Timely, truthful and a real page-turner, Lucado writes in his trademark style with warmth and wisdom in this really helpful book. It’s down-to-earth and inspirational as it engages with biblical truth, characters and everyday examples. I particularly liked the eight-step PEACEFUL acronym around the theme of worry. There are a mass of quotable quotes from Lucado’s writing: here’s a few to whet your appetite….
* “Nothing can foster courage like a clear grasp of grace. And nothing fosters fear like an ignorance of mercy.”
* “Questions can make hermits of us, driving us into hiding.”
* “Fear feels dreadful. It sucks the life out of the soul, curls us into an embryonic state, and drains us dry of contentment.”
* “Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness. We being to wonder if love lives in heaven….. Fear unleashes a swarm of doubts, anger-stirring doubts.”
* “Real courage embraces the twin realities of current difficulty and ultimate triumph.”
* “When Christ is great, our fears are not.”
* “Fear loves a good stampede……Fear’s been making a good living lately.”
Fear to me, if unidentified, is like a thief that robs us of all the opportunity to live the life that Christ has designed for us. Fear may forever knock on our door, yet Lucado offers godly advice, catchy turns of phrase and hope-filled stories that can be summarized in one challenging phrase: trust God – fear less!
The daily question that flows from this book, remains;- “Do I respond more out of fear of failure, rejection, calamity, or out of the power of the risen Christ in me?” Either God did not give us a spirit of weakness and fear, but of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind,….or not? Either 2 Timothy 1v7 is true or it is not!
The invitation is real, the resources outlined are immense; Jesus always fulfils his promises. Perhaps the harder reality is to imagine your life without fear? It is an invitation – it can be our truth?!
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