Book Review: Overcoming Fear, Worry & Anxiety by Elyse Fitzpatrick

I first came across this book when Selah was maybe two months old. My struggle with postpartum depression and anxiety was really starting to sink its teeth into me and I was desperate for some kind of help. I’m not sure how I came across this book - whether it was recommended to me by a friend or if it was the result of a late night google search - but I do remember when I picked it up from our local bookstore.

I remember walking inside, my sleeping newborn in tow, asking for my special order and completely downplaying the gravity of my situation. I remember playing it off like “Yeah, I need all the help I can get! This little one has stirred up quite a bit of worries!”, trying not to let on that all three of the topics in the title had completely claimed my heart.

I did read the first few chapters back then and LOVED them. Incredible truth that spoke directly to what I was going through. And then I set it down and didn’t pick it up again until a few weeks ago. For those keeping score, it’s been sitting on my shelf for about 2.5 years now.

Now that I’ve finished it, I wish I would have stuck with it when I first bought it.

Regardless, I’m so grateful I picked it back up. This book was published about 20 years ago. The author, Elyse Fitzpatrick, has a background in biblical counseling and it shows. She closes her first chapter saying

My heartfelt desire is that this book will serve as a tool that draws you near to the one who loves you and who alone can forgive, transform, and restore you. (23)

Reading this book in my current season of life, there were a lot of echoes of my own experience with my sweet biblical counselor who walked with me in the depths of my battle with fear and worry. There were so many refreshing truths that I had forgotten. Truth that had saved me from such deep despair before and were beautiful reminders of our great God this go around.

For most of the book I was able to read a chapter a day during my morning quiet time. But one particular chapter took me several days to work through.

Chapter 6 - The Fear Caused by Perfectionism.

I knew before I started it that it was going to hit hard. In case it’s not evident from posts I’ve written in the past, this is a daily struggle for me. I want to hold ridiculously high standards for myself that are impossible to achieve. If, somehow, I do achieve them, I am consumed with pride and forget that my strength comes from God. But on all the other days that I don’t meet them, I am consumed with guilt and forget that I am already completely justified in Christ.

Allow me to share a few things I underlined:

“Although keeping a neat home and running an efficient office are good goals, in the end it won’t really matter if there is dust on your furniture when you stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ. God won’t ask you “Did you wash your car faithfully every Saturday?” (92)

“Are the standards or commands that I’m following easily discovered in Scripture, or am I adding to or twisting His commands? Would a casual reading of the New Testament affirm my standards, or are there other things more important to God?” (93)

“Are you ‘in Him’? If so, you can’t be more pleasing to Him than you already are.” (95)

I could go on! I’m not a huge underliner while I read, but this chapter is filled with marks and stars and furious lines.

A lady in our women’s Bible study reminded me of a powerful quote from Elisabeth Elliot this week that I believe fits in perfectly -

Fear arises when we imagine that everything depends on us. -Elisabeth Elliot

Everything depends on our perfect and sovereign God. He is faithful to complete the good work he started in us, even when he takes a direction we would’ve bypassed. Trying to take on the world and make everything work out perfectly is a role we can’t fill, no matter how hard we try. The weight of that role will crush us.

But as God continues to grow our faith in him and faithfully reveals more of his beautiful, trustworthy character, our fears fade and peace abounds.

To sum up my thoughts, this book was a huge blessing. I wish I had finished it at the time it came into my life. But I’m so, so grateful that I’ve finished it now. I definitely recommend as a resource to help work through fear, worry, and anxiety. If I had to guess, a lot of us struggle with at least one of those.

Fitzpatrick ends her book with a statement she makes at the beginning

“What I’ve written here is not offered as the answer to all your problems, but it will point you to the one who is.” (209)

Support our local bookstore and order the book here if you’re interested! And take heart dear friends. This struggle may be challenging to walk in day after day, but our God is a strong and perfect refuge to run to in those storms.