A Fresh Look at Fear: Encountering Jesus in Our Weakness

by Dan Baumann

"Fear is real, but God is bigger, and His love is stronger. My story is a testament to that. There is nothing in this world more beautiful or wonderful than God Himself, who invites us into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. There is no greater hope for our broken humanity than that."

In this deeply personal and powerfully honest book, Dan Baumann helps us navigate our own fears by detailing his own and exploring God's place in the most doubt-filled, worrisome, and frightening areas of life. This book will challenge you to look at fear in a new way and guide you in being transformed by the greatest reality of all -- Jesus Christ.

Genres: Christian, Faith

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2014

Reviews

[Jocelyn Pang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Baumann came to one of Cornell’s AAIV Friday nights in 2022 (my 4th year of college). From his talk, he kind of reminded me of Francis Chan, and you can tell that this man has experienced some crazy things in life. Other than His imprisonment in Iran, this book expands on the many times how God has met Him in the most dangerous/life threatening moments, and that God is his ultimate protector. If I didn’t know God, I would’ve thought that Dan is a cat who has 9 lives.

I especially like the ending chapters, where he analyzes a thought in three different ways- my common sense, my insecurity, and Jesus’ comment. There are many times when I’ve felt like I heard God very clearly but after I’ve made the decision, I start to doubt if I really heard God or heard God wrongly. That process is very paralyzing. This book is not about making the absolute ‘’right’’ decisions, but to have the faith to continue to lean onto Jesus no matter what decision you’ve made and what fear you currently face upon making that decision.

It also points to the fact that there’s this ‘’mystery box’’, which some of our -personal- questions may never get answered. At some point of your life, you will have to decide whether having “that” answer or your relationship with Jesus is more important. Very humbling.

[Maree Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am inherently sceptical of YWAM content but my dear friend passed it along and this was great wee book. Every chapter hit a practical area of life where it’s easy to take on a fearful mindset despite knowing God. It felt like an add on to the lesson from Holier than thou by Jackie Hill Perry of beholding God. You are released from the burden of fear only when you replace it with the awe of Christ. Willpower alone isn’t sustainable for victory over sin. Beholding God is what brings true, lasting, and beautiful change in a life. Being transformed by the renewing of your mind Rom 12:2
I can overcome fear by obeying the Lord despite what I feel.
True freedom comes when I surrender my life and see that my God is perfectly good and reliable.
Some examples at the end of living radically for God in fear but sometimes I feel like this mindset of throwing caution to the wind overlooks valuable biblical wisdom offered in proverbs and such. I get frustrated when it feels like the ‘boring’ methods of Gods provision such as working a normal job and saving up money aren’t also treated as generous gifts of provision from God.


Big encouragement in my health problems!!

Thank you Jesus for being worthy of all this.
I want to trust you with my life.

[narwhal]

Sobering perspective on how our lives should be oriented– in intimate relationship with God. Really clears up what it means to just come to Him and to let the relationship be rooted not in insecurities, weakness, or fear, but in the goodness of His character. In other words, we do not have to wait to approach God– He is present and calling us now. Even with hearing His voice– it is better to step forward and make a mistake than to live in fear.

[Sarah Heuvel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan is a legend who I had the immense privilege of listening to for a week, during my time at YWAM. I was drawn into the way Dan spoke about his friendship with God and how he came to have that relationship with the Lord. After reading his book, I found it enjoyable and easy to read and understand. My take away was realising Gods love truly overwhelmed every other emotion and there is really nothing to worry about. It’s comforting to know we as humans are in good hands of our creator!

[Jillian Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book! Full of great stories and practical, non repetitive guidance!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth saving and rereading.

[Beckie Trevivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Bauman's take on how fear can debilitate us if we let it. He has such a great testimony.

[Mikayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book! As someone who has been on a journey with Jesus and simultaneously struggling with fear, I found a lot of my own journey represented so well in this book. The author’s main premise of the book is a conclusion that I, and anyone else struggling with fear, need to come back to on a daily basis: Jesus is greater than our fear. I’ve spent so long focusing on how to be rid of my fear that I have missed the point that spending time with Jesus should be more important to me than getting rid of my fear. While Jesus does deliver from fear, my goal to be with Him shouldn’t be to get rid of fear, but to just be with Him. The author does a great job of reorienting the reader to this point both through scripture and through personal testimony. My only iffy parts about the book is the the author seems to be more charismatic than I am, but those are personal preferences, and I admire his commitment to following Jesus more than I’m uncomfortable with his denominational beliefs. Overall, I would definitely read again, and I would recommend to others who are struggling with fear.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan's story and teaching has changed my life. So thankful for his testimony-- real, raw and humble. Jesus is worthy.

[Sara Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Dan Baumann and how he communicates. Honest and inspiring.