"Instead of allowing the world to speak into your life, I urge you to be empowered by His Word."
Fear. It can wreak havoc on your life should you let it. Living in fear can make you crumble, doubtful, prideful, anxious, and so much more, but fear is not from God. Fear is a worldly spirit, and the enemy loves to use fear in his arsenal against us.
Hear my heart – I’m not invalidating your feelings of fear. I struggle with fear in multiple ways. But what I’ve learned as I’ve walked with Christ is fear has no authority over me, my thoughts, my actions, etc. so long as I don’t allow it. Because of The Holy Spirit living inside of me, fear has no place in my heart, mind, or soul (2 Timothy 1:7).
I plead with you today – don’t be like me. I used to be mild, meek, doubtful, and insecure. The root of these things? FEAR. Fear of man, fear of failing, fear of _______. I’ve been disobedient to God in the past because of fear. I’ve missed out on opportunities the Lord placed in my path because of fear. Because of fear, I listened to the world more than I believed and trusted His Word. I repeat - don’t be like me. Instead of allowing the world to speak into your life, I urge you to be empowered by His Word. Paul encourages us in Hebrews chapter 10,
"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith
and preserve their souls” (Hebrews 10:35-39 ESV).
When believers are saved, they receive their salvation through repentance and faith. A Christian’s faith results in salvation AND the “preservation” of their souls. Why? Because believers have an inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s because of this we can be confident in our daily walk as exiles. We will face suffering (James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:12-19), but because of our faith in Jesus Christ, because of what He did on the cross, we remain hopeful and confident through the trials of life. Our home is not here – our home is in Heaven with our loving Father and Savior.
2020 and 2021 have been interesting and hard. I’m well into adulthood, a leader in my church, a Christian of 20+ years, and I’ve found myself deeply struggling through the pandemic mentally, emotionally, and physically. This season of life has burdened me, and I know I’m not alone. However, I write to you today from a place of deep healing and revelation. I pray these words, and more importantly the Holy Spirit, speak to your soul. As believers, "we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." You have a choice to make: be destroyed by the things of this world, or choose to activate and practice your faith by trusting in the Lord?
I urge you to reflect on your heart and mind. Choose to rise up and have FAITH in our Creator. Make the choice to TRUST in the Lord today, and when you wake up tomorrow, do the same thing and every day thereafter. We are called to walk in His victory, which means we are called to walk in His freedom, not bound by things of this world, but FREE in Christ. We have VICTORY in Jesus - can I get a HALLELUJAH?!