She’s Got Issues

When asked what I like to do for fun, reading is always at the top of my list. My mom instilled a love for literature in me at a very young age, introducing me to reading programs, books on tape, and the brilliant concept of “reading marathons” (where you build a tent in your room and get to stay up as late as you want as long as you have a book open in front of you). I devoured the written word and haven’t stopped since.

One of my most recent favorites is a Bible study called She’s Got Issues by Nicole Unice. The tagline reads, “Seriously good news for stressed-out, secretly scared control freaks like us.” You guys, it’s so good!

This lady is a solid, enjoyable author who knows her stuff. Besides being a Bible teacher, she’s also a Christian counselor, so she has a lot of experience to bring to the table when it comes to common issues women face. Issues? Like what? Glad you asked! Unice covers each of the following in two-chapter chunks: control, insecurity, comparison, fear, anger, and unforgiveness.

If you’re not sure you struggle with a certain topic, no worries; she includes little diagnostic evaluations along the way about what they can look like on a practical level. She also points to characters from Scripture who wrestled with each issue and provides questions/discussion starters at the end of each section (so it’s great for either going through with a couple of girlfriends or by yourself).

I love that RightNow Media provides a free video series* to go along with the book. This allows Unice to delve deeper into stories and look at different angles in a group setting of diverse ages and stages of life.

Not sure you’re a girl with issues? She gives three symptoms that point to underlying problems: blindness, lack of compassion, and convoluted conflict. If any of these raise a red flag, please pick up this book! It’s so good that I’m tempted to reread it only a month after I put it down. (Which is an extremely rare occurrence for me.)

But I’m doing okay with my issues. They’re not huge, and they’re not running my life, you might be tempted to think. The author’s response (which I suspect echoes God’s) is: “This is what living with ordinary issues does to us. It slowly kills what is beautiful and unique and turns us into half-dead versions of what we were meant to be.” It is okay to admit to struggling with problems, but we don’t have to stay stuck there forever. We are never powerless. But we do need to recognize that if we could have fixed our issues by now, we would have. This is a spiritual problem, and only God can fix it. Cracking open this book simply provides Him space to get to work in your heart.

I hate to admit it, but I don’t think she covered one issue that I don’t struggle with to some degree. (I’m definitely a girl with issues.) That realization dealt quite the blow to my pride, and I think that’s what God was hoping I’d get out of the material. It’s not about becoming perfect and overcoming any needs we have, doing away with our lack and becoming Wonder Women; it’s about building dependence on the Lord. Unice says, “God isn’t working in our issues to make us need Him less. He’s interested in moving through our issues so we can understand just how desperate we are for a constant inflow of His love into our hearts.” That’s the gospel, friends. We all have issues—there’s none righteous, no not one. We are all desperate and needy and dependent. And that’s why the message of Christ in the midst of our desperation and need and dependence is “seriously good news.”

*If you’re connected to Green Valley Crossing, you can have free access to this service. It’s like “Netflix for Bible studies,” allowing access to tons of content. Just get me your email and I can have Riley sign you up as part of our churchwide coverage. Otherwise, RNM offers individual subscriptions, and I would highly recommend hooking yourself up.