Book Review: Seal of God

Seal of God is a memoir of former Navy Seal Chad Williams. It tells of the journey he’s been on from risk taking, pot smoking, heavy drinking, and delinquent behaviour; to becoming part of the US Navy’s Special Forces and then giving his life to Jesus Christ and how it challenged and changed him.

The first half of the book gives an insight into who Chad is. His childhood was spent mucking around with his younger brother and their mates. His teenage years saw him coasting through high school as a popular athlete. Chad was a deep sea fisherman, a skateboarder and a surfer. But he also became an extreme risk taker getting involved in smoking pot, drinking alcohol and dangerous behaviour. He is open about his mistakes and the cost it has had on him personally and also on his friends and family.

In his late teens whilst waiting for a college class to start, Chad decided he wanted to do more with his life and it had to be dangerous and exciting. 

He joined the US Navy and straight out of his recruit training undertook SEAL team tryouts. Chad excelled at the physically and mentally demanding training and became a SEAL in his early 20s.

But his life still consisted of heavy drinking and risk taking, until one night he accompanied his parents to a Harvest Crusade at their local church in California and evangelist Greg Laurie’s sermon and call to give his life to God was heeded. The change was sudden and dramatic and Chad details the struggles and the hardship associated with being a new Christian in a hostile environment like the US Military.

The book’s first half deals with Chad’s childhood and early adulthood right up to and including his first assignment within the Navy SEALS. The second half of the book deals directly with his coming to faith and the way it changed him as a person and changed the lives of those around him.

Chad doesn’t hold back. He openly admits mistakes, gives details about his risk taking behaviour and surviving SEAL team training. But he also freely admits that as a new Christian, he was totally out of his depth, but thanks to mentors in his life like Ray Comfort and Greg Laurie, he managed to grow as a Christian and as a human being.

This book is an engaging story and one that is hard to put down. You find yourself drawn into Chad’s world as he narrates his life story so far and discover a lot about who he is and who he has become. 

An inspirational and fascinating yarn.