Book Review: Something Needs to Change by David Platt

Reviewed by Michelle Kelley, ministry associate for missions events and communications

“You asked me what made me head back down the mountain that morning, but the answer is not ‘what.’ The answer is ‘who.’ David, God did a work in my heart that night that caused me to come back down the mountain. God created in me a love for these people and a longing to show his love to them in any way I can with my life.”

That's what Aaron, David Platt’s guide, said as he led David and two other men through the mountains of the Himalayas over the course of a week. The two had met a couple times previously when Aaron visited McLean Bible Church, outside of Washington D.C., where David serves as the head pastor.

Platt’s book functions as equal parts travel narrative and devotional journal and is easy to follow. As he journeys through the Himalayas, he reads Luke 15-17 and the Scripture, along with his prayers, are weaved throughout. We walk with him on steep trails up mountain peaks and see great physical need and even greater spiritual need.

I appreciated Platt’s honesty as he wrestles with what he sees. He wonders how to reconcile the goodness of God with poverty and pain. He grapples with the deaths of those who have never heard the name of Jesus and the eternal suffering described in the pages of Scripture. Platt feels dissonance as he contrasts what he sees with his life in America–having more than enough food, good medical care and, especially, knowing the love of Jesus from an early age. Together we learn to see that the statistics of people dying in this part of the world from preventable diseases and children who are being abused are not just numbers. They are people. People whom Platt meets and whose stories broke my heart.

This is not a safe journey for a climber, nor is it “safe” for the reader. We meet children who were chained up by their parents believing them to be cursed and young girls willingly sold by their families to be trafficked. As I read, I wrestled several times with emotions, confronted again and again with the reality of the loss and hardship of others who do not know the everyday conveniences we so often take for granted. And yet, though a hard read, it is good for the soul. We need experiences like these to open our eyes to the realities of the world outside of our everyday context.

Near the midpoint of the week, Platt and his fellow travelers gather with other Christians for the first time. A few dozen believers trek uphill in the dark to cram into a one-room home. There, they read God’s Word, encourage one another and lift each other’s burdens in prayer. These faithful Christians care for one another’s physical needs. They face threats to their very lives and the lives of their families for being Christians but continue to share the gospel in word and deed.

A former, tribal militant shares how he used to burn down Christian’s homes, but when the same people came back months later to help rebuild the village after a natural disaster, his heart was softened. The Lord has used loving and bold Christians to change persecutors’ hearts and continues to do so in the mountains of the Himalayas. The Spirit is clearly working around the world and it is a great joy and encouragement to catch a small glimmer of it.

Repeatedly, Platt stresses the difference between talking about the urgent physical and spiritual need and doing something about it. And in the end, we are left with a question and a prayer: How does God want to use us, use me, as his hands and feet to serve those whom he has created and deeply loves?