2023-05-29
1 John 4:18 NKJV
When God says, “Fear not,” He is basically telling you, “You’re going to have to deal with fear, but you can conquer it. You can act in spite of it.” The Bible says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” Sometimes we mistakenly think that Scripture means if we love God perfectly enough, we won’t be afraid. No, the only perfect love is God’s love for you. And it’s unconditional.
Knowing that He always loves you, walks with you, defends you, supports you, and has promised to bless you in all that you do is what casts out your fear. And it does one more thing: It strengthens your faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6 KJV). When you know that God is pleased with you, you begin to rise above your fears. When fear knocks on your door and finds you full of faith, it cannot enter. That’s why you need to meditate continually on God’s Word and let your conversation be filled with faith.
If you’re used to allowing your mind to go everywhere it pleases, meditating on God’s Word will require making a new habit. Don’t become discouraged if you discover you have good intentions but many failures. The Bible says, “We walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV). How did you learn to walk? By getting up one more time than you fell down, until you finally did it. When you set your mind to speaking fear-defying words of faith, the Holy Spirit will come to your aid and strengthen you. As one minister says, “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is progress in its presence.” So just keep progressing, and you will get there!
Soul food: 1 Kings 6-7; Matt 13:10-23; Ps 101; Prov 12:12-13
2023-05-28
Psalm 118:6 NLV
God het vir jou ‘n lewe van groei, avontuur en versnelling gegee. Jy moet egter dapper treë in geloof neem. Jy kan dit egter nie doen as jy tevrede daarmee is om in jou ‘veilige sone’ te bly nie. Selfs wanneer jy bang voel, moenie toelaat dat dit jou keer nie! Voel die vrees en doen dit in elk geval! Jy vra: ‘Gaan ek ooit ophou bang voel?’ Ja, wanneer jy in die hemel kom.
Om vrees te voel is deel van die lewe. Jy sal vrees ervaar wanneer jy iets vir die eerste keer doen, of wanneer die struikelblokke in jou pad onoorkombaar lyk, of wanneer jy voel jou hulpbronne is nie genoeg vir die uitdaging nie. Dit beteken nie jy is ‘n lafaard nie; dit beteken eenvoudig dat jy menslik is. Jy is net lafhartig wanneer jy toelaat dat jou vrese jou optrede en besluite beheer.
Om vrees te voel is eenvoudig die versoeking om te vlug van dit wat jy moet konfronteer. Om vrees te voel is nie dieselfde as om vreesagtig te wees nie, want om vreesagtig te wees beteken dat jy toelaat dat vrees beheer oor jou neem. Jy kan byvoorbeeld woede voel, maar kies om nie daarvolgens op te tree nie en eerder met vergifnis en liefde reageer. Op dieselfde manier kan jy vrees voel en nie jou besluite daarop baseer nie. “…Onthou dat God die versekering gegee het: ‘Ek sal jou nie los nie. Ek sal jou nie in die steek laat nie.’
Daarom kan ons moed skep en antwoord: ‘Die Here is my hulp, daarom sal ek nie bang wees nie. Wat kan nietige mensies my aandoen?'” (Hebreërs 13:5-6 NLV). Staan dus vandag op God se Woord en verklaar: ‘Ek sal nie in vrees leef nie.’
Sielskos: Lev 23:15-22; Hand 2:1-18
Psalm 118:6 NKJV
God has created you for a life of growth, adventure, and acceleration. But you must take bold steps of faith. And you can’t do that if you’re perfectly satisfied to live in “the safe zone.” Even when you feel afraid, don’t let it stop you! Feel the fear and do it anyway! You say, “Will I ever stop being afraid?” Yes, when you get to heaven.
Feeling fear is part of being alive. You will experience fear when you try something for the first time, or when the obstacles in your path seem insurmountable, or when you feel like your resources are not equal to the challenge. None of this means you’re a coward; it just means you’re human. You are only cowardly when you let your fears control your actions and decisions. Feeling fear is merely the temptation to flee from what you should confront. Feeling fear is not the same as being afraid, because being afraid means allowing fearful feelings to take control of you.
