There’s a lot to be afraid of these days. Anxiety is running high. So how do we, as followers of Jesus, respond in faith to the fear that is all around us?
Over the past few weeks at Riverside we have been talking about what it means to Choose to Believe & how we overcome fear with faith. You can hear the messages from that series here or read the blog posts that followed each message here.
One of the things that I have come to realize is that fear has always been a part of the equation for followers of Jesus. Name one “hero of faith” that had it easy. Every story we know & love that speaks of God’s incredible faithfulness describes a situation where people were really afraid. But the reason we love these stories isn’t because of the fear, it’s because of the faith in God that these men & women demonstrated every time.
We too have much to fear. But if we choose to believe what we say we believe, it changes everything for us. Faith is a choice. It’s a response. So often we react when we’re afraid. But people of faith respond in a different way. We know Who goes before us & Who stands behind. We may not know how this chapter will unfold, but we know how the story ends. Our faith is in the Author of the story.
Here are a few books that have helped me think through what it means to be a people of faith in a world of fear & anxiety. I hope they will help & encourage you as they have me.
Here they are in no particular order…
4 Books on Overcoming Fear with Faith:
Crazy Stories, Sane God by John Alan Turner
“The goodness of God has its own momentum, so the corrupting power of sin never completely succeeds. So even though sin is the problem, God is the solution. God’s grace is not a solution: God’s grace is the solution.”
“…when God makes a promise, He keeps it, and not even the worst sin imaginable can force Him to go back on His word. You see, God’s promises are based on His faithfulness — not ours.”
“If the Bible is going to connect with real life, it has to show us life as it actually is — not as we wish it would be. Life does not always give us storybook, happily-ever-after endings. In real life things don’t always go the way you want. But through real life we learn what it means to be human. And that’s what God really wants.”
[Tweet “God’s grace is not a solution: God’s grace is the solution.” #crazystoriessaneGod”] [Tweet “God’s promises are based on His faithfulness — not ours.” #crazystoriessaneGod”]Feel the Fear & Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers Ph.D.
“At the bottom of every one of your fear is simply the fear that you can’t handle whatever life may bring you.”
“If you knew you could handle anything that came your way, what would you possibly have to fear?”
“…you can handle all your fears without having to control anything in the outside world.”
“The real issue has nothing to do with the fear itself, but, rather, how we hold the fear.”
[Tweet “”At the bottom of every one of your fear is simply the fear that you can’t handle whatever life may bring you.” #feelthefear”] [Tweet “”…you can handle all your fears without having to control anything in the outside world.” #feelthefear”]David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
“Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”
“In reality, the very thing that gave the giant his size was also the source of his greatest weakness. There is an important lesson in that for battles with all kinds of giants. The powerful and the strong are not always what they seem.”
[Tweet “”The powerful and the strong are not always what they seem.” #David&Goliath”]My Name is Hope by John Mark Comer
“Sometimes we mimic Job’s story. Something hard, tragic, gut-wrenching happens. At first we have faith. We say all the right things. We put on a good face. But after a while, the pain eats us up from the inside. We get tired of putting on a good face. The truth comes out. We blame God.”
“God is not shocked by your emotions. No matter how messed up your soul may be, God is right there with you, listening.”
“I would argue that healing people from anxiety and depression (or to be precise, from the causes of anxiety and depression) is much harder than making a lame man walk or a deaf man hear. Souls are much more complicated than legs and ears.”
“Here’s the good news. Jesus is really happy. He is marked by joy and peace. If the goal of life is knowing him and becoming like him, one of the many results will be joy and peace in our own lives.”
[Tweet “No matter how messed up your soul may be, God is right there with you, listening.” #hope”] [Tweet “Jesus is marked by joy and peace. #mynameishope”]Here are two other books you might also enjoy or consider:
The Land Between by Jeff Manion
The Law of Happiness by Henry Cloud
What are some of your favorite books on fear & faith? I’d love to hear what you’re reading that has helped you in your faith journey. Leave a comment below with your favorite books. Thanks!
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