Courage

The last two posts have been about fearlessness & faith.  Today's is about courage - which is also the opposite of fear.  This morning I was drawn to Psalms 27:14 "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."  

Whenever I see a phrase repeated like that, I figure it's a pretty important concept.  So my questions were two-fold.  1) What does it mean to have your heart strengthened? 2) What does it mean to "wait" on the Lord?

The answer to the 1st came quickly enough.  While it could mean many things, for me today it means courage.  When God strengthens my heart he gives me courage to face the unknowns ahead without fear.

So what does it mean to wait on the Lord?  The picture that came to mind for this one was that of a child and parent out for a walk.  The parent has asked the child to stick to His side.  Often, however, children like to run ahead - the parent seems to be moving so slowly!  But in this case, my Heavenly Father knows there is a lion near the path ahead - "seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).  As I see this picture in my mind, I realize that if I run ahead on the path, not only will I be fearful when I face the lion on my own, but I will be in serious danger as well.  BUT, if I wait on Him and walk with Him, when we come face to face with the lion I will feel no fear because I KNOW my Daddy can handle it and I am safe!!!

Father, please keep me by your side this day.  I do not want to run ahead and get myself into dangerous situations.  I want to face any dangers with you by my side where I will be safe.  Thank you, Father!!!!

FAITH

Today I was taken to Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  I've been reading the story of a man who had a very special encounter with God.  His son was in a coma and the doctors had told them there was no hope - but God told him otherwise.  As he prayed, God spoke to him in an audible voice so there was no doubt!  God promised him that his son would be healed and told him to go tell the others at the hospital.  The man describes how when he went back to the hospital, nothing had changed in the physical world.  To all appearances, his son was still dying.  But he had been given the assurance by God and was convinced that things were happening in the UNSEEN world that would soon manifest in the healing of his son in the physical world.  

This is the faith that is needed to experience miracles - the assurance of things hoped for - the conviction of things not seen.  Certainty of God's power and willingness to change the situation.  I'm reminded that this faith is a GIFT. (Eph 2:8)  

Suddenly I have better understanding of at least one of the reasons Jesus told us to KEEP ON ASKING.  It keeps us centered in that gift of faith, helping to ensure our certainty of God's promise and ensuring that seeds of doubt are not allowed to grow and flourish and steal our miracle from us.

Father, thank you so much for your gift of faith!  You know there are yet things I do not yet understand in Jesus' teachings on this subject.  But you've shown me that my certainty does not rely on my own understanding - it relies on the gift of faith in your love and power - your character.  I KNOW you love me and that you can be trusted.  I KNOW you want me to have freedom from fear and a solid faith walk full of joy and peace - and that you are gifting me with that now!  Father, I choose to continue to boldly come before your throne of grace so you can keep my feet planted on the path and keep the weeds of doubt from growing as you continue your work in me.  Thank you, Father!

Fearless!!!!

It seems like forever since I posted on this blog.  I tend to not think about posting when I don't have to have a picture to go with the message!!!! Anyway, today I DO have a picture, though it's mostly words and those may be a bit challenging to actually see in this photo.  But here's the story behind the picture. 

The focus for this page is 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment." (NKJV) This is something God's been bringing to my attention.  Though I hadn't really realized it until recently, I've had a tendency to live with a low (medium???!) level of anxiety as my natural state - and that is NOT His plan for me!!! He wants to give me freedom from even that low level of fear that has been tormenting me!!! 

I am so grateful that His choice for me is a life of freedom from tormenting fear - a life of love, joy, and peace!!!  But He's been showing me that I haven't been accepting the whole of that gift from him.  As he relieves major fears, I have been content to settle back into my "natural" state of low-level anxiety instead of letting Him remove it ALL!!!!  

One of the things that has helped me visualize this is work that I've been doing, with the help of a specialist, to relieve pain in my physical body.  She explained to me that due to stress in our lives (physical trauma, emotional tension, etc), we tend to live with a constant level of stress.  She drew a line and numbered it 0 at one end and 100 at the other.  She said this is a picture of our muscles - they can be firing at 100%, or they can be completely relaxed at 0% or somewhere in between.  Then she said that often, our brain has become so used to our carrying a certain amount of stress, that it comes to believe that 20% firing of a muscle is as much as it is possible to relax.  Part of my work with her is to re-train my brain to realize that it can actually relax the muscle farther than that!

For me this has been a great visual for my relationship with nervousness and anxiety (other words for fear!).  I have become so used to living with a certain amount of nervousness or anxiety that I've seen that as normal.  But God offers to remove ALL of it and replace it with His Spirit!

2 Timothy 1:7 reminds me, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."  (ISV) 

Suddenly I find myself understanding the story of Mary & Martha (as told in Luke 10:39-42) much better.  I'll admit that I've struggled with this story.  I can REALLY relate to Martha who is trying to get food on the table while everyone else is relaxing and enjoying their time with Jesus. She's feeling a bit resentful that her sister isn't helping her and speaks to Jesus about it.  But Jesus gently tells her, "Martha, Martha!  You worry and fuss about a lot of things.  But there is only one thing you need.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it is not to be taken away from her." (ISV - emphasis mine).  Other versions use words like: anxious, bothered, troubled, distracted, upset.  THIS is the real issue here.  It's not about making dinner - it's about allowing anxiety to distract us and drain our energy so we aren't able to move forward with 100% focus on anything.  THIS is what God is speaking to me about. 

He's promised that His perfect love casts out fear - ALL of it, if I will let it!!! Thank you, Father!!! What a wonderful promise!  I choose this.  Please cast out ALL fear and replace it with your spirit of POWER, LOVE, and SELF-DISCIPLINE.  I don't know how to do this for myself, but I know I don't have to know how.  You are doing it FOR me.  I just have to allow you FULL access to change my life!  Father, I am so looking forward to experiencing life from this new perspective.  To face new challenges and opportunities with excitement and joy instead of nervous trepidation.  What a concept!  Thank you, Father, for doing this work in me and for your promise that the work you've begun in me you will see to completion.  You've got your work cut out for you, but I know YOU can do it!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!