Fear: Can It Be Overcome?

              What are you afraid of-the dark, spiders, storms, or death?  Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Everybody experiences some type of fear in our lives. Some even let fear run their lives. They have a fear of something bad happening and are constantly expecting fear. Although we all have fears we were not meant to be rooted in fear. When God created each and every one of us there was no intent of fear being part of our design. That being said fear is not rooted in anything short of sin. We were all born into sin and if we continue to live a life of sin we are constantly put in fear. So how is it then that we get rid of this fear? How can we oppose fear?

                The simplest way to oppose fear is to let love into your life. More importantly, let Jesus Christ’s love into your life. If you let this perfect love into your life it will banish all fear that surrounds your lifestyle. His love for us is so strong that he would never do anything that was not planned. He has a plan for each and every one of us. Even though some situations may seem scary and seem to put you in fear, with complete and total trust in God there will be no fear or worry. Having faith rooted in God’s love is opposite of fear and will bring you out of it. Love conquers fear in every way!

                Now, think of any fear you have. Got it? Repeat after me, “Jesus, I give you every fear in my life. For your love is stronger than anything. Bring me out of this fear into a life of happiness. I give everything up to you. Show me your ways. Teach me to live like you with no fear. Lead me Lord. In your name I pray, Amen.”

For the week, Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Nothings to hard for God...Loss

Death to a loved one always seems to come unexpectedly. Losing that person takes everything out of you. Some feel that there is not even a reason to live after it. Loss eats away at them and they feel as though nothing will ever be the same. It is true, it won’t be the same but the way you live life shouldn’t change. Sure, people around you and the world around can help you cope with the loss but it will not truly heal the emptiness you are feeling. The only and I mean ONLY way to cope with loss is God.

                God is the almighty and only one who can heal our hurts. Let him heal you. Surrender to him and put ourselves and our lives in his hands. And although many believe grief to be an enemy it is not. We grieve because God grieves with us. We are not alone through any of this. He is always right beside us no matter what. We have nothing to fear with him by our side.  

                Although many of us blame him for that loss, he did it for a reason. We all have a time when God is ready to call us home.  And we all have to accept the fact that we will go through many losses in our life. But technically it isn’t an official goodbye. We will all see those people again someday. We live to be in heaven where we will spend eternity. There will be no pain or worries to speak of. There will be such an amazing peace. The peace that is talked about is something unimaginable. Imagine sitting by a babbling brook, with the sun beating down on your shoulders. It seems peaceful doesn’t it? Well, heaven is even more peaceful than that. It is something that every one of us should look forward to. And as long as God is your leader and your savior you will see this beautiful place and be with all your loved ones.  Saying goodbye to someone gets hard, but think about it as an early departure. You will see this person again. Trust me, I know it is hard to say goodbye. I just recently lost my Grandma and it seemed so surreal at the time. But God has told me that she is pain free and is in a better place. And I know I will see her soon. Because honestly, what is a lifetime of worries compared to an eternity of happiness with the one who created us? It is something we all should live for.

                Let’s pray this together, “Jesus, I pray that you guide my life. Show me how you want me to live. Show me that you will always be by my side. You are my rock and salvation. Hold me up when all I want to do is fall. Teach me your ways. I love you more than words can see and will see you soon. In your name I pray, Amen.”

,

For the week I give you this, Psalm 18:2, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the hornof my salvation, my stronghold."

Amazing Faith

               Our lives are built on faith by the way we all throw the word around. For example, when someone is nervous for a test or big game we tell them, "we have 'faith' in you."  But do we really know what faith is? How is it that we define faith then?  In Hebrews 11:1 it states, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Faith is having confidence in what we hope for, but not by our own standards. Faith is the assurance of what we can’t hear, see, taste etc.  It is a reality that is beyond our five senses. But, it is not truly us that have faith in someone; rather that we have faith in Jesus Christ to help them win the game or pass the test. Faith is about putting your trust in God and knowing that he will not let you down. God never gives us anything we can’t handle.

                Alright, so having faith in God may seem easy. At some point we have all said that we have faith in God. Truthfully, many of us struggle with the reality that is faith. For instance, there are some who struggle with their faith in terms of obedience to God, when someone falls severely ill, or when you are not financially stable. Trust me, you are NOT alone. I too have struggled with the reality of faith. My Grandma was diagnosed about a year ago with bone cancer. She has been struggling terribly with it and the doctors have told her that there is nothing more to do and have given her about three months. Well, I would ask myself why God was doing this. Why was he going to take my grandma away from us? It is hard watching my dad go through the struggles he is dealing with when about to lose a parent. After going to youth group, my pastor had a sermon that truly spoke to me.  He said, “Jesus will always be with us no matter what we are dealing with.” And although I was struggling with faith, as many do, he told us six things that can help us grow in our faith.

1.       Influential relationships: Surrounding yourself with people who have strong faith in God will help you to stay connected with him while you may be falling from him.

2.       Engaging in worship: When worshipping, you truly put yourself in the presence of God, even though we are always in that presence.  The words speak through you and it is an easy way to speak to God when you are at a loss of words.

3.       Sharing your faith: Telling others about Jesus can only help you grow closer to him. There are times when words you speak to others make you think and realize what you need to do to be closer to him.

4.       Ministry involvement: Being involved in the church is one of the easiest ways to surround yourself in his presence. You are constantly surrounded by his word and people who also have strong trust in him.

5.       Missions giving: Taking time to give to missions will help you grow. It goes along with sharing your faith. Even though you are not directly sharing God’s word on the missions’ trips you are speaking through them by helping the missionaries get to these places where the need of Jesus is strong.

6.       Learning the Bible: The simplest way to grow in faith is to read the Bible. This is God’s word

      written directly to us. It tells us the way we should be living and brings us on a deeper level

      with God.

              So that is all we need to do. We must focus on the journey of faith. These six steps will help you get on the right path and they will only bring you closer to Jesus. It showed me that putting your faith in God is the only thing to do. Even if you are going through tough situations, God has a reason. He will bring you through the hard times because the end result he has planned will be something that is beyond our own imaginations. His glory truly is great! In closing lets pray, “Jesus, I pray that you guide my life. I put all my faith in you God. I give everything up to you for you have great plans for me. I intend to live my life in the ways you tell me. You are my stronghold and salvation. Show me that you will hold me up when all I want to do is fall. In your name I pray, Amen.”

            For this week, 1 Peter 1:21, "Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God."