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Fearless Faith: Learning to trust Jesus in every situation
When fear takes hold we can feel powerless and insipid. Life’s spiritual battles become too much and the devil seems to be winning. It does not have to be like this though! We can, and do, have victory in Christ. Faith in the all–powerful One means that we are strong in him, even when we feel weak.
Jonathan Stephen writes with clarity and compassion to help us understand how the battle against the enemy can truly be won. He uses one of the best–known and most dramatic incidents in the Gospels, the stilling of the storm. As he draws our attention to what Jesus is teaching through this ‘faith–training exercise’ we join the disciples in discovering that when we are buffeted and frightened by the storms of life we can not only endure, but overcome.
Jonathan Stephen writes with clarity and compassion to help us understand how the battle against the enemy can truly be won. He uses one of the best–known and most dramatic incidents in the Gospels, the stilling of the storm. As he draws our attention to what Jesus is teaching through this ‘faith–training exercise’ we join the disciples in discovering that when we are buffeted and frightened by the storms of life we can not only endure, but overcome.
46 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 8, 2016
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. Its short and snappy and is yet full to the brim with solid Godly truths that are not only encouraging but exciting and if it were an option, it would receive 6 stars. One smashing read, cheers Jonathan.
June 5, 2025
“We must remember that fearless faith is not something we can produce ourselves, any more than we can overcome our troubles and trials by some supreme effort of our will. It is achieved by Christ’s work in us. That is why we must always look to him. The key is constantly to grow in our knowledge and love of Jesus.”
Jonathan Stephens begins this little book by recognising that fear is something we all face, and that it can act like acid to faith if left unaddressed. The solution he proposes is a simple yet powerful one: to look to Jesus as both the object of our faith and as the antidote to our fear. He develops this theme around the gospel account of Jesus calming the storm, drawing some general principles from the narrative. These include that Jesus plans our journey through life, commands a successful outcome, rides the storms with us, shares our humanity, addresses our lack of faith, and is sovereign over all. In particular, the more we recognise Jesus for who he is, the more we will recognise our fear as irrational - if Jesus is in the boat (so to speak), then all will be well. I also appreciated his insight on the familiar image of faith as a mustard seed - the point is not that it is small, but rather that it grows!
While designed and executed as a short book, this is one that I feel would have benefited from another 20 or 30 pages. In particular, this would have allowed the author to flesh out the persistent nature of fear in the Christian life and the lifelong process of sanctification. As it is, the book comes across at times as quite trite - look to Jesus, fear melts away, faith grows and grows.
Nonetheless, this serves as a timely reminder of the simplicity of Christianity - our call is to childlike faith in Jesus. While we can (and should) grow in knowledge and faith, hope and love, we never graduate from that need for straightforward and dependent trust in Christ. And as Jonathan has written, Jesus is supremely trustworthy.
“Jesus may have been frustrated with his disciples’ lack of faith. He may even have rebuked them for it. But he did not condemn them. Absolutely anyone reading this little book may echo the disciples’ prayer in the boat: ‘Lord, save us!’ (Mt 8:25). And Christ will still answer! Even though a violent storm could not wake Jesus, the cries of the desperate always will. It is simply not our Father’s intention that any of his little ones should perish.”
Jonathan Stephens begins this little book by recognising that fear is something we all face, and that it can act like acid to faith if left unaddressed. The solution he proposes is a simple yet powerful one: to look to Jesus as both the object of our faith and as the antidote to our fear. He develops this theme around the gospel account of Jesus calming the storm, drawing some general principles from the narrative. These include that Jesus plans our journey through life, commands a successful outcome, rides the storms with us, shares our humanity, addresses our lack of faith, and is sovereign over all. In particular, the more we recognise Jesus for who he is, the more we will recognise our fear as irrational - if Jesus is in the boat (so to speak), then all will be well. I also appreciated his insight on the familiar image of faith as a mustard seed - the point is not that it is small, but rather that it grows!
While designed and executed as a short book, this is one that I feel would have benefited from another 20 or 30 pages. In particular, this would have allowed the author to flesh out the persistent nature of fear in the Christian life and the lifelong process of sanctification. As it is, the book comes across at times as quite trite - look to Jesus, fear melts away, faith grows and grows.
Nonetheless, this serves as a timely reminder of the simplicity of Christianity - our call is to childlike faith in Jesus. While we can (and should) grow in knowledge and faith, hope and love, we never graduate from that need for straightforward and dependent trust in Christ. And as Jonathan has written, Jesus is supremely trustworthy.
“Jesus may have been frustrated with his disciples’ lack of faith. He may even have rebuked them for it. But he did not condemn them. Absolutely anyone reading this little book may echo the disciples’ prayer in the boat: ‘Lord, save us!’ (Mt 8:25). And Christ will still answer! Even though a violent storm could not wake Jesus, the cries of the desperate always will. It is simply not our Father’s intention that any of his little ones should perish.”
January 16, 2017
Made me look at the stilling of the storm in a new way. .A good read
February 6, 2025
Brief but brilliant in its exposition of Matthew 8’s account of Christ’s slumber at sea and the disciples’ boat ride into a terrible tempest.
January 11, 2019
A short and snappy book looking at the gospel story of Jesus calming the storm. Not particularly deep or theological, but it does look throughout the scriptures, pointing to the reasonableness of faith in Jesus and the desire Christians ought to have for their faith to grow and flourish.
June 11, 2025
A simple, broad answer is all that can be supplied in such a short piece. A good takeaway is that we will trust God more when we know him more.
December 14, 2016
Helpful, challenging and easy to read book, by an excellent author, on the important subject of faith. Based upon the account of Jesus calming the storm it gives helpful practical and pastoral advice on trusting God especially for those who would say that they have 'weak faith'.
September 20, 2024
Sometimes you don't have the time or energy for a couple hundred page book, but you want a quick, well-written reminder of God's goodness. That's what this is.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews