Safe and Sound by best-selling author David Powlison guides readers to see the normality of their struggles with themselves, the world around them, and the powers of darkness.
Counselors tend to be interested in what they can easily describe: psychological dynamics, social influences, and physiological givens. But how does the uncanny power of darkness fit in with the more accessible factors in a person's life?
By carefully unpacking Ephesians 6 with vivid case studies and biblical wisdom, Powlison helps readers humanize those struggles and bear the relevance of the love of God in Christ for those struggles.
In this helpful guide, Powlison addresses many questions with gospel answers regarding the reality of spiritual warfare, including "What is spiritual warfare?" and "How does Ephesians disciple us in spiritual warfare?"
As part of CCEF's Helping the Helper series, Safe and Sound presents Ephesians as a book about our conflict with darkness within ourselves, with other people, and with the spiritual forces of evil. Powlison demonstrates how the message of Christ's triumph over all that is evil, dark, and deadly rings true, and how spiritual warfare is our participation in the Lord's cosmic war with darkness.
To stand up against evil, Powlison encourages readers to pray pointedly and listen to Scripture intently, standing with other brothers and sisters in Christ and relying on the strength God himself gives.
*Note: Each purchase of Safe and Sound includes a complimentary eBook copy of Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare, also by David Powlison. Your download link will be included in the fulfillment email you receive when your order ships. If you have purchased this resource from another bookseller, please email us at customerservice@newgrowthpress.com to receive your free ebook.
"I worked with David for thirty-eight years, so I acknowledge I am biased toward everything he wrote, but this is David at his best: pastoral, connecting dots between Ephesians and Satan's present strategies, opening his own life to us, and opening our eyes to the light of Jesus Christ. More than a book, this is a gift."
Edward T. Welch, Faculty and counselor, CCEF; author of A Small Book about a Big Problem
"Honestly I've always had more questions than answers when it comes to spiritual warfare and demonic activity. So I am thankful for this short, Scripture-saturated book that not only provides clear teaching on what spiritual warfare really is, but also presents appropriate strategies for helping people in the midst of spiritual battles against evil the same strategies we all need for life in this world the Word and prayer."
Nancy Guthrie, Author and Bible teacher
"This is the best thing I've ever read on spiritual warfare. David Powlison's Safe and Sound equipped me to understand spiritual warfare in a way that nothing else has before. Read it and I guarantee you'll grow in your faith."
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
"I don't think that there is a better book on spiritual warfare. It breaks through the confusion and fear that so often attends this topic with practical biblical insight, carefully given by a skilled surgeon of the soul. Every Christian should read this book so they are prepared for the inevitable battles they will face between the 'already' of their conversion and the 'not yet' of their home-going."
Paul David Tripp, President of Paul Tripp Ministries, pastor, best-selling author of New Morning Mercies
"During his lifetime, David Powlison gave to the church gifts too numerous to mention. His parting gift of this book is no exception. Using Ephesians 6 as a foundation, David makes a compelling case for Christian life and ministry as everyday spiritual warfare empowered by the Divine Warrior himself, our triune God. This is warfare demystified battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil waged prayerfully and dependently on your knees with Scripture in your hand and your heart."
Michael R. Emlet, Counselor and Dean of Faculty, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF); author of CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet and Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnoses and Medications
"Safe and Sound protects you from the worst kind of spiritual warfare where you let Satan 'get in your head.' We have the high ground. That's one of David Powlison's many rich insights in this thoughtful book on fighting the powers of darkness. Taking spiritual warfare seriously does not mean letting Satan shape the narratives around his power. He's a defeated enemy, with a fatal wound from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!"
Paul E. Miller, Director of seeJesus; author of A Praying Life and J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life
"David helps us regain the language, perspective, and practice of spiritual warfare from the Scriptures. To counsel is to engage in cosmic battles waged in the normal moments of everyday life. Powlison keeps us grounded by reminding us that we do not wage war according to modern philosophies of naturalism, but with the armor of God and the Sword of the Spirit. In the midst of his own battles with the ever-present shadows of death, Powlison is transparent and vulnerable as he shepherds us to rest in the peace found in God's Word. Expositionally accurate, theologically practical, and winsomely relevant you will do well to read, heed, and guard his timely biblical counsel."
Dale Johnson, Jr., Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; Director of Counseling Programs at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
"What a gift David Powlison has given us in this, his final book. His familiar voice does what it has always done it lovingly joins the dots of spiritual reality to the present reality of life. Hear him well: spiritual warfare is not an occasional oddity, it is the central dilemma of every person's life. This book doesn't just describe our constant battle to believe, and repent, and love it also shows us how to fight right to the end. And no one who loved David, either in person or through his ministry, will read the final chapter without tears in their eyes."
