Faith vs. Fear

My friend Alicia did a great talk on Thursday night at Immersion and I wanted to share the highlights and what God spoke to me through her talk and the many things he reminded me of.

God reminded me to continue to take risks. Take risks in all areas of life. Kids are not afraid to take risks, they are not afraid to walk on those "walls" or "curbs". They reach out and grab the hand of the adult walking near them. The adult is comfort to them and guides them along. I love how Alicia parallelled this to us as adults. We so often don't take risks because we are too busy, but more often because we are afraid. We are afraid to step up on those "walls". But, the great thing is like a parent who will guide a child and walk next to them while on the curb, God will hold our hand and walk next to us. When he calls us to step on the walls, He will walk with us through it.

Alicia also talked about 2 Timothy 1:7. It says, "God did not give us the spirit of fear but of power, love and self-control. This verse has been huge for me for many years! She reminded us that faith and fear cannot coexist. Fear is NOT from God! I am so thankful to be remnded about that because sometimes i live in so much fear there is no room for faith and then i miss out on things. Like with my financial struggles right now. I have so much fear from time to time that there is no room for me to have faith that God will provide like He promises. But God does promise so I need to rebuke that fear and believe and have faith. God gives us the power, love, and self-control. We need to focus on that when we are struggling instead of allowing the enemy to let us beleive the lies and fear he has installed in us. I am so thankful for these reminders. It is not easy in these storms but with God all things are possible.

Both of these things that Alicia talked about on Thursday night totally prepared me for Pastor Mike's sermon this week on Jesus calming the storm. Basically it's Faith vs. Fear. How much faith do we have? Do we have enough faith to get up on that curb and allow God to grab our hand and guide us through the storms we are going through? Think about that for yourself. Or...are you afraid? Well like 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "God did not give us the spirit of fear"...that is because fear is not from God. Faith and fear cannot live in the same place. They are like oil and water, they butt heads. So think of the areas of fear in your life right now and give them to God. Have faith that he promises to be with you through the storms and calm the storms. It doesn't mean he will calm the storms immediately but he will calm them. Ask God to show you why you are in this season of storms and what He wants you to learn from them.

I did this a couple nights ago. I prayed, "Show me Lord why I am in this season, but more importantly what lesson do you want me to learn from this." This is what I felt he was speaking to me:

"This is part of the slowing down, you can't do much without money. I am teaching you to be okay with being at home relaxing. I am teaching you how to say 'no' to things. I am teaching you how to be financially smart and not spend 'my' money foolishly."

WOW! some of those things aren't easy to hear. But I have been asking the Lord to show me for a long time how to say 'no' to things and slow down because I am always running, always filling my time and having to be busy. I have been asking Him to help me be more devoted to Him. With slowing down and making even just 5 minutes, which generally turns into at least ten, I get that time with him. The ten minutes is refreshing and a lot can get accomplished especially when done in the middle of the day when my kiddos that I nanny are at school or napping. It reenergizes me for the rest of the day and then I feel great. I continue to encourage all of my readers to just take a simple 5 minutes to stop, don't journal, don't do anything, but be, just be still in the presence of God. It's amazing what he can speak to you or what you start to pray about when you aren't consciously trying. Hope you all had a great weekend and that this encourages you for this new week to come!

Trusting God

Living in this broken world trying to not listen to the enemy speak lies to me is extremely hard, especially during this waiting period about this job in MN. I constantly have to keep myself busy in order not to think about it. Everytime the phone rings I think it is them. It has been 2 1/2 weeks and I am getting very frustrated. But, I don't want to be too busy to take God out of the situation though. I need to put all of my focus on HIM and trust and have faith that on His timing everything will turn out the way He has planned.

I was reading the Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin today that I get everyday in my e-mail and this is what it said: "Let life's circumstances come as they will. Do not be so naive as to think you can outrun difficulty. Trying to run ahead to avoid possible trouble will get you out of the flow of My Spirit, says the Lord. Refuse to be driven by fear. The situations that you encounter will be the platform from which you choose to exercise your faith and trust Me. I am with you, walking with you, if you choose to not lag behind by focusing on the past or running ahead by focusing on the future. Stay with Me."

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

The first sentence caught my eye "Let life's circumstances come as they will." They told me they would call at the beginning of the week and they haven't so I talked to our youth director at my current church and he told me to not call them again because I don't want to seem too eager. I guess that I will let the circumstances come as they will and as God wants them to and not force the situation. It's not an easy thing, it involves a lot of trust and faith. Sometimes I just want to look into the future and say, I am just going to expect to not get the job because then I won't get hurt or disappointed. Sometimes I want to look to the future and look for places to live etc. incase I do have to move suddenly. I don't think either of these are wise choices for me right now. I choose right now to not be afraid of what is to come, not focus on the past or the future but live my life where I am at and keep God at the center and walking with me at all times.

My prayer for each of you is to trust God with all of your situations. Do not place fear in those situations because fear is not from God. 2 Tim. 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control." God is waiting and listening for you to give him your situations so that he can overcome them for you. Trust in God, have faith, and even if things don't turn out the way you want them to, that is okay because you are a child of God and He wants the best for you. He will turn your tough situations into good. I pray that your eyes be open so you can see the good that God has planned for you. Don't look at the past or the future, live in the present and let God be the center of your lives, walking with you in every present moment. AMEN!