A Small Book About A Big Problem: Meditations on Anger, Patience, and Peace (Welch)

A Small Book About a Big Problem provides short, daily meditations that encourage readers to look carefully at how their anger affects them and others.  It is a useful tool for pastors, counselors, and lay helpers who are working with people who struggle with a short fuse.

How many times today have you been irritated? Frustrated? While you might not think about it often, if you look closely at any day most everyone can find anger in their actions and attitudes. Something spills or goes missing, we get stuck in traffic or someone cuts us off on the road, or we feel like the people we live and work with are only making our lives more difficult. And while no one wants to get angry, what happens when our irritations and frustrations rise yet again?

Anger is so common—yet it also hurts. It not only leaves a mark on us, but it also leaves a marks on others. The wounds we inflict on ourselves and others because of anger—loss of intimacy, trust, security, and enjoyment in our closest relationships—give us compelling reasons to look closely at our anger and think carefully about how to grow in peace and patience.

But if you, like many others, have just gotten irritated for the umpteenth time today, you might wonder if change is possible. Can anyone truly find peace? The answer is yes, but you will need a plan. Biblical counselor and psychologist Ed Welch invites readers to take a fifty-day reading plan journey that unpacks anger while encouraging and teaching readers to respond with patience to life’s difficulties. Readers will also be introduced to Jesus, the key to any plan for change. Known as the Prince of Peace, he is the only one who can empower his people to grow in patience, peace, and wholeness.

Author

Edward T. Welch, MDiv, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He earned a PhD in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and has a Master of Divinity degree from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed has been counseling for over thirty years and has written extensively on the topics of depression, fear, and addictions. His biblical counseling books include Shame Interrupted; When People Are Big and God Is Small; Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave; Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness; Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction; Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest; When I Am Afraid: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Fear and Anxiety; Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love; and A Small Book about a Big Problem: Meditations on Anger, Patience, and Peace.

Endorsements

“What a rich, insightful book! Ed’s years of working with the heart come to life in these short, piercing vignettes. They aren’t so much devotional as they are disrupters. They will disrupt your heart for good. No matter where you are in the Christian life, you will find yourself arrested by this book. I’m getting one for each of our children.”

Paul Miller, Founder of seeJesus; author of A Praying Life and A Loving Life

“Anger can be explosive or it can slowly simmer. Whatever form it takes, it leaves a path of broken relationships in its wake. Ed Welch’s new book, A Small Book about a Big Problem offers a needed opportunity to consider what’s at the heart of our anger. These daily devotions patiently expose the destructive effects of anger while guiding us to a life of greater humility, thankfulness, and peace.”

Melissa Kruger, Author of Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood

“A Small Book About A Big Problem was, for me, a gentle, calm, honest conversation with a wise friend about a real problem. In our angry and even explosive world today, that is a rare treasure indeed. Anyone open to the gospel will be helped by this book to rethink their pain and turmoil in the presence of Jesus the Crucified.”

Ray Ortlund, Pastor of Immanuel Church, Nashville, TN