Fear can be defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain and anxiety, whether the the threat is real or imagined.

I went to a class and the topic was about fear and I thought it was so good that I wanted to share on my blog page. I pray this encourages someone. I cannot take credit for the all of this some of the points were from the instructor of the class, but I felt the Lord wanted me to share so here they are.

Most people are afraid of something and often times we don’t want to face that which we are afraid of. That very thing that we fear, can keep us immobilized and paralyzed.  Oftentimes, that thing that we are terrified of is really not that big of a deal but in our minds it is. Too someone else they may be small and insignificant but to the person going through it is huge!! I am not afraid of too many things but one thing that makes me cringe are spiders.  Spiders (too me) are the biggest creatures that when I see them sometimes in the corner of my walls in my home – I hesitate first and then quickly go to remove them. This blog is not about personal fears nor me confessing my fears (and how I pray for God to remove spiders from the earth) but this is about facing fear.

In order to overcome anything – we must confront the fear. You cannot conquer anything you will not confront. Avoidance fuels anxiety and fear.  We must face our fear because this is how we expose it and only through exposure do we reduce fear and anxiety. If I do not ever face the spider that seems to be so terrifying – I will never overcome the anxiety I feel when I see one of these eight legged creatures.

Second, we must fight our fears with faith. We must not believe what the enemy attempts to tell us by responding in faith.  We have the choice to decide how we respond to that which the enemy wants us to believe. Fear is destructive but faith creates. Fear destroys but faith produces. Fear makes us forget God and his care for us; faith helps us focus on his love and power. Just like in the text, when they came to the tomb they were afraid of what they would find but they went anyway and found the stone rolled away. Imagine if they did not go but sat in sadness and did not go to where Jesus’ tomb was?  Your faith must be bigger than your fear. Be a warrior not a worrier. Our weapon is the word of God-learn to study and find scripture that will help you overcome whatever you have to face.

Follow God’s word in spite of your fears. 1 Corinthians 15:58, one of my favorite scriptures, tells us to Don’t move, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Don’t quit- be decisively consistent. (James 1:8) Don’t be double-minded in your thinking. We must make a decision and trust God with it and oftentimes that decision is very hard and you must believe God’s word to get you through. Whenever there is mounting fear, God calls for greater steadfastness.  It is not easy to overcome fear in our own might, because the thoughts, worry and anxiety of the unknown can get the best of us. Fear comes in many different ways friend and we don’t always know what to do but there is one source that we can always count on to be there for us, even carry us THROUGH the fear. That is reassuring to know that we have a Father that will be there for us no matter what if we will just trust him.

There was an acronym taken away from the class. (I think it is really good)

F- Faith in Gods Word and character. You must know who Jesus is and believe what His Word tells us about who he is and who we are.

A- Awareness of God’s promises. You must know the promises of God that relate to your life and your fears. Read his word to find out what he says about you.

C- Commitment to God’s conditions. You must commit yourself to the conditions and follow the life instructions God provides for us. It is the compass for a peaceful, successful life.

E- Engagement against the enemy. You must actively claim the promises of God and use them as a sword against your fears.  Fear is our enemy but we can defeat it.

Be blessed and share with someone this week…

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. 4,000 people have attempted to climb but only 660 were successful. 142 people have died trying to climb this wonder of the world.  It’s height is 29,028 feet or 5 and a half miles above sea level. This is equivalent to 20 Empire State buildings. It was named after a British general Sir George Everest and its highest peak is called a summit.

I did not come to talk about Mount Everest but there is a valuable similarity when it comes to our lives, this mountain and resistance.  When we think about Mount Everest  and all those people that desired to reach the top they had to go through many adverse conditions, some controllable and some not.  This mountain is not easy to climb and the elevation reached along the way can be treacherous to the human body.  The more one reaches to higher elevations that much more resistance can be felt. I would like to believe that elevation always brings about a challenge  or unknown certainty.  I am so glad that when God gets ready to elevate us that it is not contingent on our own ability.

