The Biblical Remedy to Fear, Worry and Anxiety

books:


	• Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest Edward T. Welch New Growth Press, 2007 - 324 pages average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

How not to worry from a biblical perspective

I am a worrier. And though as a Christian I know that the end result is in God's hands, I really don't like pain - physical and emotional - and therefore tend to do my level best to avoid it.

But in this life, trials are unavoidable. How to face the trials of life without letting worry overwhelm you is the subject of Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest by Edward T. Welch.

The few books on worry I have read have been written from a Christian perspective. But it seems even the Christian books are heavy on the pop psychology with a few Bible verses thrown in for good measure. Since modern psychology has been about as effective at curing society's ills as fat-free foods have been at curing our obesity problem, it's a shame that that's the level of drivel that most Christian authors have sunk to.

Welch, though, has a different take. He starts from - get this - the Bible, and then helps the reader to apply it to the worry and fear that can often overtake the believer. The crux of the book can be found in this paragraph:

"We are accustomed to thinking about a spiritual sector to our lives. We know we are spiritual beings, but we prefer to keep a "balance," since we are also physical, emotional, and so on. But if "spiritual" is shorthand for our relationship with God, it is not a component of life; it is the very essence of life. Everything is connected to our relationship with God. If you disagree, you have discovered why you are just a bit cantankerous as you read this book."

Welch carefully points out that we often live in fear because we have set up false idols for ourselves. For instance, if we worry about money, it is because we are relying on money, rather than God, for our security.

The book takes the reader through the different things people fear (death, loss of a loved one, loss of money, loss of reputation, physical suffering) and then points him to the only cure - a right relationship with Christ. He then reminds the reader that God's grace is sufficient - both to save from judgment and sustain through earthly trials.

Welch also reminded me that learning not to fear is a continual process, like sanctification. He never promises you that you will close the book and never worry again - even though as Christians we shouldn't. What he does do is help the reader apply the promises of scripture to life, and therefore gives us the only tool that will truly work.

I highly recommend this book.

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Faithless fear & Fearless Faith

Reviewed by Dr. Michael Philliber for Reader Views (2/08)

Anxiously struggling to keep calm as the doctor talks about the serious results of the last biopsy report, or fretting over the bills when there has been more month than money, or terrified about how to raise those children and make ends meet now that your spouse has bailed out on you. At the center of all these scenes is a common difficulty: fear. If the dark cloud of fear were removed, you would likely handle these situations differently, with greater courage and with calmer sensibility. Ed Welch addresses fear head on in his recent book "Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest." This book of thirty thoughtful chapters is valuable for normal, ordinary men and women struggling with fear, as well as pastors and counselors who often are called in to bring some comfort to people in scary situations.

In the first part of the book Welch forces the reader to pause and reflect on the origin of fear, as well as to recognize the real source of our fears, and what those fears might be telling us. According to Welch, Fear alerts us to how we are interpreting our state of affairs, and that interpretation then exposes what it is we really cherish. For example, fear says `I am in danger of something.' That danger might be perceived as the threat of being vulnerable, the risk of being embarrassed, or the peril of losing control. These fears reveal that we may be relishing other people's opinions too highly, or that we prize being god-like in controlling people and circumstances. The working assumption in "Running Scared" is that whatever rules the heart influences our actions. Therefore, to strip our fearfulness down to its source can become the first liberating step toward overcoming that fear.

Then Welch goes on to show that God has quite a lot to say about fear in the Holy Scriptures. He demonstrates that the Bible is full of strong words of comfort for those being swallowed up in anxiety. God's no-nonsense words of reassurance can transform a bleak situation into something life changing. To show how real-life God's words are, Welch carefully unfolds what God has to say about (1) money and possessions, (2) people and their judgment, (3) and death, pain and punishment. In each of these sections, he not only shows what God has to say, but gives sensible guidance on how to apply them.

In many ways this book is far beyond a self-help book in its approach and usefulness. Self-help books are primarily focused on me changing my view of myself. Whereas, in "Running Scared," Welch's overall point is that our anxieties and fears are a result of misplaced allegiances, most of which are centered on oneself. What conquers fear, quashes anxiety, and liberates from panicky fretfulness, is confident reliance on the God of the Old and New Testaments.

