When you sit down to read Maria Furlough’s book, be prepared to work your highlighter. You’ll be amazed at the volume of words you mark to revisit. Maria writes about breaking the fear cycle and kindly gives us a roadmap to finding peace. Fear clamps down like a vice grip on our hearts and minds. When left unchecked, it effects our well-being and influences how we interact with our family and the world. Maria shares with us, “Fear will come…But it is our choice how much dominion we are going to allow fear to have over our lives.”

Maria is the mother of five children (four here on earth and one in heaven). She and her family lost an infant son nearly immediately after his birth. God’s promises of protection and peace came alive with new meaning and sustained her during this time. Her heartfelt words tell a life-changing story that offer hope.

When we are consumed by fear, too often our conversations with God are fear-filled pleas. Maria shows us how to replace fear-filled pleas with faith-filled prayers. She touches a nerve when she writes, “Our fears highlight and illuminate the areas we honestly do not believe God’s power can touch.” Essentially Maria reminds us that often our fears are directly linked to how big we truly believe God is. If we have a small sized view of God, and feel there are certain areas that God can’t have control over, then fear will remain. She encourages us to gain confidence and break free of fear and anxiety by surrendering these fears to God. This is an important book for our times. Readers would be wise to choose it as a personal devotional or to read in a small group study. I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.