Happy new week to you! Isn’t the Lord so good to us? I love Him more and more every day. He rescues us from the death-trap of sin, He makes living on this earth just a breath compared to the blessed eternity we will spend with Him, and He is with us in every situation, every step, and every moment. Jesus not only meets our immediate needs, but provides the grace and redemption we crave as we look behind us, and the peace of mind and heart as we look ahead. But more than that, He’s given us the gift – the present– of the present, and every ounce of the strength, help, and provision we need to not only survive, but to live this day with a deep-down-no-matter-what-joy that can be found in Him alone. I’m so grateful for that! Aren’t you?
I’ve been in a busy season of studying lately and have so many new things to share with you… soon. But this morning, I felt the Lord nudge me to re-post this truth He gave me several years ago. It saved my life. Truly. I was drowning in fear. Fear over every imaginable thing. I would think up possible scenarios, imagine the worst that could happen, and be in a near state of grief within just a few moments. I spent most of my life like that. Until God. Until God spoke through His Word and I decided to obey them instead of just know them. In fact, only months after God helped me escape to real freedom, one of the very things I had feared would happen did happen… but thanks be to Jesus ~ I had the keys to make sure I wasn’t locked in the prison cell of fear through the entire ordeal. As a result, we saw the Lord at every turn, and could do nothing but trust and praise Him through the pain as we walked it out in PEACE, carried by the Prince of Peace.
If you are stricken with panic or fear then this posting is for you, and it’s no “coincidence” that the Lord had me re-post it today. You really don’t have to live this way. By the grace of God, I’ve been free from living in this fear-prison for almost 3 years. I never want to go back! Dear friends, I’m praying for your release today~
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (Amp)
~ written in 2009, re-posted several times since then… always fresh and needed truth to me!
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Keys to Escape the Prison of Fear
I was in the middle of studying a daily lesson in Beth Moore’s Esther when a paragraph caused me to detour for the day… And what a powerful Word from the Lord He gave me! I typed out my notes, burned these truths in my mind, and have put them into practice. Panic-savers Lifesavers, I tell you! If you need a few panic-saving life-saving keys, here they are.
“The enemy is trying to get back at God by attacking us. Because Satan has a limited leash where believers are concerned, his most powerful tactics are psychological. Though he can’t possess our minds, he profoundly and destructively influences our thoughts.” Beth Moore, Esther, week 3, day 3.
I have found this to be very true for me. More than any other stage of my life thus far, I have consistently fought the battle between faith and sight, hope and fear. (Some days I’ve won, and some days I haven’t.)
As the calendar ticks by and we remain without employment (and have no inkling of an idea of where or what our future will hold) faith verses sight, and hope verses fear. As I watch our children grow and mature, and I begin that process of thinking about releasing them, faith verses sight and hope verses fear. Sometimes, I’ll be doing nothing but driving or riding down the road and notice another vehicle, and faith verses sight and hope verses fear.
If I’m not careful, my mind will work up any number of disastrous scenarios that will be so life-like, I’ll end up actually crying just thinking about it. This SHOULD NOT BE! I don’t have to be this way. None of us do.
The Lord has shown me that He has given us the keys to release the handcuffs and chains of sight and fear so that we can fully live in faith and hope.
or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginations,Foolish reasonings, and Stupid speculations]and their senseless minds were darkened.”
Our enemy would have us focus on fear, vain imaginations, foolish reasonings, and stupid speculations – which he knows will tie us up in knots and entrap us.
“Throw aside every encumbrance
(unnecessary weight and that sin
which so readily, deftly, and cleverly clings to and entangles us…
looking away from all that will distract to Jesus,
who is the Leader and Source of our faith… and is also its Finisher.”
From these verses, we can find the keys to unlock the entanglement of our minds:
1. Honor and Glorify God – make an immediate choice to honor Him with your thoughts. Start calling out names of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. If you can’t think of any of those at the moment, just simply say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…” until His beautiful name and presence starts to overpower the thoughts of sight and fear.
2. Give God thanks – start thanking God for His love, His protection, His provision, His promises, His Word…
3. Throw aside the weight of those senseless thoughts – those vain imaginations, foolish reasonings and stupid speculations. This requires some action and choice on your part. Absolutely REFUSE to let them darken your mind.{Always, I shake my head strongly when I’m throwing these thoughts aside. Sometimes, I’ll actually visualize them and use my arms and hands to push them from my mind.}
4. Look to Jesus – determine to keep your mind and thoughts focused on Him. When you do this, Hebrews 12:2 tells us that He will actually finish and complete FOR YOU the faith you lack in the battle of your minds and thoughts.
Abraham is a beautiful example to me of hope and faith. Romans 4:18-21 tells us how he kept faith and hope in God all of those years…especially when the promise of God became physically, humanly impossible to fulfill. I want this to be my testimony, too!
human reason for hope being gone, hoped in faith…
He did not weaken in faith
when he considered… (we can insert any of our own human limitations here)
the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered
by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,
and do what He had promised.”
We can be empowered by faith as we give praise and glory to God, throw aside the dark thoughts of sight and fear, and look to Jesus – who is fully ABLE and MIGHTY to keep His Word and do what He has promised.
That’s what I want to do. How about you? I’m holding on to the keys that will release me from the next lock-up the enemy has planned. In fact, in my mind, they are on a beautiful silver Brighton Key ring. Who says that spiritual power and a little “bling” can’t go together? 🙂
“And let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.” Romans 5:2b
“O Lord of Hosts, blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts in You [leaning on and believing on You, committing all and confidently looking to You, and that without fear or misgiving.]” Psalm 84:12 (Amp)