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The Biblical Remedy to Fear, Worry and Anxiety

As the economy worsens, you wonder how you will pay all your bills. You'd like to go to a Bible study, but you're afraid that you don't know enough and you'll look dumb in front of everyone. You get mad when things don't go as you planned. You stress over all the details of an event and you hate delegating to others because they might not do it right. Do you relate to any of these scenarios? I'm going to assume that you either do, or you are lying to yourself! So how do we deal with the fear, anxiety, worry and control issues that we all face? As a start to begin to deal with these things, I would highly recommend Running Scared: Fear, Worry and the God of Rest by Edward T. Welch.

Unlike many books on the topic of fear, this one is not a "self-help" book (although if it is read and applied, it will definitely help) - it is a " how God helps" book! The book has two sections. The first section places our fears, anxieties and worries into a proper perspective. Our fears reveal things about us, what we trust in, what we hope in, and ultimately, what we believe about God. Welch has some very helpful and challenging things to say about this:

"Worriers are visionaries minus the optimism." (pp. 50).

He also says that ultimately, worries are false prophets, because the exact details of their worries never come true! (Ouch!).

"The plan? Here it is so far. Take a hard look at yourself instead of your circumstances when worry is blaring. Ask yourself what you are trusting in. Consider your poor track record for predictions, yet recognize that all these steps, while they may give you some hope, still don't push back the boundaries of fear and worry. Reason alone can't do it. Face the reality that we have to go outside ourselves for an answer and seek the God who is in control." (pp. 54).

Part Two deals with specific areas of fear, struggle, control and anxiety, such as money and possessions, other people, death, pain and punishment. Again, the areas Welch deals with relate to anyone who is human living in this fallen world.

"As Father, God comes close to you. He knows your needs and you take comfort in his love. As King, he sovereignly reigns over his kingdom, and his bidding will come to pass. You take comfort in his power. If he is going to speak effectively to your fears, he must be both loving and strong, and indeed he is". (pp. 67).

The book has 30 chapters, and Welch suggests reading only one chapter a day and spending some time meditating upon the issues that each one deals with. Each chapter ends with a section called "A Personal Response" which helps give the reader some guidance on how to apply the lessons of that chapter. For example, in the chapter "When the Kingdom Isn't Enough" (on money and possessions), the personal response says:

"I want to say to myself, Okay, now stop it. Stop holding onto your stuff. Be more generous. And I do say that, but it doesn't really work. So I confess that I can, at times be frozen with indecision at the crossroads of the kingdoms. I don't want to be possessed by things that have no longevity. I want to be possessed by Christ. I take small steps of obedience: tithing, serving, and asking others for wisdom about money....Through it all I must ask the question, Why is it about you? You are not the King; you are the servant of the King! Then I settle back and listen to God's patient and persuasive responses. `He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?' (Rom. 8:32)" (pp. 134-135).

Running Scared is a must read for all of us who struggle to really trust God with the future and the details of our lives. It is very God-centered and grace-centered, and that is the type of teaching that will really change a person! Put this one at the top of your "must read" list for this year!

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I fear this book is too long

The topic of this book is one that regularly needs to be addressed in my own life. And I can think of very few people whom I trust to handle fear more than Dr Welch. But, in my opinion, there are a few problems with the book. First, it is too long. Second, the prose is too conversational and it is difficult to use the book as a easily accessed guide when I am feeling fearful and anxious. I think if the book was written in a less verbose conversational way it would obviously be shorter but would also be easier to use when I am fearful. However, Perhaps Dr Welch would say that I should make my own notes and internalise them.

I find Dr Wayne Mack's book "Down But Not Out" to be more helpful to me as a source to repeatedly turn too.

Having said this, I recommend the book. But perhaps it is more for those who are 'good' readers.

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A Book For Anyone

I do not generally consider myself a worrier. I am more the easy-going type--the kind who is generally carefree and and does not succumb to fear. Or so I like to think. But even then I have to admit that I can be fearful--I can give in to the temptation to worry. Even if I worry about the things I consider "big," I prove to myself that I am still a worrier at heart. And to tell the truth, I don't know of anyone who doesn't worry about something at sometime. We all tend to feel fear at one time or another; we all tend to be afraid of life, of what it brings, or of what we think it might bring in the future.

