Faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Fear, a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
Often times we are controlled by our fears. The impending dangers ahead of us are to frightening to move forward. So we choose to worry about, and dwell on things we will never be able to change. The future is not meant to be looked upon with fear. It is an exciting time with new experiences and opportunities. Yes, there will be times that we will be hurt. But we can't let our fear of being hurt keep us from living our lives.
Living in fear or faith:You don't always know the outcome. More often than not you are unsure of how something will turn out. Trusting God to take care of you is called faith. Circumstances may arise, and because of our human nature we feel the need to be in control. When we cannot be, we worry. It is our natural reaction to adversity. Paul told Timothy that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. When difficult circumstances arise, and we are plagued by fear, we must remember that this fear is not of God. Satan will do anything to keep you from running the race. So he presents fear. Fear is something that comes natural to us, so it is easier to be afraid than have faith. Faith is taking a chance. It is believing what you cannot see over what you do. We as humans, needing to be in control, can't risk taking a chance, or having faith. Why is it we are so quick to trust our emotions, which are always changing, but so hesitant to trust God, who is never changing?
God wants us to have faith, and trust in him. He is in control. Look back over your life, and tell me of a time when you faced adversity, hardship, trials, or any circumstance the took you out of your comfort zone. Can you tell me God wasn't there? It may have seemed that way at the time, but if you took a good honest look at it, you can see that God was there, taking care of you, in control. And yet we still struggle with faith. He has proved himself time and time again, and yet we still disbelieve. When you are stuck in a battle, it is difficult to see Gods reasoning. You are so blinded by the situation you can't see anything else. But I challenge you, when facing something, anything in your life, look back on a time when God, through your trials, made his presence known and protected you. Trust me, if you are saved, even if you are a baby in Christ, there will be a time when God has protected you.
Pastor said something that really caught my attention this evening in his sermon of being more than conquerors. When you have a thought that doesn't line up with Scripture. Thoughts of worry, fear, anger, anxiety, ect. Cast the thought down. Often times when a thought arises we tend to dwell on it, instead of casting it down. We know these thoughts are of the devil, and not God. Put it out of your mind, and dwell on scripture. Pray for God to help you keep your mind on him and his will for your day. If the thought comes back, cast it down again. No matter how many times it returns, just keep casting it down, and dwell on the things of the Lord. Eventually, you will become so focused on the Lord, that nothing else with matter. We are called to love God with everything that is in us. To desire to please him. Do you think it pleases him when we have such little faith in him? How then, if we worry and are controlled by our fear can we serve God. How can we serve him, if we don't trust him?
God is not moved by our fear, but by our faith. My challenge for today wasn't speaking my mind, nor was it asking questions. My challenge today was learning that living in fear is unhealthy, and terribly self destructive. I am the one that chooses to be afraid. Yes Satan puts these thoughts of fear in my head. But I am the one who chooses to listen to the devil and his lies. Satan can't make me do anything. I choose to be afraid. Or should I say, chose.
Fear, a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
Often times we are controlled by our fears. The impending dangers ahead of us are to frightening to move forward. So we choose to worry about, and dwell on things we will never be able to change. The future is not meant to be looked upon with fear. It is an exciting time with new experiences and opportunities. Yes, there will be times that we will be hurt. But we can't let our fear of being hurt keep us from living our lives.
Living in fear or faith:You don't always know the outcome. More often than not you are unsure of how something will turn out. Trusting God to take care of you is called faith. Circumstances may arise, and because of our human nature we feel the need to be in control. When we cannot be, we worry. It is our natural reaction to adversity. Paul told Timothy that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. When difficult circumstances arise, and we are plagued by fear, we must remember that this fear is not of God. Satan will do anything to keep you from running the race. So he presents fear. Fear is something that comes natural to us, so it is easier to be afraid than have faith. Faith is taking a chance. It is believing what you cannot see over what you do. We as humans, needing to be in control, can't risk taking a chance, or having faith. Why is it we are so quick to trust our emotions, which are always changing, but so hesitant to trust God, who is never changing?
God wants us to have faith, and trust in him. He is in control. Look back over your life, and tell me of a time when you faced adversity, hardship, trials, or any circumstance the took you out of your comfort zone. Can you tell me God wasn't there? It may have seemed that way at the time, but if you took a good honest look at it, you can see that God was there, taking care of you, in control. And yet we still struggle with faith. He has proved himself time and time again, and yet we still disbelieve. When you are stuck in a battle, it is difficult to see Gods reasoning. You are so blinded by the situation you can't see anything else. But I challenge you, when facing something, anything in your life, look back on a time when God, through your trials, made his presence known and protected you. Trust me, if you are saved, even if you are a baby in Christ, there will be a time when God has protected you.
Pastor said something that really caught my attention this evening in his sermon of being more than conquerors. When you have a thought that doesn't line up with Scripture. Thoughts of worry, fear, anger, anxiety, ect. Cast the thought down. Often times when a thought arises we tend to dwell on it, instead of casting it down. We know these thoughts are of the devil, and not God. Put it out of your mind, and dwell on scripture. Pray for God to help you keep your mind on him and his will for your day. If the thought comes back, cast it down again. No matter how many times it returns, just keep casting it down, and dwell on the things of the Lord. Eventually, you will become so focused on the Lord, that nothing else with matter. We are called to love God with everything that is in us. To desire to please him. Do you think it pleases him when we have such little faith in him? How then, if we worry and are controlled by our fear can we serve God. How can we serve him, if we don't trust him?
God is not moved by our fear, but by our faith. My challenge for today wasn't speaking my mind, nor was it asking questions. My challenge today was learning that living in fear is unhealthy, and terribly self destructive. I am the one that chooses to be afraid. Yes Satan puts these thoughts of fear in my head. But I am the one who chooses to listen to the devil and his lies. Satan can't make me do anything. I choose to be afraid. Or should I say, chose.
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