Relief—that was my experience of reading this wonderful book. Faith has expertly weaved her personal struggles and cultural background together with gospel truth and historical example to produce a deeply comforting and fresh exploration of Christian perfectionism.
Faith Chang is a natural storyteller, a gifted writer, and insightful and encouraging. In my anxious pursuit of perfection, Chang points me to Christ—the founder and perfecter of our faith—and his perfect love casts out my fear.
New authors have a way of bringing fresh perspectives to stubborn struggles. That is what Faith Chang does with perfectionism. If you’ve found yourself pursuing a good goal (holiness) in an exhausting way (perfectionism), Peace over Perfection offers a fresh voice and fresh perspective. Through the hope of the gospel, you’ll learn to pursue godliness in a way that rests in the reality that God is for you—as a good Father. A book rooted in prayer, Peace over Perfection invites you to talk with God about your journey and enjoy his presence in your in-process life.
Reading Peace over Perfection is like arriving at one of the ‘safe homes’ along the path in The Pilgrim’s Progress—a place of sustenance and encouragement to shut out the terrors and temptations that haunt the ‘Christian perfectionist’ in their journey toward the heavenly rest of the Celestial City. Faith’s welcoming tone gives space to exhale and recalibrate, each chapter pairing a specific challenge of perfectionism with gospel help, proving she’s walked the hard paths too. And while reading this book will provide respite, it won’t leave you resting. The discussion questions and prayer prompts—if sincerely applied—will drive you out the door and on the road again, seeking out other pilgrims along the way.
Full of impactful quotes and anecdotes that will most definitely be shared from my pulpit for years to come, Peace over Perfection is written with authentic vulnerability, empathetic understanding, and a deep insight into the heart of God toward his bumbling yet beloved children. Writing as one who has walked and frequently fallen from the arduous tightrope so familiar to fellow perfectionists, Faith invites us off our tightropes altogether, offering us a far better vision that neither downplays our flaws nor cheapens God’s love, but locates us within the firm and tender (nail-pierced) hands of God in order that we might experience the true depths of our sin and yet never without the even higher heights of God’s grace.
Reading this book is like sitting down in a comfortable room with your dear friend, both of you tired after a long day. Faith reminds you of how much you are loved and invites you to lean your head on her shoulder while you both take it all in—the weariness of your souls and the grace of your Savior. Accept this invitation to linger on the Lord’s love and rest.
