Book Review

I listed Mark Batterson’s book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, in my 2007 books a bit prematurely as I’ve only got through chapter three thus far . . . but WOW, what its said so far! I’m taking this book in slowly so I can drink it all in.

This morning I read chapter three, Unlearning Your Fears, a second time. It hit me square between the eyes, again, as fear has been an ongoing problem in my life. It’s a sin I cannot conquer without divine help and I find myself regularly going to the Throne of Grace to deal with it. I’ll spare you the details of how it started and gained a foothold, the various fears that assault me, etc.

To the good stuff!: My favorite excerpts from this chapter:

Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning. . . Unlearning is twice as hard, and it often takes twice as long.

Faith is unlearning the senseless worries and misguided beliefs that keep us captive. . . Faith is rewiring the human brain. . . Our minds need to be defragmented . . . . The way to upgrade your mind is to download Scripture. . . . (Part of ) faith is the process of unlearning your irrational fears.

Lion chasers . . . unlearned the fears that kept them captive . . . by chasing their fears instead of running away from them. They exposed themselves to the very thing they were afraid of.

Your fear is worse than the actual thing you’re afraid of. . . When you put yourself in a defenseless position, it sets the stage for God to show up.

I’m concerned that the church has turned into a bunker where we seek shelter when we’re actually called to storm the gates of hell.

The alternative of fear is boredom . . . If you’re bored one thing is for sure: You’re not following in the footsteps of Christ.