Steve Midgley, Executive Director, Biblical Counselling UK; Senior Minister, Christ Church Cambridge
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Short sweet book with a counseling slant. This book resonated with me. The battle is in the mundane obedience to Christ and his undoing of sin and evil. While we may occasionally see gifts of miraculous physical healings, more often these miracles come through faithful application of "normal means" of life in Christ: puttting the person first, speaking the gospel, confession and repentance of sin, walking the scripture and commands of Christ with the Spirit of Christ in the context of the Body of Christ. There is much power and victory in every day life in Christ.
In typical powlison fashion, this book is excellent. Helpful, practice, approachable.
This book was a great read! I loved how it dived into the normalcy of spiritual warfare in the Christian life, because honestly ALL of Christian life is a battle and we will inevitably be dealing with the spiritual forces of evil if we are following God. The author gave great examples of spiritual battles within everyday scenarios and spoke of how best to counsel others who are finding themselves within a battle with the unholy trinity - the world, the flesh, and the devil. He had such great insight into this topic and it is something I’m so glad to have more of an awareness & understanding of!
We are in a spiritual battle constantly, whether we are aware of it or not. And this book takes us through all types of life circumstances where we are confronted with the front line of the battle. In each case, we see the administration of the Word and prayer as the right and proper biblical manner in which to respond to the situation. I especially appreciated Powlinson's exposition of James 5:14-16 (appendix) and his helpful examples from Scripture that show the difference between how Jesus addressed the spiritual battle with His "command-control mode" (miracles) and how we have been instructed from the Word. From Scripture, we see it is errant to fight this battle by rebuking evil, commanding evil to depart, exorcising evil, or engaging in any similar "casting out" type efforts. In, it is the Word of God and prayer that we are to employ. A good book to read again! Slower, with Scripture open and digging in deeper. Helpful for counseling /discipling!
I found this book to be concise, precise, and helpful. It is a quick read and extremely practical for dealing with spiritual battles. It is soaked in Scripture and especially in Ephesians 6. I found it to be encouraging and stretching in my own view on spiritual battles.
For such a short book, this one dives deep and has perspective-shifting insight on Jesus’ healing ministry, the familiar “armor of God” passage in Ephesians 6, and what spiritual warfare actually is. I’ve read Neil Anderson in the past (Bondage Breaker, etc) and found some of it helpful, but it also was so mystical and even spooky that parts of it were hard to relate to. Powlison’s interpretation of these passages make so much more sense to me - and his warm wisdom on how to minister to others wrestling with their situations and their sin was just right. David Powlison and his colleagues - Ed Welch, Tremper Longman, Paul Davis Tripp, etc - have been so influential to my faith and to the way I see other people (and myself) in light of Christ. What a marvelous gift to read this, his final book before his death, and feel confident that he met his Savior face to face with grateful joy and worship. If you’ve wondered about spiritual warfare and what it means, I highly recommend this short, highly accessible and thought-provoking book.
David Powlison was a biblical counselor, a faculty member and in recent years executive director at CCEF. He wrote this book during the final months of his life while he was battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer. With forty years of experience, he gives the church valuable insight into what it means to wage spiritual warfare and how to do it in the lives of our counselees and even for ourselves. Part 1 asks What Is Spiritual Warfare? Powlison spends three chapters examining Paul’s list of battle armor in Ephesians 6:10-18. It is not merely defensive armor but offensive battle gear (see Isaiah 59:14-21). God is at work in us through the truth of his gospel to show justice, righteousness, and truth. We ought to resemble our Shepherd, and we should wage spiritual warfare with the rest of Christ's body. Part 2 shows how counseling is part of the reality of spiritual warfare Here Powlison covers different aspects of how biblical counseling looks when you encounter different problems. First he briefly looks at how anger, fear, and escapism can be countered by God’s word, as well as battling the occult (ch 7). We speak the truth in love. Truth that is convicting but full of God’s mercy, honest prayers, worshiping together and living out our beliefs, repenting of our sins toward one another and God, and looking to him alone (63-64). Powlison ends with an appendix on the mode of Jesus’ ministry and how it differs from how we minister to others. Recommended? This book was short and terrific. When we counsel (which is really intense, focused discipleship), we need to know that we are in a spiritual battle. The devil has a stronghold on the world, but we see it more in our culture, our flesh, and what goes on around us. What people need is for someone to come alongside them and to walk with them patiently, to endure with them.
Action-packed in such a little book. Must read for Western believers to handle the spiritual world while avoiding animistic tendencies present in some deliverance ministry practices.
Great read, challenging, and engaging, a perfect treatment of Ephesians 6 with a great connection to Isaiah 59 - beautifully written and moved you to want to apply it to life.
Lovely short book on the simple practices behind Spiritual Warfare, putting on the whole armor of Christ, wielding truth Wisely and trusting Jesus as our Shepherd