Since I've struggled with unholy fear all my life, I knew God was showing me enough was enough, when a caring person said this about my fearfulness, "Don't even mention you are fearful, get rid of it. It is sin."
At that moment, I prayed that God would show me HOW to rid my life of fear. When I am tempted to fear, how do I overcome and be NOT carried away by it? What do I replace fear with?
God's answer to my first question came soon after when I reread 1 John 4:15-19. My eyes opened to how I could apply the verses to my life. Notice verses 16 & 18.
". . . God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
And
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
Do we see? After understanding these verses, if I continue to hold onto fearfulness, I am in danger of calling God a liar.
God answered my second question by way of a song, "When Upon Life's Billows," by Johnson Oatman.
First Stanza:
When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Am I still tempted to fear? Yes. When the beginnings of fearfulness rise inside me, I quote from the verse above, ". . . perfect love cast out fear . . ." Right after, I name the blessings God has given to me, and fear is replaced with a sense of calm and peace.
I understand God's perfect love casts out our fears. It is so simple, but it took me being weary of my fears and someone that cared enough to point out my fault.
How does this apply to the loss of a child, especially to suicide? Fearfulness escalated in my life after Joshua died. Now, it's my job to work at staying free from the bondage of fear.
My prayer today: Thank you, Lord, for a love so great, that you sent your son, Jesus, to die on the cross and free us from our sins. In Jesus name, Amen.
Until next time . . . Being thankful is for things God gives to us; but a heart of praise is giving thanks for who he is.
Beautiful! God is faithful to teach us how to live rooted in love instead of in bondage to fear. He's been doing the same thing in my life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by Tanya! I am so glad you, also, are growing out of the fear bondage problem. Isn't God so wonderful?
ReplyDeleteBless you!
Your words are words of wisdom from God! Thank you for sharing what He has done fo ryou!
ReplyDeleteI too try to see what blessings I have in my life. By doing so and by praying/talking to God constantly, it helps me be able to better cope with my bi-polar disorder as I am not able to take anti-depressants because we found through trial and error that they work opposite from what they are to be doing.
Like we read in the Book of Job, life is hard and full of trials and tribulations. God never said life would be rosy all the time! But knowing He is there beside you every minute of the day is something that can give one some peace and comfort.
I admit, I to this day struggle with totally trusting HIm to be in absolute control of whatever happens in my life. But one day I pray I will learn to hand up EVERYTHING to Him to take care of and let go of the desire to 'handle it on my own'. I need to learn to let go ALL the time giving Him the control, not just some of the time.
To do that does not mean failure on my part; it means success!!
Marsha
Marsha,
ReplyDeleteBless you, sweet one, for visiting this site. May I add you to my prayer list?
My son had bi-polar. We sure didn't understand that at the time.
Your faith comes from God as he shows you all that he does and feels for you. And your reading of the Word, also. No one, not even bi-polar can take that away from you.
God bless you, Marsha!