Growing up, a passage that has gotten so engraved in my mind from my mother repeating it to me and having me memorize it is 2 Timothy 1:7 "for God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, love and of sound mind". Today if you ask people what is your greatest fear very few people will say that they have no fear and the people that do are not necessarily saying it because they so much trust God but because they want to appear fearless before man. My response to the question has always been that i am afraid of failing in life and i am afraid of not being loved. But from a relationship with God i realize that it is impossible for me and any child of God not to be loved because we have a father and friend that loved us sooooo much that he gave up his position as king just to come and suffer as a common slave and die on our behalf. That quality of love can not be replicated ("Like a rose trampled on the ground, you took the fall and thought of me, Above all!"). Its funny that my standard of love was based on man and i, like so many, neglect the fact that i am forever promised a love that is greater than any man can ever offer. Understanding this love also helps alleviate my second fear because a God that loves me that much could never and would never allow me to become a failure unless i simply push Him out of every area of my life.
What has been your fear growing up and how has your growing relationship with God helped alleviate that fear?
p.s This just gave me something to tell my dad when he complains that i watch movies and shows instead of watching the news lol. The news instills too much fear in people because people especially parents start fearing that living in certain areas will cause you to get shot because its dangerous; or going on a cruise will lead to your death because of all the ships sinking; or travelling certain places like Nigeria will lead to kidnapping all because of what they see on the news. As parents of course it is only natural to be afraid for your child and concerned about their well being but sometimes what we as humans forget is that the PRESENCE of all this FEAR is the ABSENCE of FAITH. The truth of the matter is this world is a dangerous place and anything can happen anytime anywhere. We are not alive today because we live in the safest neighborhoods or drive the safest cars or never travel. We are alive and well unlike many people who die doing the same things we do everyday simply because we are under the protection of the Most High. There will always be something to fear, just turn on the news and every death, explosion, countless of unexpected accidents and disasters will show you that there is always something to be afraid of but there is no need fearing something you can not change; all you can do is put your trust in the one person that can deliver you from all these things!
Has anyone else ever found it difficult to fear God because we are sometimes so focused on the love aspect? "O how He loves us, He is so merciful and His grace is ALWAYS sufficient unto us, He always wants the best for us" This is typically the only way we think of God. What helps balance this mentality is realizing that just like He is all powerful to bring us all the wonderful things His hand has ever created, He is also all powerful to allow evil to come to us just like he does when defending us from our enemies. Just like He is a God of love He is Also a God of war, we only wish never to see the war aspect unless He is fighting on our behalf. But it is important to know that when it comes to God fear and love go hand in hand. We do not want to obey God simply out of fear because He holds the whole world world in His hand and can bring anything to happen either to us or for us. Instead we want to always want to please Him because we love Him so much and would never want to do anything that is displeasing to Him or cause Him to be disappointed in us (I am still learning this).
Hope you are all blessed by this chapter.
I Pray that everyone in the Boston area and their families are all safe and well ~plz pray for Boston.
<Testimony: I was actually suppose to be at the marathon all day for work but i got a phone call Sunday afternoon changing my plans. God def has a reason for everything so lets strive never to question Him and always to trust Him. I thank god for He loves me more than i could EVER deserve!>
Have a wonderful week everyone
L&B Abbie E. <3
You're preaching on this post Abbie! :-)
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to what you said. I've had to stop watching shows like "Law & Order" or "Snapped" because of the fear that it brought to me... let alone news stories of men eating people's faces!! People are crazy, the world is getting worst, but like Abbie mentioned at the end of the day if we are safe and provided for, it's because of Who we have as a Father. What a priviledge! So I encourage everyone to cast out feelings of fear as they come. Whether it's fear of danger, fear to not do well in school, etc... God said He has great plans to prosper us and bring us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)
Scriptures that help fight against ungodly fear:
ReplyDeleteDeuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." (ESV)
Matthew 28:20b, "...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (NAS)
WOW I am without words simply because what you have written has touched my heart. I love your testimony because it reminded me of my REv. he always says things like "oh don't you think that the reason why we are topped here for the train to pass is GOD's work?" and I always said REV. that's weird, but today I when I missed my train I remembered his words and although I was mad I kept saying that maybe God is protecting me against something. Your testimony also reminded me of that he has reasons why he allows things to happen the opposite of our plans. I thank GOD for your life he, he is to us all but he is for his children, you we're under his protection.
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