By Michaela Gordoni
Hollywood actresses and hosts of the “Girls Gone Bible” podcast Angela Halili and Arielle Reitsma reach people through a new medium: their book, Out of the Wilderness.
“I feel like our story is everyone’s story,” Reitsma told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s a story of heartbreak, it’s a story of feeling like it’s the end, even [feeling] suicidal, having infertility issues [or] addiction.”
The book offers scripture and encouragement in the form of a 31-day devotional.
“I think the biggest issue in my life was my identity because I never felt safe and I never felt peace. I thought that peace and identity and love and all these things were always found in somebody else.” Reitsma said, “One of the things I love and learned most about the wilderness season, is you don’t stay there.”
“I had a really intense journey with panic attacks, and anxiety disorder and OCD, and forms of disassociation, like derealization and depersonalization, you name it,” Halili said. “I was so full of fear.”
The friends have heard a lot of positive stories about how their ministry impacts listeners.
“There’s been so many stories that we’ve heard of. ‘You’ve prayed for me for infertility and now I’m pregnant.’ ‘I had a tumor and they gave me a 5 percent chance of living. Now I’m healing.’ This is Jesus,” Reitsma said.
Neither Reitsma nor Halili grew up in faith. They came to know Jesus later and pursued Him ardently.
“It’s not about how long you’ve been in the Bible or how long you’ve been a Christian or how long you went to theology school…” Reitsma said. “We all have the opportunity to have faith and pray for people. We all have the gifts of healing if we have the boldness and the faith and the hunger.”
Halili says they wrote their book as a different way for people to absorb information.
“I think a lot of people who especially are new to faith, they don’t even know where to start or how to start, so to have something where it’s like, okay, they’re showing me how to pray and now they’re letting me pray, it’s very interactive and digestible for people,” she said.
“You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel where you feel like God has abandoned you or [wonder], ‘Is this the end for me?’ Reitsma said. “So why we wrote this book was to show people [that] you’re not alone, and we all go through this.”
“Through 31 devotions, we share personal moments, theological insight, and the truth about finding identity in Christ, healing from heartbreak, addiction, disordered eating, and walking in purity,” the women shared on Instagram on June 3.
The devotional is available now on Amazon and other booksellers.
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