But you don’t have to. You can feel anger yet choose not to act on it, and instead respond with forgiveness and love. In the same way, you can feel fear and not let it make your decisions. “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'” (Hebrews 13:5-6 NKJV). Note those two phrases: “He… has said” and “we may boldly say.” So, stand on God’s Word today and declare, “I will not live in fear.”
Soul food: Lev 23:15-22; Acts 2:1-18
2023-05-27
1 John 4:18 NKJV
Advice columnist Ann Landers received about ten thousand letters every month. When asked to name the most common problem in her readers’ lives, she said, “Fear! People are afraid of losing their health, their wealth, and their loved ones. People are afraid of life itself.” If you allow it to, fear will control you. “Fear involves torment,” and until the power of fear is broken, it will keep tormenting you.
When fear rules your life, you cannot enjoy anything you do. And you certainly can’t enjoy God’s blessings. Dr. Caroline Leaf says that fear triggers “more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses and activates more than thirty different hormones and neurotransmitters.” It’s at the root of all our stress. When fear causes a stress reaction in us, it actually “marinates” our body in toxic chemicals. This, of course, is terribly unhealthy and threatening to our physical well-being.
The fear of not being accepted by others can make you develop a phony personality, stifling your true self and hiding who God made you to be. The fear of failure will prevent you from trying new things or stretching yourself to do more than you feel comfortable doing. The fear of the future can cause you not to enjoy your life today. Fear is a spirit, and it doesn’t come from God. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).
Reject the spirit of fear. Draw on God’s power, believe He loves you unconditionally, and begin to exercise the “sound mind” He has given you. Today, refuse to live in fear.
Soul food: 1 Kings 3-5; Matt 13:1-9; Ps 128; Prov 12:10-11
1 Johannes 4:18 NLV
Die rubriekskrywer Ann Landers het ongeveer tienduisend briewe elke maand van lesers wat haar raad gevra het, ontvang. Toe sy gevra is wat die algemeenste probleem in haar lesers se lewens is, het sy gesê: ‘Vrees! Mense is bang hulle verloor hulle gesondheid, hulle geld en hulle geliefdes. Mense is bang vir die lewe self.’
Indien jy dit toelaat, sal vrees jou beheer. ‘…vrees [is] nog met straf behep…’ en totdat die krag van vrees nie verbreek is nie, sal dit aanhou om jou te straf. Wanneer vrees jou lewe regeer, kan jy niks wat jy doen geniet nie. Jy kan ook nie God se seën geniet nie.
Dr Caroline Leaf sê dat vrees meer as 1400 bekende fisiese en chemiese reaksies veroorsaak en meer as dertig verskillende hormone en neuro-oordragstowwe aktiveer. Dis die wortel van al ons stres. Wanneer vrees ‘n stresreaksie in ons veroorsaak, ‘marineer’ dit as’t ware ons liggame in giftige chemikalieë. Dit is natuurlik baie ongesond en bedreig ons fisiese welstand.
Die vrees om nie deur ander mense aanvaar te word nie, kan veroorsaak dat jy ‘n vals persoonlikheid ontwikkel, wat jou ware self versmoor en dit wat God jou geskep het om te wees, wegsteek. Die vrees vir mislukking sal jou daarvan weerhou om nuwe dinge uit te probeer en jouself uit te daag om meer te doen as waarmee jy gemaklik is. Die vrees vir die toekoms kan veroorsaak dat jy nie jou lewe tans geniet nie.
Vrees kom nie van God af nie. ‘Want God het ons nie ‘n gees van skugterheid gegee nie, maar van krag, liefde en selfbeheersing’ (2 Timoteus 1:7 NLV). Verwerp die gees van vrees. Gebruik God se krag, glo dat Hy jou onvoorwaardelik liefhet en begin vandag weier om in vrees te leef.
Sielskos: 1 Kon 3-5; Matt 13:1-9; Ps 128; Spr 12:10-11
