A Small Book about a Big Problem: Meditations on Anger, Patience, and Peace

This book provides the reader the opportunity on a daily basis for two months to look at his or her anger in the light of the Scriptures, prayerfully consider his or her anger issues, and move toward considerably better anger management. This has been an incredibly helpful book for me.

What a life changer this book is. My husband and I have struggled with anger towards each other our entire marriage and after having a few sessions with a Biblical counselor who shared a Bible verse from James 4:1-6 "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions[a] are at war within you?[b] 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people![c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace." That verse really spoke to me and i began to search for a devotion that my husband and I could read together, and I just happened to stumble upon this book. It has been perfect because the chapters, or I should say daily meditations, are short, but packed with life changing principles regarding anger. It has been a life changer for me, and I am now more resolved than ever to honor Christ with my words, and to choose the path of wisdom. I highly recommend this book to any Christian who struggles with this anger, really that is pretty much all of us to some degree.

Edward Welch has become somewhat of a household name in recent years, especially in circles that welcome biblical counseling. Dr. Welch’s new book, A Small Book About a Big Problem is written for everyday people who experience everyday problems. In this short and powerful little book, the author presents fifty meditations that address anger, patience, and peace. Each chapter contains a central thought that educates, inspires, and challenges readers. The meditations are informed by Scripture and force readers to wrestle with motives, hidden sin, and temptations that are common to all. The strength of this book is its brevity. The meditations are designed to be read on a daily basis and encourage deep thought and contemplation. Ultimately, the subject matter concerns sanctification and is written in such a way to attract both baby Christians and seasoned believers. Anyone who desires short, readable and biblical encouragement should pick up a copy of this excellent book. Highly recommended!

'A Small Book about a Big Problem' by Edward T. Welch is 50 days worth of meditations on anger, patience and peace. Do you struggle with anger or know someone who does? Are you a lay-leader in your church who infrequently deals with problems you aren’t trained to handle? This valuable book will help you take your own anger captive and prepare you to better deal with the outbursts of others. On day one, the destructive nature of anger is brought to light, revealing the importance of such a book. Many of us haven’t been taught to properly deal with our anger, so it becomes anxiety or violence or outbursts. The author calls this book a slow walk – one meditation per day. This book is interactive. It poses questions. It refers to Scripture. It leads the reader to pray. This can transform us and our thinking. The most difficult part of reading this book was keeping the slow pace. But this is a topic that really needs to be chewed on and digested one tiny bite at a time. Do you want to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry? Take a slow walk with Edward T. Welch.

I read this one chapter a day. It is simple truth, but highly convicting. I will be going through this booklet again and again. I gave it 4 stars because for such a short digital book it had a very high price tag. Would highly recommend this book to everyone.

This small book is a 50 day meditational book about anger. Each meditation is only a few pages long, so it's a good book for someone who is wanting to read something quick to help them get to the bottom of their anger problem. It provides a lot of Scripture too, to help you reflect on Jesus' attitude toward anger, peace, and patience. My only criticism is that it didn't provide as many practical steps as I would have liked. It provided a lot of information in a short space, but didn't give me as many specific take aways as I would have liked. Overall, it's a good, quick-read book, but because of how small it is, it doesn't go into as much detail as I personally would have liked.

In a post-Fall world, there are no strangers when it comes to anger. Ed Welch's latest book, A Small Book About a Big Problem: Meditations on Anger, Patience, and Peace, seeks to address and tame this universal problem. I welcomed the idea of succinct meditations that could be read in under two minutes each. It was refreshing to drink deeply of the rich, Gospel-truths in which this book is rooted. I love that Welch didn't leave any stone unturned when it came to various manifestations of anger but included commonly overlooked habits including: sarcasm, grumbling, complaining, gossip, withdrawal, silence, indifference, envy, and jealousy. I appreciate that he didn't merely focus on outward behavior modifications but looked more deeply at the heart issues that drive anger, seeking to apply biblical truths. Naturally, a short book with a limited word count presents certain limitations. Understanding these should help prevent disappointment and misunderstanding. This book is largely about addressing the reader's anger. When exploring a topic as volatile as anger, short meditations seem to fall short of sufficiently exploring the many questions raised. All in all, A Small Book About a Big Problem is a good start, but ideally, it would be paired with another resource to provide some needed balance.

Although the book is dealing with Anger, the best part about it is it actually targets both sides of the fence. Either the person who is angry or the person who is being hurt or mistreated by another person. I have been so convicted about my response to the person afflicting pain because the author shows you Jesus's response and I always come up short to His standard of correct responses and His unconditional love. This little book is carefully designed for you to only read 1 day at a time and the pages are very small, so it only takes a minute or 2 BUT the impact is indescribable. Usually the responses I get from those who are reading it is "WOW"! I shared it with a friend in S.C and the last count she told me was that she gave it to her supervisor and she ordered 10 to give away. It is now on my Christmas and Birthday list for my friends. It is better than a devotional and I will be reading it over and over for the rest of my life. I love this little book. Susan B

Are you struggling with anger? Have you in the past? Have others told you that you come across as an angry person? Or do you know someone in your life that is struggling with anger but isn’t quite sure how to get a handle on it? Let me encourage you to get your hands on a copy (or two) of this book. Whether you are a reader or not, this book is written in such a readable and accessible way that it is sure to be a great help for everyone. Short, small, and compact, you can be sure that if you give yourself to reading this book over the course of 50 days, together with a humble spirit and willingness to obey God in His Word, God will use His Word and His truth in your life to build Christlikeness in you, which includes giving you victory over your sinful anger. If you’ve been wanting to see victory over anger in your life, don’t wait another minute. Buy a copy of this book today.