Tag: fear

Fear

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The road before you may look different than you expected and you are not sure where it will lead.

But God does.

He knows what lies before you and He has promised that no matter what happens, He will be with you:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Isaiah 43:1-2 NIV

God is not suggesting it. He is not asking you to consider it, He is not giving it to you as an option… it is a command: Do not fear.

Fear will never cease to have power over you until it is replaced by a greater power – the love of Jesus.

You are a chosen, treasured child of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for you. God has called you out of the place you have been and planted you in a new place.

A new place that has new possibilities, new problems, new opposition to face and new victories to experience. Not one of these things is meant to be handled by yourself. You are not alone, God is with you. You are His and He is good at taking care of His own.

Step into the New Year with a heart determined to trust Jesus.

Walk every day with the knowledge that you are His and He has called you to this place.

Rest every day in His grace and mercy, He has an endless supply for you to use.

 

He Cares For You

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One morning during worship, a familiar fear wondered into my mind. With my hands already lifted in worship, I felt the Lord say to me, “You can hold onto your fear, or you can give it to me but you can’t do both.”

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Cast –  to toss. You can’t throw something without letting it go.

All – every irrational fear, every overwhelming worry. as they come.

Your – they are not God’s anxieties but He will take them.

Anxiety – the word used here means to be drawn in different directions. Literally means to be torn apart.

On Him – where to put what is tearing you apart. Jesus is strong enough to carry them, no matter how heavy they are. He will not remove the circumstances that are causing you anxiety but he will walk you through them and teach you how to deal with them.

Because He Cares – this is a present active verb as in “caring right now in this present moment”

For You – yes, YOU.

God is caring for you right now.

The quote “Don’t tell me that worry doesn’t work, because what I worry about doesn’t happen” used to be one of my favorites before I met Jesus.

God doesn’t want fear to be the center of your life – He wants to be the center of your life.

Make Jesus the center and cast your fears on Him today.

 

Faith Journey

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This faith journey with Jesus is just that, a faith journey.

It is not a fear journey.

Faith and fear are both ways to walk into the unknown and I have a secret to tell you – every new day is unknown. You don’t know what will happen. It could go as planned or go completely different. Sometimes better different, sometimes not so much.

Are you living today in faith or in fear?

Fear will hold you back, faith will release you forward.

I’m not suggesting that you ignore your fear or be in denial of it. I’m encouraging you to not let fear decide or dictate what you do or don’t do.

Going to the next level on your faith walk is trusting Jesus with all the unknowns and allowing Him full access and full authority in the places of your heart that are ruled by fear.

He will begin right where you are at today and walk with you every day after to show you how.

What do you do with your fears? Take them to the cross.

The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭NIV

It is a good thing to live your life through Christ, it is a better thing to let Christ live His life through you.

His agenda, your body.

His purposes, your gifts.

His love, your hands.

What fears are blinding your vision?

What do you need to take to the cross?

What are you trusting Jesus for today?

Today, surrender your fearful vision of what might happen and ask God to give you His faith-filled vision of what can happen through Him.

Love Fearlessly

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To love deeply gives you strength.
To be loved deeply gives you courage.

One of the most amazing things about receiving God’s love (and I mean really receiving it- taking it in, letting it sink into your soul, walking in the truth of it, living loved) is that it gives you courage.

Courage to step out of your comfort zone.

Courage to change the way you talk to yourself and to others.

Courage to not give in to old habits, coping mechanisms or escape tactics.

Courage to face your feelings and your issues.

Deal with them honestly and work them through because you are loved– completely, unconditionally and fearlessly by God. When you grasp this, even just a bit of it- you will begin to love others fearlessly and let go of fear yourself.

“My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.”

1 John 3:18-20 MSG

When anxiety is stealing your joy, you can bet it is also stealing your ability to love fearlessly as well. Put your worries in God’s capable hands and get busy loving the people He has placed in your life.

Have a wonderful fearless- loving day, my friend!

The Weight of Anxiety

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In order to cast ALL your anxiety on Him, you have to move your focus from your anxiety to your Savior.

You are focused on what you’re worried about, what you can’t control, what you are not strong enough to carry. You are focused on the problem and how heavy it weighs upon your shoulders. You are focused on your own hands when God is asking you to focus on His heart. 

He cares for you.

He cares for more than you can comprehend. 

When you are in the middle of a fierce storm feeling out of control and tossed around, you ask Jesus, like the disciples did in Mark 4:38, “Do you even care that I’m in this storm? I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t cause it to happen and I’m not sure if I’m going to make it through.” 

The answer is yes, He cares. 

Yes, He knows.

Yes, He can handle it.

In fact, the Hebrew word used for “care” in both the above passages is the SAME word used in 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV):

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The word “cast” is a word picture of throwing something very heavy and getting it out of your hands.

Jesus can handle whatever you are carrying. He who carried the weight of your sin can carry the weight of your fears.

Does God care? 

Yes, He absolutely does.

Expansive Grace

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God’s love is so expansive that there is room enough for you and room enough for every person you know. The cross does not have a limited space available sign on it. Jesus stretched out His arms for all. God has embraced you and placed you within the unearned luxury of His love.

“But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am.

And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 MSG

Don’t let God’s grace go to waste.

Don’t let your insecurities dictate your obedience.

Don’t let fear hold you back from living and giving God’s love.

God has placed you where you are for such a time as this. Embrace it in grace. Engage in it with grace. Generously receive it and generously give it.

When you find yourself embraced in the center of God’a grace, you can’t help but reach out to those who don’t know that there is enough room in God’s love for them too.

Don’t waste a second.

Someone out there desperately needs to know it.

Mistake Making

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When you step out in faith and put yourself out there, life will push back.
It’s not going to be easy and you will make mistakes.
A mistake means that you are trying,
so pick yourself up off the ground and try again.
Do something new.
Relate to people in a new way.
Reach out beyond your comfort zone.
Take that step of faith …again.
Risk failure.
Failure is not fatal.
Jesus told a story about this very thing:
“The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent…’
The Master was furious…
Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most.
And get rid of this ‘play-it-safe’ who won’t go out on a limb.”
Matthew 25: 24,26,30 MSG
You will never get anywhere if you run back to what you know at every challenge.
God is calling you to grow. To take what He has given you and invest it.
My friend, get out there and make a lot of new mistakes, get out of your comfort zone, risk and invest what God has placed in your hands. You don’t have to play it safe with the love and grace of God – He has more than enough for you to give it away freely and without fear.