Fearless, by Max Lucado

Fearless arrived in the mail at 2 pm today. Four hours, several snacks and a few pillow fluffings later, I’ve come to the last page. And I feel affirmed of my normalcy, of my humaness. I also feel encouraged about tomorrow and what it could bring. The book has challenged me to take fear on with the power of God’s presence

If you are a Christian feeling the brunt of life–death, recession, disappointment, whatever–and are afraid, this is a must-read, an investment to a better future. Of course, it doesn’t magically take the bad stuff away or blind you to harsh realities. But it does help change your attitude and perspective.The overall theme of the book is that in order to live in contentment and peace–in spite of the fearful situations in life–you need to believe that God is in control and you need to let God be in control.

Fears are real and creep into all our lives.”Yet left unchecked, they metastasize into obsessions” (p.80). This does not mean that you should not be proactive or make calculated decisions. Lacado points out that there is a fine line between prudence and paranoia–Use judgment and common sense in practical and spiritual choices, but don’t get drowned while contemplating on all the things that could go wrong.

With his usual mastery of storytelling, Lucado weaves lives of people into practical lessons of coping with fear. His honest exposition of the topic includes an examination of his own fears. I found the book very relevant it connects the subject with present time–people gripped in difficult economic situations. The book makes the exorcism of fear a personal journey and places a caring Savior right in the middle of all of our worries.

My favorite part of the book was early on in the book –Lucado describes Jesus sleeping on the boat during a storm and the disciples interpreting his sound sleep as a Master who did not care. From this, the author draws two points crucial to surviving fear: 1) Fear can unravel our belief in God’s goodness; 2) Being a Christian does not exclude tough, scary times. Throughout the book, he comes back to these two points in different ways. The bottom line is you can curl up and give up or you can live unafraid, knowing that “if it hasn’t gotten better, it’s not the end.”

In Lucado’s eloquent words: ” Getting on board with Christ can mean getting soaked with Christ.”

(Note: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255)