Help! I'm Anxious

by Philip De Courcy, Paul Tautges (Editor)

A mini-book which gently counsels those who tend to worry, or struggle with more serious symptoms of anxiety. An increasing number of us are worrying ourselves sick about the past, the present, or the unknown future. Here Philip De Courcy carefully distinguishes right concern from unhealthy anxiety, and using Jesus words in the Sermon on the Mount shows us how we can have victory over worry by entrusting ourselves fully into the caring hands of our heavenly Father.

Genres: Counselling, Christian

64 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2018

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you struggling with anxiety? This booklet is a helpful biblical counseling booklet addressing the topic of being anxious. It is a part of Shepherd Press’ “Lifeline Mini-books” series. Having this as an evening devotional with my wife I found this particular title edifying and helpful and in the near future I want to explore other titles in this series. Author and preacher Philip De Courcy did a good job with this one! I also plan to use this as a recommended resource for my pastoral counseling ministry.
The book takes on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 to address the topic of anxiety. I think the author made a good decision to use Matthew 6 since in this chapter the term “worry” appears six times. The work consists of four chapters and each chapter looks at a section of Matthew 6. The chapters are “What’s Wrong With Anxiety?,” “Reasons Not to Be Anxious,” “moving Toward A Settled Mind” and “Seek God’s Kingdom First” followed by a conclusion. I appreciated that this book also have a “Personal Application Projects” after the conclusion and it has helpful questions and assignment that’s ideal for counseling and also personal growth for readers reading this on their own.
While each chapter was good personally for me chapters one to two were my favorite. In chapter I appreciated the author defining what anxiety is according to the Scripture. I never thought of anxiety before as having a distracted or divided mind and thinking of it more I can see that. Chapter 1 also have a good discussion about “good worry” and bad worry which is helpful to be nuanced with this subject. Equally helpful with the author’s nuance is the point that being carefree is not the same thing as being careless (page 16).
The author’s skill set as an expositional preacher can be seen in his handling of the text of Scripture. There’s good insights on Matthew 6 throughout the book and since the author is a pastor there’s also good applications. Chapter two goes over the reasons Jesus gave for why we don’t have to be anxious. This chapter is one I carefully highlight the most because its helpful to look back again for one’s own personal reminder and also for one’s battle against anxiety.
Overall I recommend this booklet and wish somehow more people can be aware of this wonderful booklet series as well.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the "Help!" booklets from the Lifeline series, this has been my favorite. Perhaps that is because the issue of anxiety is one of the most common issues that we counsel about in our counseling ministry; or perhaps, anxiety is one of the perplexing issues that I see bubble up in my own life at times, thus this booklet ministered to my own heart. Perhaps both are reasons. Regardless, I found this booklet to be a precise source of encouragement, insight, and Biblical counsel for anyone who struggles with the sin of anxiety. The booklet is short and thus, it perhaps is more a discussion starter, as opposed to a full-fledged treatment, but it is an excellent discussion starter nonetheless and one that I believe could be very helpful for a fellow struggler. I highly recommend this booklet.

[Javan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good and short little book. It really puts worry and anxiety into perspective. In a world where it seems that everyone is struggling with those very things, this book is a breath of fresh air and a great reminder to put our focus on God and His Truth.

[Brandon Adkison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. Given the topic, much of the booklet (~50 pages) is a meditation and application from Matthew 6. Great illustrations from counseling scenarios and helpful application projects/homework assignments in the back.

[Alba Hueso · Rating 5 out of 5]

DO NOT WORRY!

I found this book helpful in recognizing the source of my anxieties and the application of the truth to that anxiety. It was very convicting yet encouraging.