Afraid of All the Things {Book Review}

John 16:33 Scripture Art; In Me you may have peace.

Afraid of All the Things {Book Review}

January 2

~ Today’s Scripture art and book review of Afraid of All the Things were designed to help you write God’s Word on your heart. ~

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Since I had “Fear Not” on the brain (because of this project), I couldn’t pass up a little book titled Afraid of All the Things by Scarlet Hiltibidal.

I am excited to share this book review with you today – because after wrapping up my 365 Fear Journal, I was nodding yes, yes, yes through her whole book.

You’ll feel like Scarlet knows you when she starts right out with, “I don’t know when and how your sense of security evaporated, but I know it did. Jesus wants you to have it back. But only in Him and only because of Him. And, really, that’s the only way we can have it back. Anything else depends on us and I think we know how that goes by now.”

Does it pique your interest that she believes you can actually get it back?

Do you agree – or think fear is totally uncontrollable?

Just so you know, she used to be right there with you. She transparently shares about how she was functioning (in her words, not mine) like she was still lost and how she was very much a slave to fear.

But – spoiler alert – she found answers! And she shares her journey, complete with remedies, in her book. She even labeled a whole section: My Fears Aren’t Forever.

John 16:33 Bible Verse Art by Write Them On My Heart — *Shop this John 16:33 printable HERE.*

Scarlet explains how she felt: “I think a common Christian hang-up is knowing we can be cured of the disease of fearing and yet struggling to rest. Struggling to trust. Struggling with fear and then fearing the fear we feel.”

The best answer she found?

“God’s Word is always the answer to your worry problem. Even if your worry looks more like frustration or sadness or fury-buckling car seats. It’s the remedy for fear and selfishness and huffing and puffing. Not because of beautiful and comforting words, but because it’s full of living words. It’s full of THE Word. Jesus is in that book.”

John 16:33 Scripture Calligraphy by Write Them On My Heart

And I thought about this quote for days …

“The Bible reminds us who God is. It reminds us who we are. It reminds us that we’ve already proven we don’t have the strength to make it. And it reminds us that God has already proven He’ll go to the death to take care of us anyway. And through His Word, the Holy Spirit can comfort us and lead us out of fear and foreboding and back into ‘the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.’”

2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV): For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

John 16:33 Scripture Art Printable by WriteThemOnMyHeart

Scarlet expounds on the importance of fighting against believing the lies we are told about fear by holding the truth of God’s Word up to everything in front of us.

Every day and all the time.

She says, “God’s Word is living and active and it is the only thing that can shift a broken, fearful human brain and transform it into a supernaturally peaceful one.”

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV): For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Afraid of All the Things - Book Review and John 16:33 printable by Write Them On My Heart

And Scarlet also realistically reminds us that God’s Word doesn’t promise a life free from trouble. In fact, His Word actually promises the opposite.

John 16:33 (ESV): I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

She shares this light bulb moment: “Peace does not come from having enough protective measures. I know it because I’ve lived it. I tried with all my might to insulate myself and my people from every danger that caught my radar. But I wasn’t peaceful, because I wasn’t just running from fear, I was running from God. I was hiding from the problem and the Answer. I was literally barricading myself from the Prince of Peace.”

Find out how you can have freedom from fear! John 16:33

So of course we have to ask our favorite question.

How?

How exactly does The Word help our fear?

Single-mindedness.

I hope you will read the following quote more than once …

Scarlet explains, “Our minds are divided. I know mine tends toward that. Being focused on ten million stressful things, rather than the one singular thing we can put all our hope in. God wants us to stop thinking about ourselves so much. He wants our thoughts to be singular. He wants us to think about Him. He tells us to think about Him in His Word, and He knows that if we are single-minded, if we are spending brain power thinking of Him, preaching the gospel to ourselves, reminding ourselves of the Father’s goodness and our already approved status in Christ, only then will we live in freedom from fear.”

Isaiah 26:3 (NLT): You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

So during this season of new year’s resolutions, may I make a suggestion?

Resolve to have a single-minded goal – to keep your thoughts fixed on Jesus.

Only Jesus.

Unless you have extra free time on your hands {grin}, this probably means rearranging some things in your day so you can make room for more of The Word.

Every day.

But oh, how worth it – to have freedom from fear!

Need a practical place to start?

Consider making your very own keepsake journal filled with 365 fear and anxiety Bible verses!

Can you imagine how life would be different if you had 365 “living and active” fear and anxiety verses all conveniently logged in one workbook – always at-the-ready whenever you need them?

Let’s make this year the year our thoughts become truly fixed on Jesus.

The best resolution ever.