Dear Precious Friends,
On this beautiful new day, this Fill Our Soul Sunday, I pray you are embracing this day God has given and seeking Him first. Our hearts, prayers and love cry out to our Father over our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.
In this world we are constantly being bombarded with fear filled messages and concerns. I have to remind myself constantly that God's word says "we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. "2 Tim 1:7
Conquering our fear is not a matter of determining not to be afraid or trying harder not to be afraid, but of being completely dependent on our Father in heaven, in whom we can completely trust. When we think biblically, by daily looking at life through the lens of Scripture, we develop a “sound mind.” And when we have a sound mind, fear just doesn’t make sense. The dictionary definition of intimidation is “to make timid or fearful.” And it is a strategy our enemy, Satan, uses to control us, creating fear in us to keep us from fully following God.
When we truly believe that our Father God will take care of us, it relieves our fears and we see things in the light of eternity. That sounds simple until a real difficulty comes crashing into our lives, like one of the 3 dreaded d words: disease, divorce, or death. But as Corrie ten Boom, who was sent to a Nazi prison camp for helping Jews escape the Nazis, once said, “If God sends us on stony paths, He provides strong shoes.” If we will trust God in difficult, painful moments, He will carry us through. God is fully capable of safely guiding our steps through this life.
A missionary in India was teaching a Hindu woman, whose life had been haunted by a constant dread of countless evil spirits, the Lord’s Prayer. When he got to the end of the first clause, “Our Father which art in Heaven,” she stopped him and said, “If God is our Father, that is enough. There is nothing now to fear.” Having even just that small amount of truth from God’s word was enough to give her a sound mind and change her life.
The Lord commands us to fear not. However, as believers ... how often do we fear, especially when it comes to the unknown. Fear and faith mix about as well as oil and water; yet many walk with the Lord, day after day, and fall prey to the Devil's schemes and fall into the darkness of fear. The fact that God knows all about us, even to the number of hairs on each head(Matthew 10:20), reminds us of the deep love He has for us. What do we do when fear comes knocking on our door? Recognize it and declare Jesus name over it. This is the only way to break free from the bondage of fear. It is all too easy to become intimidated and fearful, when you are listening to the voice of our enemy. Satan is the master of using our fears to stifle you in the heat of the battle. Remember our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is spiritual(Ephesians 6:12), and God has provided and equipped us with all that we need for the battle. We need to stop allowing Satan to torment us with our own fears.
When we hear a voice reminding us of our past, or concerns of what others think or you will fail...we know that voice is not the voice of the One who has told us "fear not". A line has been drawn in the sand, and we need to wake up and cross it, and step into enemy territory without fear, and fully dressed in the Armor of God(Ephesians 6:11), ready to win. “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.
LOVE IS WHAT CASTS OUT FEAR! Our Lord casts out fear! If we are afraid it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” 1 John 4:18. If we fully trust in God and have faith in His ability, He provides us with power and the victory. In the presence of His perfect love, our fears will cease.
“LORD, help us to surrender everything to You again this day, accepting Your path along with Your promise ‘of power and of love and of a sound mind.'”
Source: God's word, Holy Spirit, Daily Devos
