Wednesday, September 17, 2014

FIGHTING FEAR

You know how you go to sleep and while your sleeping the Lord just speaks.  Well, I woke up with this very topic in my head this morning.  I tried to get this post out of my head, but it has followed me in my heart. All. Day. Long.  This is challenging for me to write about as I DAILY battle with "it"  in my life.

 F.E.A.R.!!!!!!  There it is ladies.  Yep, I am putting it out there! I can't stand it and it is wreaking havoc in my life and the lives of others I know. Sheesh! So let's talk about it.


What Is It?
I have heard it said by my Pastor, Kevin James, fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.  In my life what does it look like daily.  Well, let's see... It sounds and looks a little bit like this:

Because...

  • I am not qualified to talk about God's Word and pour it into to others....It appears in the form of me not sitting at my desk writing a post.  
  • I didn't live a life honoring to the Lord in my childhood years...It appears as me fighting the thoughts of am I going to mess my kids up in the head. 
  • I was "last minute lucy" in applying to colleges... It appears as me conversing with my teenager for the 20th time about college choices, as if he is going in the Spring and is not a junior in high school. 
  • I have no skill set like ANYONE from HGTV...  It appears as my house isn't "show" ready, so how could I possibly reflect a Proverbs 31 woman? Or let alone pour in to woman for that matter about biblical womanhood.(Even though, it truly is NOT a priority on my list. I'd rather cook. I'm a lover of good cooked meals.)
  • I didn't respond well to my spouse...It appears that I will NEVER get victory over my responses to my spouse.
On and on it goes.... I could continue on, but then it would just sound like a pity party.



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What Is So Wrong With Fear?

Here is what I have found:


1. Fear is not the TRUTH!  It's that simple. As a woman of faith, God has revealed to me that it is in my failures where God gets ALL the glory and draws others to himself. When I allow fear to control me from doing, going, or being the person God created me to be; I will be stagnant and therefore, never able to fulfill His glorious plan for my life. 1For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  What has God revealed to you that you are to be doing to fulfill His purpose in your life? 


2.  Fear is a TACTIC!  I have recognized that fear is a tactic the devil uses to thwart my purpose in Christ.    The devil has strategies to take us off the grid of living for God intentionally.  Listen to what scripture says in John 10:10.  The thief(Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  Okay, so this is crazy!  This verse makes it so clear about why Satan comes.  First of all, he's not even trying to step to you UNLESS you are living for God. Plain and simple.  Satan is the father of  death.  God is the Father of life.  So, I am either going in one direction or the other.  Ouch.  This is convicting ya'll.  Jesus came (not just past, but present perfect-for now and for all time to come) so we can have not just life eternally, but life abundantly!  He wants us to live in Him while we are living on earth.  So, I have to allow the abundant living Christ paid for to wash over my thoughts, wash over my heart, wash over what I should be doing for His glory!

3.  Fear is a TIME WASTER!  OOOOWEEE!  The Lord is speaking to me today!  Fear is a time waster.  I just began to think about the times DAILY when I have a thought that is crippled by fear and how long I can go through the what if's, instead of just being obedient and saying yes!  If I fall on my face, SO WHAT!  I'm falling hard for Jesus!  That's why the 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 ,Concerning this thing I(Paul) pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. When I fall there is a humbling that takes places and a dependence on Christ to pick me up.  I am time wasting when I just keep analyzing, because I am prideful thinking "How can I not fall?  How can I look good?  How can I boast in my self and what I am doing?"  WHAT IN THE WORLD!!!!! I am ignoring a need for God and ultimately am going to end up back at reliance on self, which ALWAYS brings forth death.  HELP ME LAWD!!!!  

Ya'll I am just pouring forth my soul, because this is REAL in my life right now.  It's crazy too, because by the grace of God, I believe God for crazy stuff for others, but not for myself.  Don't get me wrong,  I mean me sitting at my computer RIGHT NOW is an act of obedience!  I literally have to shift from fear to faith, EVERY SINGLE TIME I right a post or speak at an event.  This is as REAL as it gets in my life right now.  So, I have come to a resolution today:  If we error, let's err on the side of obedience(what God is asking of us to do). Whose with me?

Pause: Reread the following scripture passages listed above. 

Ponder: Make 2 columns with, "What God Says" & What God Is Saying To Me" in regards to the things that you are allowing fear to control.  

Petition:  Tell Him.  Listen.  Do.

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