Have you ever had a sin pattern that felt so much a part of you, you almost feel like there would be nothing left of you if you didn't have it? Not that you're attached to it, mind you... You wish you could stop. But it seems to thump with every heartbeat, or that it's got its nasty tendrils around every stray thought in your brain. Anxiety, or comparison, or the felt need for control. How do you even deal with a pervasive problem like that: that has not just hooks, but ROOTS deep in you? What sort of topical study should you undertake in order to get to the heart of the matter, realize the patterns you follow, and shine the light of the Gospel on it with hope for REAL, LASTING change?
This study, right here! This is the one you want.
The authors' major premise is that you may not be able to change the inevitable hard circumstances in your life--but the Gospel has set you free so that you're not trapped responding to them in the same old ways. You CAN respond differently! You can produce fruit in the midst of pain instead of have your growth throttled or, worse, produce the thorns of sinful responses to the pain. The authors invite you to choose a specific besetting sin and work through the book with that particular project in mind. I chose my competitive comparison as my "project" and have seen more growth in that area from working through this book than from any topical study, verse memorization, or moment of conviction I've done in the past.
Sometimes, I'll admit, I didn't "get" the exegesis from the passages they brought up. I would read the passage and go, "I agree with the insight, but how did it come from THERE?" However, so much of what they wrote threw my life into a completely new light. The implications were so enormous that I would both underline in the book itself and journal through many pages as well. All is saturated with Scripture, so I would often take a day or two off from the book just to meditate or read a sermon on a particular passage they'd highlighted.
Do not skip the questions at the end of each chapter! These were some of the most insightful places in a plenty-insightful book. Imagine having two professional biblical counselors sit down across from you and guide you through thinking about your problem. They led me to much deeper understanding of my patterns of WHEN I'm tempted so that I am not as blindsided, WHY I'm tempted so I can deal with root issues, and WHAT specifically to "put on" instead. Some of the questions would take me several days to study and think through, and I would get antsy and want to move on to the next chapter, but those questions are really where the riches are. For example, there's one specific study they have you do of Philippians that seemed like a slog when I first read it (you have to read through the book several times, looking for a different thing each time), but that alone ended up being totally worth the price of whatever you spend to get the book.
Even if I hadn't read this book for myself, I would have given it 5 stars because of how often and effectively my husband has used it in his own life. I'm already considering going through just the questions again for another issue I've long wrestled with!