Running Scared is a book for fearful people, which is to say that it is a book for everybody. It is notable not only for its subject matter, but for its author--Edward Welch who has written, among other highly regarded titles When People Are Big and God Is Small. The book is divided into thirty chapters and Welch encourages the reader to tackle one chapter per day and to not return to the next until he has taken the time to discuss each one with another person. The chapters fall into two uneven parts, one with four and the other with twenty six chapters.

Welch begins with some initial observations, perhaps the most important of which is in the third chapter. It is here that he reveals that "fear speaks." This is to say that fear tells us about...us. It tells us about how we understand ourselves, about how we understand God and how we understand the world around. Fear is "a door to spiritual reality." "There is a close connection," Welch says, "between what we fear and what we think we need. ... Whatever you need is a mere stone's throw from what you fear." That statement is profound and well worth further consideration. It is little wonder that Welch suggests pausing often to ponder. Another point that I found worth of extra attention was this one: "Worriers live in the future." Worriers are constantly looking into the future and using their imaginations to construct their own version of what the future will look like--what it must look like based on their understanding of what has happened, what will happen, and how God works.

"Here is where adult imaginations show their mettle. Imaginations are our ability to consider things that don't presently exist. Sometimes we call it vision. A visionary is one who looks ahead and envisions the trajectory of a church, business, or individual life. A talented visionary is one who can see future possibilities and persuade others of that future. Visionaries are rarely right (at least in the details), tend to be optimistic, and are always confident."

What does this have to do with worry? "Worriers are visionaries minus the optimism." Ouch. Worriers construct worse case scenario futures for themselves and begin to believe that these futures must be theirs. In this way they take on the role of prophets, but only of false prophets. And we all know what the Bible prescribes for false prophets...

Having shared his initial observations, Welch turns to the voice of God, providing a series of chapters in which "God speaks." God first speaks about some general principles related to fear and worry and then to more specific matters--money and possessions; people and their judgments; death, pain and punishment; and then peace. Each chapter turns to Scripture for its authority and each concludes with a point or two of a personal response of application or reflection.

With surprise I admit that this is my first foray into the books of Edward Welch (though it certainly will not be my last). He has quite a unique writing style, one that made me think of Mark Buchanan with maybe a few shades of Max Lucado or Phillip Yancey (which in this case I mean to be a compliment). He writes conversationally, almost poetically, but also exegetically, drawing what he teaches primarily from the Bible. It is clear that He relies on Scripture as his authority and his source.

For someone who does not consider himself much of a worrier, I was surprised to find that this book offered me a lot to think about; it offered me a challenge to see where (not if) I worry. And as it offered the biblical diagnosis, it offered also the biblical cure. It showed me that worry, though usually a hidden sin and perhaps even a sin that most often seems harmless, is a sin that impacts my life and serves to distance me from the God who says time and time again, "Do not be afraid. Peace be with you. The Lord give you peace." It showed me most clearly of all that the way I feel about fear and worry is a sure indication of what I believe about God.

Running Scared is a book I highly recommend. I think you'll want to add it to your library as well.

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In his new release, Running Scared, Edward T. Welch investigates the roots of fear in the human soul and the ramifications of living in the grips of anxiety, worry, and dread. Welch encourages readers to discover for themselves that the Bible is full of beautiful words of comfort for fearful people (and that every single person is afraid of something). Within the framework of thirty topical meditations, Welch offers sound biblical theology and moment-by-moment, thoughtful encouragement for life-saving rescue in the midst of the heart and mind battlefield of rampant panic-stricken responses. This comprehensive primer on the topic of fear, worry, and the rest of God will have readers retreating to scripture for invariable constancy, stalwart care, and robust comfort, instead of as Welch terms it hitting the default switch by responding with characteristic human independence, control, and self-protectiveness. Running Scared affirms that, through Scripture, God speaks directly to our fears: On money and possessions On people and their judgments On death, pain, and punishment Welch's lively text provides convincing evidences that humanity's struggle against active and dormant fears are countless. The good news is that God provides both the remedy and the cure for this malady in the person of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and through powerful, life-altering promises in Scripture. Far more than merely another psychology self-help guide, Running Scared serves as a biblical roadmap to a life of serenity and security.

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