How Do We Fight the Fear?

I have a memory to share:

As a little girl, I remember telling my dad of a bad dream.

Scared me silly.

He said next time I have one of those dreams,  I need to force myself to speak to the scary and say to it you’re not real. This is only a dream, and now I’m going to open my eyes. Then force my eyes open.

That very night, I tried it.

It worked.

I couldn’t tell you what that dream was about; I don’t remember it.

I only remember what my father told me to do, and how to overcome fear.

But what about when we’re awake, and the scary is real?

Fear comes in different forms.

• It comes with fancy names, a phobia for every occasion
• It comes through medical reports, relationships, finances
• It comes when we need to move on , and when the lights go out
• It comes in what may happen, and what may not

From the creepiest bug, to the most overwhelming of circumstances. We’ve all experienced fear.

When fear encompasses our day, engulfs our thoughts, our effectiveness in serving and fulfilling our calling is greatly diminished.

Of course the enemy wants us to live in fear because:

FEAR = INEFFECTIVENESS

Fear weakens our spiritual immune system, and can cause physical harm as well.

In James 4:7, the word tells us to surrender to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from us.

There is evil in the world, no argument there.

But we can easily blame the devil for our own disobedience; our own unwillingness to surrender to God. Surrendering isn’t easy, but we tend to make it harder don’t we? It’s not as complicated as we make.

We have to learn to surrender our fear to God;

and this is key, we have to let  Him keep it.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”                                                                                                                                                                                         Romans 8:15

It’s time to cry Abba, Father, help me not to fear.

In order to squash fear, we need to take on a healthy fear:

The fear of the Lord. A reverent fear. A fear and awe of God.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.                                                                                                                                                                Proverbs 31:30 NIV

Love casts out fear akin to death, because we are kin to the Bread of Life.

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”                                                                                                                           Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV

What happens when we tell our kids not to do something, and they do it anyway?

Disobedience brings consequences.

God tells us numerous times not to fear. Ah, I get it.

And isn’t brave cooler anyway?

Face  Every  Anxiety  Resolved

Let’s be resolved to trust God and not fear.  Stand like Daniel; firm in faith and never wavering.

Be  Resolved  As  Virtuous  Esthers

Like Esther, we can have courage, we can be brave enough to face fear resolved.

Girls, we can do this. We can do this together. We can do all things through Christ.

Let’s fight back like David.

When he stepped out to face a giant piece of fearful, heads rolled.

Well, a head anyway, and it wasn’t David’s. We need not hide in fear, when we can crush it with faith.

Let’s remember our Father’s instructions for overcoming fear:

Surrender it to Him.

Speak to the scary. Yell if it helps.

Tell it God says I shall not fear. Then say:  Now I’m going to open my eyes to His truth.

How are you fighting fear today?

Share in the comments, so I can stand with you in prayer.

Need A Rescue?

Ever feel you’ve wandered into a desert place?

Stranded on a deserted island of desperate circumstances? Sort of in-between, stuck.

I faithfully watched Gilligan’s Island as a kid. Ridiculous at times, yet amusing to see the zany plans the cast would devise in their desperation to be rescued.

The entire show hinged on rescue.

What happens when we need a rescue?

As the theme song goes, the weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. We can surely feel tossed like salad when the seas of life get rough.

Remember the next verse? If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost.

God is calling us to have fearless courage. But life can be scary, making us feel like wimps in rough waters, nauseated and green. Lost.

Isn’t it true we can become comfortable in our deserts? As long as we’re in the desert, things are familiar. Dipping a toe out of the comfort zone can be more frightening than the desert places themselves.

So again I say, God is calling us to have fearless courage, to gear up and be brave. Our brave can look quite different than someone else’s, so let’s not compare.

If God is for us, who can be against us? Truth be told, it may not feel that way at times, but…

God is for us. He loves us always. It’s His character. It’s His promise.

By the way, God doesn’t send us into battle without the proper equipment. He has given us spiritual, supernatural armor. Not the kind David rejected, bulky and clunky. This armor fits like a glove.

Here’s the proof of truth:

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”   Ephesians 6:10-18

God instructs us to stand. Let’s stand together. Let’s quench fiery darts and wield our Swords and raise our Shields. Where’s your sword of the Spirit? I hope it’s standing open, but if not, it’s time to dust it off. Don’t worry, it’s still as sharp as ever.

Love Dorothy’s ruby slippers, but clicking those heals together will get us nowhere. Hands lifted in praise and prayer? Exceedingly more powerful than we can even fathom.

The Holy Spirit is our guide, our Comforter, our Helper.

Let’s stand in fearless courage and be brave. Nothing is impossible with God.

Let’s gird our waists with truth. And what does Merriam-Webster.com say about the word gird?

  to prepare for action :  muster up one’s resources

Prepare for action and muster up heavenly resources.

Did you know resources include friends to stand with you in prayer? Friends who will stand with you in battle? If you don’t have true friends, pray for them. If you pray for them, they will come.

There are some serious fiery darts flying that need extinguishing.

Let your helmet of Salvation protect your mind from fear. When you are saved, He saves you. Rescued.

Need a rescue?

• When we feel desperate in the desert God will not desert us. The words desert, deserted, and desperate begin with the same sound. How about the sound of this: destiny and design.We were designed by God to fulfill a destiny. He has plans for us, and they’re not zany.
• When we feel nauseated and green, He is the calm to our storm.
• There’s water in the desert to dampen parched lips and quench dry souls. Jesus, Living Water. Drink Him in and we will never thirst.
• Hungry? The Bread of Life is free. Jesus, He is the Bread of Life.
• Those worldly things we like chasing after; wealth, fame, position… They’re a mirage. They don’t fulfill. They can disappear right before our eyes. Seek God, He’s real and He’s not going anywhere. He’s with us:

  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”                                                                                                                Joshua 1:9 NASB

   

Here’s a challenge: Share these passages of scripture to encourage at least one person this week. Your feet may be the ones meant to take them the gospel of peace.

