Fear and anxiety are chronic struggles for many people that are only intensifying and increasing. Best-selling author Edward T. Welch shares the comfort and peace of Jesus in fifty brief readings for those who wrestle with fear.
A Small Book for the Anxious Heart is a small but powerful devotional to remind men and women of the encouraging, beautiful words in Scripture to anxious people.
While many books on fear and anxiety exist—promising to help men and women manage their struggles with methods and formulas—this devotional reaches deeper into Scripture, making the Word of God more accessible. Don't put a Band-Aid on your fear and anxiety; rather, learn to bring your fear to Jesus, relying on his Word.
Welch has been counseling for over thirty-eight years and is the author of more than a dozen books, including A Small Book about a Big Problem, Running Scared: Fear, Worry and the God of Rest, Shame Interrupted, When People Are Big and God Is Small, and many others.
Jesus cares for us, and in these readings, Welch invites readers to trust him for today, knowing he goes before us always.
"For those of us who often find ourselves simmering in anxious thoughts, we need something more than being told not to worry. We need something else, something better, to fill and shape our thoughts and feelings. Each short entry in this little book provides a dose of Scriptural truth to keep nudging us toward peace and rest in Christ."
Nancy Guthrie, Author and Bible teacher
"Packed into A Small Book for the Anxious Heart is deep wisdom to help us with a persistent misery—the anxiety that robs us of freedom. And here is why I respect the counsel Ed Welch offers. It isn't about handy tips for our own crisis management, but the moment-by-moment nearness of the Lord himself."
Ray Ortlund, Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, TN
"Anxiety is a deep struggle that is rarely removed in one fell swoop. Instead, it requires a steady flow of Scripture to quell its tendency to consume our lives. A Small Book for the Anxious Heart provides readers with a sustaining stream of hope from the Bible."
Curtis Solomon, Executive Director, Biblical Counseling Coalition
"When anxious, we need gallons of biblical wisdom for our muddled thoughts. But we are exhausted and can muster little emotional energy for books deep enough to help. Ed offers page-and-a-half chapters, thimblefuls of truth we can manage that soothe and steady."
Steve Estes, Pastor, Brick Lane Community Church; coauthor of When God Weeps
"Anxiety, hassle, worry, stress, and bouts of panic are all rogues that harass us as we roam this broken world. Ed Welch gets the problem and knows we need fresh faith for each day's burdens. A Small Book for the Anxious Heart is offered as an essential weapon in the fight for faith, peace, and joy."
Dave Harvey, Pastor; blogger; teacher; author of I Still Do! Growing Closer and Stronger through Life's Defining Moments
"In fifty days of meditations, Dr. Welch pens short, pointed, and crystalline reflections that take hearts captive to fear and frees them to faith in Christ."
Alfred Poirier, Visiting professor at Westminster Theological Seminary; author of The Peacemaking Pastor
"With clear, intimate writing, this small book addresses burdens carried by so many of us. On each page, truth and love are blended so that real life is the arena and the real God is the center. If we anxious ones will open its pages, we will again find God drawing wondrously near to us."
Andrew Nicholls, Director of Pastoral Care, Oak Hill College, London; coauthor of Real Change: Becoming More Like Jesus in Everyday Life
"If you struggle with worry and fear, digest these bite-size chunks each day for fifty days, and I promise that your love for Christ will grow. Ed Welch's A Small Book for the Anxious Heart is a goldmine of biblical truths for the worried soul."
Deepak Reju, Pastor of Biblical Counseling and Family Ministry, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC; author of On Guard and She's Got the Wrong Guy
"Popular anxiety treatments are generally designed for the isolated individual. Ed refuses to concede isolation as the given, and helps us find God and others nearby when we are afraid. So we get to join him in finding today's manna, living in today rather than tomorrow, and finding refuge from all that is so understandably scary."
Michael Gembola, Executive Director, Blue Ridge Christian Counseling
"This is exactly what my anxious heart needed: briefly explained, surgically precise, and accurately applied Scripture to the very site of each metastasis and malignant cause of anxiety, fear, and worry within me. Repentance and renewed faith flourished within me as I savored every line of this welcome tool of grace."
Joseph Vincent Novenson, Pastor, Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church, TN
The personal reflections of the author give authenticity of understanding the challenge of being anxious. And the questions prompting a response at the end of each day's article are helpfully engaging to the reader.
Great book offering solid direction for change
It is a fear that a small book is stripped of richness due to the lack of space. Welsh does a fantastic job of stating what needs to be said in a loving and effective manner without getting into to much granularity which offers the read time to dwell on each topic day by day. It is a unique experience that is refreshing; offering renewal in our mission to become more Christlike.
Great read for my anxiety, now if I can just apply it to my life.
Yes, it's a little book, BUT IT IS POWERFUL.
You will learn things about yourself you didn’t realize.
It really is a small book, but has big meaning!
Helpful, Christ-centered devotional to consider how faith in the Lord enables us to speak truth to our fears, anxieties and worries. Very timely in our current COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Pick one up today, and get 50 days of edifying meditations! You’ll be glad you did!
During this time of a global pandemic, many are anxious. They fear they may test positive for the coronavirus. They worry what impact this may have on the economy and to their own bank account. The antidote to addressing these concerns is to look with trust to the One who is sovereign over it all. That is exactly what A Small Book for the Anxious Heart: Meditations on Fear, Worry, and Trust by Edward T. Welch is about. Practical Counsel for the Fearful and Anxious A Small Book for the Anxious Heart is filled with 50 daily meditations that are only a few pages each in length. The book is set up where the reader can read straight through from Day 1 to Day 50 or choose from the collection of meditations. While there is no particular order to the set of meditations, readers can gauge from the title which may pertain to them on a given day. There is a response at the end of each meditation for the reader to reflect on how they can apply what they have read. Many of the meditations give practical counsel to help the reader in their struggle as the author shares about his own. One of the best examples of practical counsel in this book is the meditation for Day 21 on asking for prayer. The book is comprehensive in nature as Welch takes Days 22 and 23 to provide insight on the impact fear and worry have on the physical body. Of course, the topic of money is given attention in the book as well. Throughout the 50 meditations, though, Welch reiterates fear and faith are linked in this struggle. The reality is fear will not be fully eliminated but that Christians should meditate on what will build their faith and trust in the Lord. A Critique of Concern I appreciated the practical counsel and the comprehensive work found in these meditations. I was thankful for defining terms upfront (see Welch pp. 6-8). Yet, while the definitions may have clarified some terms, one word was left wanting: worry. Moreover, how Welch seems to handle worry is built on a faulty foundation. He pointedly says, “know that there are good reasons to worry” (Welch 29). I disagree because the testimony of Scripture defines worry as sin as it reveals a lack of trust in God. Counselor Timothy Lane, in his book Living Without Worry, distinguishes worry from concern and references Bible scholar Dick France in saying worry is not merely concern but that worry is over-concern. Therefore, Welch wants to comfort readers there are good reasons to “worry”, a more appropriate term would be concern. For what it is worth, too, I would be wary of referring to The Message as a translation, as the book does, and use more of the language of a commentary. Quick Reads for Anxious People If you are not a big reader but find yourself needing to meditate on biblical truth during this anxious and fearful time, consider purchasing and gleaning from the meditations in A Small Book for the Anxious Heart. If you are looking for a quick read that will remind you where your trust needs to be as you worry and who you need to place your faith in while you face fears, then check out this book by Edward Welch. I received this book from New Growth Press in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and are my honest review of the book.
This is a wonderful little devotional for 50 days - oh how it encourages the heart!
