Book Review: The Lord is my Courage

The Lord is my Courage: Stepping Through the Shadows of Fear toward the Voice of Love by K. J. Ramsey

With my word of the year being BRAVE, I wanted to seek out some books about bravery. As a synonym more frequently used, I cam upon this book about God being our courage.

I am not certain what I expected, other than the book was presented as having something to do with Psalm 23. It weaves Psalm 23 together with “contemplative storytelling, theological reflection, and practical neuroscience”. It sounds like it wouldn’t work, but it does.

Background

Psalm 23 is broken into words and phrases as the title for each of the 35 chapters. There is a theme of how God is with us in our scarcity and stress, with examples from autoimmune disease and spiritual abuse. Another theme is the Good Shepherd, with plenty of contrasting in those stories, but also the strength of communion as only the Good Shepherd could provide. Blessing would have to be the third theme that the author carries throughout, giving examples and reminders in words and stories.

Thoughts on the Book

Ramsey offers insight into the body, our own physical one as well as the body of Christ. She challenges the reader to risk in order to fully step into what God would have us become. She longs for us to know that the Good Shepherd actively pursues us in his love. The personal stories of abuse by church leadership hurt to hear, but they are a story that must be acknowledged and healed. That seems to be the intent of the author as well, to encourage healing from trauma, in whatever form it may have come.

The interweaving of the stories and the themes are not quite as smooth as I would like, and the psalm is literally taken apart word by word in an unusual manner. Nothing is truly “off’ about the book. It takes the reader on a journey of themselves and also the author to and understanding of who this Jesus is that we follow and who doesn’t just follow us but hound us.

5/5 stars

The raw honesty of Ramsey’s account and seeking to understand this new world post-abuse (and post-pandemic) draws the reader in. 5/5 stars for addressing what we all need to hear even when we don’t want to. Deconstruction at its most personal.