Book Review: Walking with God When I'm Afraid
As Christians, we’re all called to minister the Word as we provide counsel to one another. Biblical counseling is not just something for the “professionals.” On the contrary, as Paul wrote in Romans 15:14, “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.” Coming from the Greek word noutheteó (translated as “admonish” in this passage), upon which the nouthetic counseling movement is based, Paul’s instruction was that all believers—not just pastors or certified counselors—are to engage in this. Without even realizing it most of the time, many adult believers naturally do this for one another when fellowshiping and spending time together. But what about counseling for children? Specifically, what about a parent providing genuine, heartfelt counseling for his or her child?
Walking with God
In the book titled Walking with God When I’m Afraid: 30 Biblical Anchors for Anxious Young Hearts, pastor Rick Witmer looks to equip parents to do just that for their children. Writing in the introductory note to parents, Witmer says,
“Anxiety is hard enough for adults to deal with. Yet adults have resources in Scripture, prayer, and the church that oftentimes children haven’t been taught to access. Thankfully, the Word of God and the presence of God and the people of God aren’t only for adults! Jesus says, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). The Lord wants His little lambs to learn to find the same rest and peace that He wants you and me to find in Him in our cares and worries. He also wants us as parents to lead our children to Him, both to trust in Christ and to continue to trust and draw near to Him with their worries (Deuteronomy 6:4-7; 1 Peter 5:6-7). My hope is that this book will help you lead your children’s anxious hearts to their Father in heaven and help your children spend time with Him devotionally as they learn to cast their anxieties on the God who cares for them.” [p15]
Over the course of thirty chapters, the book delves into a host of issues related to worry and anxiety that children face. Rather than turning to secular psychology or therapeutic jargon, it goes right to Scripture as the cure for the ailment. And emphasizing the spiritual root of anxiety without diminishing the legitimate effects of physical issues on the thought life, Witmer writes,
“While I believe Scripture would suggest that most people’s struggles with anxiety are basically spiritual and find their root in the heart, others’ struggles are compounded by bodily ailments or the effects of certain medications that prime them to be anxious. Yet even these anxieties have a significant spiritual dimension that presents an opportunity to either turn to the Father in Christ-centered trust or to turn inward in self-centered worry. And that is the good news—it means that our biggest concern isn’t to track down the exact “DNA” of our anxieties, but to dig into God’s Word and find refuge in God’s presence.”[p.14]
Three Commendable Aspects
Of the various characteristics of the book, three stood out to me as I reviewed a copy graciously provided by the publisher:
The book is practical. For example, on page 78, Witmer addresses being afraid of the dark. The chapter, titled, “I Don’t Need to be Afraid of the Dark,” considers Psalm 74:16: “The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun.” It then discusses the fact that God made light and darkness in the beginning, calling them “good,” as well as the truth that Christ the light of the world who is with us even in the darkness.
The book is comprehensive. Ranging from being fearful of the future (“God’s Plans for Me Are Always Good” and “I Can Trust the Lord with the Future”), to weapons for fighting worry (“I Can Fight Worry by Rejoicing in the Lord” and “I Can Fight Worry with Thankful Prayer”), to being a help for others (“The Father Comforts Me to Comfort Others”), the thirty chapters cover a lot of ground.
The book is actionable. Each chapter ends with three sections, titled “Believe,” “Pray,” and “Do.” The first section restates the truth for the reader to meditate on. The second section provides a sample prayer to articulate words to say to God. The third section provides passages to memorize or to further study, with associated study questions. This gives the reader immediate ways to implement what was learned. (As a side note of importance: the first chapter was the only one in which I would have concerns about the sample prayer. This chapter is written for those who may not be Christians, and thus cites salvation as their first and foremost need. The emphasis is right, but the temptation in this case, especially for young readers, is to think that repeating a prayer is synonymous with genuine, saving faith. Parents would be wise to emphasize to their kids that repeating a prayer has never saved anyone; salvation is through faith alone.)
Conclusion
I’ve often said that what you fail to preach about on a Sunday you’ll be forced to speak about the rest of the week. An empty pulpit breeds a jam-packed counseling office. That is to say, a pastor that is faithfully preaching God’s Word verse by verse, with an unashamed commitment to every truth it presents—whether easy or difficult to embrace—will mature his congregation such that they are able to avoid spiritual disasters, or at least navigate them biblically, on their own. On the other hand, when the preaching ministry of a local church is shallow and superficial, the resulting immaturity of the congregation will manifest itself in sin, worry, and self-imposed grief that ends up having to be sorted out in a number of other venues. Broken marriages, unruly children, lazy young men, and misguided young women are inevitable when God’s Word isn’t being taught properly. There is no doubt in my mind that much of the difficulty faced in local churches stems from a sub-standard pulpit ministry.
Nevertheless, I also recognize that, as the Apostle Paul implied in Romans 15:14, there are times in this fallen world in which our flesh gets the best of us and we need specific counsel from others for what we’re facing.
With that in mind, the same is true in the home. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure. Teach your children the Bible verse by verse, while safeguarding them from the three “S” sources of spiritual harm (smartphones, social media, and [government] school), and you’ll be guiding and protecting them from a vast majority of the spiritual harm that most children face on a daily basis. But for those specific times when, in our fallen world, your kids are still struggling amidst even the best of proactive discipleship, this book can be an excellent aid. Thus, as with any resource, it can make for a helpful supplement—though not a substitute—for the verse-by-verse instruction you provide.
While walking through books of the Bible with your kids, also consider Walking with God When I’m Afraid.
Walking with God When I’m Afraid
You can find the book at the publisher’s website here: https://www.shepherdpress.com/products/walking-with-god-when-im-afraid
The book is also available in Kindle edition on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Walking-God-When-Im-Afraid-ebook/dp/B0FL4JWGGN