1. Elevation will only come at the cost of moving from tradition to where God wants us. If you look at where you are right now in life you have two choices before you.  Either you are willing to move from where you are or you our still where you have been.  Christ desires to change your mindset, your thought process, your traditional way of doing things. Too many of us follow or are stuck in tradition as opposed to what Christ desires.  If David only believed he was destined to be a shepherd only, he never would have become the king he was created to be.  David came from a family of shepherds ( that was his tradition). Those that climbed the great mountain had to move beyond the low point (the normalcy) to get to a place where you cant see but believe that you can make it there.
2. God will always provide help in the time of elevation.  Our elevation is always sealed by the love of the Father.   When climbing mount Everest there are various “oxygen levels” that if you are not prepared to adapt to, you could perish.  The higher the elevation the thinner the air is in which can cause suffocation without proper equipment.  No one was able to make the climb without the proper gear. In the same way, the Lord provides what we need to allow us to go through and push through to make it.  The resistance found in elevation builds us up and the Father already knows that we can make it with his help and his strength. Don’t look at what is before you but look at what God will do when he is providing for you. I am grateful for times that the Father knows best and he knew just what we need and when we need it. When the winds pickup in our lives we can rest in the fact that we have the tool that is needed to survive.
3. People will only want to elevate you to where they are comfortable with you being.  It is so interesting that resistance can oftentimes be found in those in your closest circle. Maybe a loved one giving push back or just friction in households but if we can push through the resistance. I am reminded of how Saul kept David with him and would not let him return home. Saul made David a commander over the men of war not only because he was gifted but because he was intimidated by him. Sometimes man will try to control elevation but God will take you to the heights that He desires for you. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the plans I have for you, saith the Lord.” Elevation always comes with resistance and everyone does not reach where God wants them to be. Look at Mount Everest. We must learn to keep our eyes on the Lord and not on those around us. Saul was comfortable with David as long as he was where He (Saul) believed he should be.  Jesus was accepted as long as HE was doing what the people of the day thought he should be doing. As soon as he began doing things they did not agree with they turned on him.  In our own lives, often we only want to be elevated with the Lord where it is comfortable for us but the moment He creates discomfort within our inner man we don’t want that anymore or we attempt to abort or sabotage the mission. (ever been there)   A deeper understanding or searching for the Lord will cost us comfort; removing our traditions of who God is will cost us comfort; denying our sinful man will cost us comfort; changing our thinking and thought process (renewing the mind) will cost us comfort. But the reward is in the elevation!
4. Elevation will always come from a spirit of humility.  Climbing Mount Everest takes patience and a calm, steady temperament because there are various factors that can effect making it to the top. I know that out of those 4,000 climbers that attempted to make it to the “Summit” some just gave up and turned around. However, the one that is able to keep his focus and his purpose ahead of him without losing sight made it.  Again referencing King David, who always was in a capacity to serve and never became too proud or anxious to be moved from where he was. Some people now cannot understand why you are where you are and it is truly because of the Almighty God that you serve. We can be elevated in the midst of adversity. There are many who God has placed his hand upon because of the humility or reverence that they have for the Savior. The resistance found in elevation can be such a rewarding experience to go through.  When you go through it with the right provisions and the right spirit. Ask the Lord to help you to look at the resistance found in elevation from His perspective and keep climbing.

Be Blessed

Ever feel like you are just existing or feel like “Lord what am I supposed to be doing?” Or sometimes we can feel like we are not being as productive or effective as we should for the kingdom. Why do we feel this way at times? More important is it true?

Dealing with everyday life, career, marriage, children, etc. can take its toll on us from day to day. However, we must never allow the travails of everyday life to leave us not remembering or filling purpose that God has given us. It easy to get caught up with everyday life and not intentionally remember that God has put something inside of us. We all have been put here to fill a purpose but it is up to us to pick it up. It wont just jump in our hands, it wont just manifest itself if we don’t take action to shape it.

We must pick it up without hesitation whatever you have been called to or whatever has been put in your hand to fulfill.  In this passage, the sons of the prophet (Elisha) had went to cut wood to build a home in Jordan. As they went and were fulfilling purpose the ax head (they were using to cut wood) was lost in the water.

First point, where did you lose purpose where did you lose that thing that God had given you to do?  We can lose sight of purpose in the midst of trying to fulfill it. It sometimes may seem as if we cannot recover due to possibly our own sabotage, disobedience or even our own laziness. It is interesting that the purpose was not the ax but the tool to fulfill the purpose was lost. What has the Lord given you in your hand to help? What people or situations has God shown you that are there to help you? What friends are you surrounded with that are there to help you fulfill purpose?

Second, Elisha asked the man in the text, “Where fell it?” Talking about the ax. The passage says, “he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick and cast it in to the river and the iron came up.” Now I don’t know if you have been to Ripley’s believe it or not museum, but from my perspective this should be categorized in there. But seriously, Elisha was shown the place where purpose was lost and then he had the faith to pick it up again.  We must have the faith to pick purpose back up.  It is not enough to lose it and just say oh well. No the Lord always has a plan and wants us to use that which is around us to pick purpose back up. Say it to yourself right now, “Pick it up!”  Don’t allow a temporary setback to be the end of that which you are supposed to do. Don’t allow a hurt word, or the lose of a relationship, or the lose of a friend or our own insecurities to drop purpose and say all is lost. Trust your faith and get it back. Notice how Elisha used another stick to get the ax head back but his power was in his faith. The river was not going to be his hindrance to the purpose at hand. We must have the same tenacity and faith to do the same thing.  Pick it up whatever, wherever, whomever caused you to lose it do not stay there. Pick it up!

Third and final point, We must seize the opportunity when it comes again.  This is good news because when the ax head floated back to the top, Elisha says to the servant, “take it up and put it in your hand.”  The opportunity presented itself again. This is two fold, representing the second chance and the grace of a loving Father that does give us an opportunity to fulfill purpose again. That is something to just stop and praise God for. God allowing or giving us the “unmerited favor” to fulfill that which we lost in the first place.

Do not waste the time that God gives us, let us be about the Father’s business and do pick it up again. Pick up whatever you have put down, or that which you have lost -have enough faith to say I will pick it up again. Seize the opportunity so that it can be fulfilled for the purposes that HE has for us.

Be blessed.