Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles

Safe and Sound by best-selling author David Powlison guides readers to see the normality of their struggles with themselves, the world around them, and the powers of darkness.

Counselors tend to be interested in what they can easily describe: psychological dynamics, social influences, and physiological givens. But how does the uncanny power of darkness fit in with the more accessible factors in a person’s life?

By carefully unpacking Ephesians 6 with vivid case studies and biblical wisdom, Powlison helps readers humanize those struggles and bear the relevance of the love of God in Christ for those struggles.

In this helpful guide, Powlison addresses many questions with gospel answers regarding the reality of spiritual warfare, including “What is spiritual warfare?” and “How does Ephesians disciple us in spiritual warfare?”

Safe and Sound presents Ephesians as a book about our conflict with darkness—within ourselves, with other people, and with the spiritual forces of evil. Powlison demonstrates how the message of Christ’s triumph over all that is evil, dark, and deadly rings true, and how spiritual warfare is our participation in the Lord’s cosmic war with darkness.

To stand up against evil, Powlison encourages readers to pray pointedly and listen to Scripture intently, standing with other brothers and sisters in Christ and relying on the strength God himself gives.

160 pages

“I worked with David for thirty-eight years, so I acknowledge I am biased toward everything he wrote, but this is David at his best: pastoral, connecting dots between Ephesians and Satan’s present strategies, opening his own life to us, and opening our eyes to the light of Jesus Christ. More than a book, this is a gift.”
Edward T. Welch, Faculty and counselor, CCEF; author of A Small Book about a Big Problem

“Honestly I’ve always had more questions than answers when it comes to spiritual warfare and demonic activity. So I am thankful for this short, Scripture-saturated book that not only provides clear teaching on what spiritual warfare really is, but also presents appropriate strategies for helping people in the midst of spiritual battles against evil—the same strategies we all need for life in this world—the Word and prayer.”
Nancy Guthrie, Author and Bible teacher

“This is the best thing I’ve ever read on spiritual warfare. David Powlison’s Safe and Sound equipped me to understand spiritual warfare in a way that nothing else has before. Read it and I guarantee you’ll grow in your faith.”
Deepak Reju, Pastor of Biblical Counseling and Family Ministry, Capitol Hill Baptist Church (Washington, DC); author of On Guard and She’s Got the Wrong Guy

“I don’t think that there is a better book on spiritual warfare. It breaks through the confusion and fear that so often attends this topic with practical biblical insight, carefully given by a skilled surgeon of the soul. Every Christian should read this book so they are prepared for the inevitable battles they will face between the ‘already’ of their conversion and the ‘not yet’ of their home-going.”
Paul David Tripp, President of Paul Tripp Ministries, pastor, best-selling author of New Morning Mercies

“During his lifetime, David Powlison gave to the church gifts too numerous to mention. His parting gift of this book is no exception. Using Ephesians 6 as a foundation, David makes a compelling case for Christian life and ministry as everyday spiritual warfare empowered by the Divine Warrior himself, our triune God. This is warfare demystified—battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil waged prayerfully and dependently on your knees with Scripture in your hand and your heart.”
Michael R. Emlet, Counselor and Dean of Faculty, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF); author of CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet and Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnoses and Medications

“Safe and Sound protects you from the worst kind of spiritual warfare where you let Satan ‘get in your head.’ We have the high ground. That’s one of David Powlison’s many rich insights in this thoughtful book on fighting the powers of darkness. Taking spiritual warfare seriously does not mean letting Satan shape the narratives around his power. He’s a defeated enemy, with a fatal wound from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!”
Paul E. Miller, Director of seeJesus; author of A Praying Life and J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life

“David helps us regain the language, perspective, and practice of spiritual warfare from the Scriptures. To counsel is to engage in cosmic battles waged in the normal moments of everyday life. Powlison keeps us grounded by reminding us that we do not wage war according to modern philosophies of naturalism, but with the armor of God and the Sword of the Spirit. In the midst of his own battles with the ever-present shadows of death, Powlison is transparent and vulnerable as he shepherds us to rest in the peace found in God’s Word. Expositionally accurate, theologically practical, and winsomely relevant—you will do well to read, heed, and guard his timely biblical counsel.”
Dale Johnson, Jr., Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; Director of Counseling Programs at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“What a gift David Powlison has given us in this, his final book. His familiar voice does what it has always done—it lovingly joins the dots of spiritual reality to the present reality of life. Hear him well: spiritual warfare is not an occasional oddity, it is the central dilemma of every person’s life. This book doesn’t just describe our constant battle—to believe, and repent, and love—it also shows us how to fight—right to the end. And no one who loved David, either in person or through his ministry, will read the final chapter without tears in their eyes.”
Steve Midgley, Executive Director, Biblical Counselling UK; Senior Minister, Christ Church Cambridge