledge of medical terminology. I think that this story is especially relevant as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and is a book I would recommend to others when it is officially published.