Once you’ve shared the scripture verses, let us know in the comments.

See you on the battlefield.

Love In Christ,

Doris

Do you know Jesus, our Living Water and Bread of Life? He is the Way. Check out the Meet Jesus tab on this website. Surrender your life, and be changed.

4 Ways: Fight Discouragement

Have you felt discouraged lately?

Hanging on like an Autumn leaf, fearing the slightest breeze could send you plummeting?

Guess what? You’re not alone.

This word discouraged. Seems it’s been a common thread running through conversations over the last several days. I’ve been there too.

We get tired; we grow weary; we have thoughts of giving up. We wonder where our passion has gone; why the fire feels as though extinguished.

The opposite of discourage is encourage; within both, courage can be found. In every discouraging circumstance in our lives, we must dig deep and find courage. Christ in us, the hope of glory. Christ. In. Us. What could make us braver than that? God knows we face discouragement; yes, Jesus endured so we would not grow weary.  Then the flicker. It’s still there. 

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Hebrews 12:3 (NKJV)

Feeling discouraged? I’ve been there too. Reach out to a friend. Reach out for prayer. Reach out; because when we reach out, we aren’t holding in.

Discouragement isn’t cause to give up; it’s cause to step up. Grab courage right out of the middle of discouragement. tweet it

God has given us gifts to use; He has positioned us where we stand at this very moment in time. What could be more discouraging than not using our gifts? God chooses the weak to shame the strong. It may be a harder road than we would choose, but I’d rather be chosen than choose easy. How about you?

“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”      2 Corinthians 12:10 (NASB)  

Here are 4 ways to fight discouragement:

1. Pray. It may seem obvious, but we’ve been known to forget. It’s okay to talk with God about our discouragement. It’s His joy to refresh our souls.

2. Redirect our focus by boasting in the Lord, instead of thinking more of ourselves than we ought. Discouragement can be a form of pride. We feel sorry for ourselves for what we haven’t achieved; for what we haven’t accomplished; for where we’d hoped to be by now; for not being more appreciated; for feeling we don’t have a voice. Let’s redirect our focus off of ourselves and onto God. Let’s release the burden of self. God inhabits the praises of His people. Praise changes things. Praising through difficult circumstances takes our eyes off the difficult circumstances. Supernatural changes happen when we praise Him.

3. Believe the Word, really believe it. If I asked you if you believe what the Bible says is true, most of you would say of course I do. Do you believe it’s true for you? I’ve said this before, it’s easier to encourage others than it is to grab hold of it for ourselves. Believe the promises are personal. Wait on the Lord. “He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it” Philippians 1:6.  I’m thinking you’ve encouraged someone with that truth. Be encouraged, the you in that scripture means you.

4. Take time to rest. Discouragement and exhaustion go hand-in-hand. In music, a rest means you don’t play a note. Maybe we’re playing too many notes and ignoring all the rests. When we do, we aren’t playing the music as it was meant to be played. Rest in Him. Speaking of music, pop in your favorite worship music. Uplifting and encouraging lyrics is food for the soul. Maybe it’s as simple as knowing we’re not alone. Not the way the world says misery loves company, but the way the Word says unity through humility.

Remember friends, feeling discouraged doesn’t mean we’ve been defeated; it probably means we’re doing something right.  Press on. His mercies are new every morning.

Blessings and Peace to you,

DORIS

New American Standard Bible (NASB)Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman FoundationNew King James Version (NKJV)The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Could You Be A Certain Woman?

  I am filled with exuberance at the mention of  “a certain woman” in Judges who rocked the world of her people, literally. Who was she? When I get home one day, I hope to meet her, but for now I don’t even know her name.

Here’s the passage:

“Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it. But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower.So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire. But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.”  Judges 9:50-53 (NKJV)

Abimelech, was one evil dude. Son of Jerubaal (who was Gideon) and his concubine, he schemed to reign through deceit and murder, and wound up sporting a mortal wound inflicted by a certain woman. Evidently, he feared humiliation of death by a woman worse than death itself, so he implored his armor-bearer to finish him off with a sword. He had no clue God would insure generations to come would know the truth.

I ponder the events of this certain woman’s day, and imagine emotions she must have experienced. She had no idea when she awoke that morning, God had a plan to use her to save the people of Thebez from death by fire. I’m sure adrenaline pumped fiercely through her veins, mustering up holy strength and courage to drop a millstone on the head of a man on a rampage. She was living out a call; one she knew nothing of, until the moment she took action. God chose this woman, just as He has chosen us.

What if she knew what was in store for her that day, do you think she would have gotten out of bed?  What would have happened if she hadn’t?

The stone may have made an impact on Abimelech, however, it was nothing compared to the impact this woman made in HIStory.  She stared fear in the face and came out victorious through the power of God. Does that not bring you hope? It brings me hope. Just this certain ordinary woman used by an extraordinary God.

So why would God withhold her name? I am in no way a Bible scholar, but I have a theory: the name recognition game doesn’t matter to God. He will use us whether the world knows our name or not. We don’t need to be well-known or achieve a certain level in society in order for God to use us for His glory. Isn’t that refreshing?

Although I hope dropping a millstone on someone’s head is not on my divine agenda today, the sheer excitement of expectancy, the unimaginable possibilities of what God can do through willing vessels, is more than I am able to contain.

Could you be a certain woman? Could I?  The answer is yes, if we are willing.