oakraider1's Full Review: Charles Swindoll - Three Steps Forward, Two Steps ...
Charles Swindoll is one of the best Christian writers their is out there, and Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back: Persevering Through Pressure is just the type of book of someone of his caliber would deliver. This book covers about anything and everything dealing with perseverance, and is a great self help book, for any time in your life.
Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back, besides being the title of the book carries some significance. It is ever so true of the life and Christian walk. You can always strive for goodness, and that is great, but it almost always seems to be temporary. We always have setbacks, and are always taking a step back, after we were heading forward.
In all of Swindoll's chapters, he does two things well: he explains and backs it up with biblical examples. Every chapter has at least one scriptual reference, and he throws it in with his personal experience with a story of his own. So if you do not understand the scripture, his explaining and stories will help you get through it.
Misunderstanding
This chapter focuses on something that we can control easily, that is misunderstanding. The story Swindoll gives here is one that is hard to forget. He tells of a man that is pretty well off and goes to work one day near Thanksgiving. At work they give all of the workers a turkey to take home and eat. As a prank the man's co-workers stuff the turkey with confetti and so forth. As the man is taking the train home he sees a man that looks in poor shape and sells him the turkey for very cheap (he sold it so he did not make the man think that he was superior to him by just giving it away). When the man gets home and hears about the prank later, he realizes how the poor man must feel, probably furious, thinking he had a turkey and instead gets a prank. Huge misunderstanding! The misunderstanding many new Christians have is that by becoming a Christian all life's problems are just gone, poof. Swindoll does a great job in pointing out that you might even have more troubles as a Christian, and it is by no means going to be a walk in the park: unless you live the Christian life. That is what happens so often that can be avoided if we are cautious and think of others before spitting out something we are not quite 100% sure on.
Stress
Stress is something that is just almost a constant, but those who minimize it are best off. Swindoll gives a great spiritual reference with Psalm 46 written by David.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble, Therefore we will not fear.....The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress"
Pretty much that sums it all up. No matter how big the problem the Lord is with you and will help you through it, and if just continue to keep our faith the Lord will not leave us.
Loss
This chapter also uses a biblical reference, but this one is more broad. It speaks of Job, and all of his trials and tribulations. If you think you have it rough, you should read about this guy. He was in pretty good shape, then suddenly his children and wealth disappear, his wife encourages him to turn against God and his friends are throwing all kinds of advice up at him. I could go on about the book itself, but the point that Swindoll conveys is once again: keep your faith, persevere. In the end Job is rewarded by the Lord by tenfold! No pain, no gain.
Impossibilities
What is impossible by man is possible by God. That simply sums up this chapter, once again keep your faith. You might not be able to walk again, but with the Lord's help you can do anything. Miracles do happen, but only with help. Swindoll stresses to pray and surrender on situations in your life, that it is too big for you to tackle and let the Lord intervene, because he can do all things.
Waiting
Patience is so tough. Swindoll helps us out with another verse from Psalms.
"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him"--Psalm 62:1
Once again written by David, this verse tells us to wait for results. The Lord will answer you, sometimes right away sometimes in years, or maybe decades.
Temptation
Swindoll points out in this chapter that believe it or not Jesus Christ was tempted very often himself. The key to beat temptation is stay on the path. Like Jesus, keep your eyes focused on the Lord and do not look to the left and right, that is when trouble arises.
Mistakes
There are different categories of mistakes, as Swindoll points out, and of course it is best to make none at all, but that is how you learn. Honest mistakes teach us more than anything, but once we become repetitive it becomes a habit and that is what leads to sin.
Inferiority
This chapter is my favorite in the entire book. Swindoll gives it all in this chapter, the 4 R's of Inferiority and gives examples of inferiority in the Bible.
"Four R's of Inferiority
Realize -- that you were prescribed before birth
Remember -- growth process is still going on
Refuse -- to compare yourself with others
Respond -- correctly to your problems"
The "R" I like the best is the third one, refuse. If we make an effort not to compare to others and just ourselves that is not selfish, it is a great way to stop inferiority. By not comparing ourselves to others, we leave no opportunity to critique how we stack up with others. Swindoll points out that the Lord has given everyone a special gift and that others may be more talented at this and that, but you have talents that they do not possess.
Swindoll also gives great examples with Moses, Jeremiah, and Amos of Bible characters who questioned themselves. Moses questioned that he was the right one to tell the people the news, much of the same questioning happens with Jeremiah and Amos as well.
Fear
This chapter I think goes along with inferiority well. We fear what we can and can not do, we fear that so and so will do something better than us. This is, as Swindoll says, a matter of keeping our confidence. Psalm 62 has a great verse pertaining to this matter as well.
"He alone is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress, I will never be shaken" -- Psalm 62:2
The Lord will test us, but he will never betray us, so there is no need to fear, he is the most solid foundation there is.
Anger
I like that Swindoll points out that it is alright to be angry, as he calls is justified anger. When someone lets us down, we are angry, it is human nature. He also says that the Lord is angry when we sin, that alone gives us motivation not to sin. Being angry unjustifiably is when it becomes sin, such as just constantly being angry at someone for no reason, or for all the wrong reasons, or even misunderstanding. As you can see all these areas can be tied in with another easily.
Conclusion
This book has helped me a ton with my problems already and I am sure it will be of great help as I continue on in my Christian walk. The Bible is the first source, undisputed. This book helps you understand some areas that are covered in the Bible and gives great insight. I will leave you with Swindoll's definition of perseverance.
"Perseverance: willingness to accept whatever comes, strength to face it head on, determination to stand firm, and insight to see the Lord's hand in it all"
Stressed out? Burnt out? Ready to give up? Not yet! This classic on persevering through pressure offers a fresh look at the process of maturity. Misun...More at Christianbook.com
Charles Swindoll reminds readers that our problems are not solved by simple answers or all-too-easy cliches. Instead, he offers practical ways to walk...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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