Love Fiercely

I am excited to share this next part of IF YOU WEREN’T AFRAID…

 

I had so many things that God had been speaking to me personally & I decided to not overwhelm you, & I chose instead to share it in parts – so it was easier to digest. 🙂

If you haven’t read PART 1 – GO DO IT NOW BY CLICKING THE BUTTON BELOW! 

 

 

2. DON’T LET OTHERS OR WHAT THINGS “LOOK LIKE” MAKE YOU UNSURE. 

 

Proverbs 29:25

The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that… 

Ask God to help you see the truth… To be able to care about what God says & live like it – you must choose to trust him & His opinion of you more than what anyone else says. Think about it this way, why would we care about anyone else’s opinion?… They did not create us, they have no power in our future that we do not give them! & somehow it is not natural to put OUR CREATORS opinion beneath those of the CREATED. When you really stop & think about it all – why do we let others & circumstances tell us how to feel & think?!? WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO TRUST IN GOD OVER EVERYTHING ELSE, TRUSTING IN GOD PROTECTS YOU FROM CARING ABOUT THINGS THAT DO NOT MATTER IN THE LONG-RUN! 

EVEN WHEN YOU ARE SCARED IN A MOMENT – SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO JUST CHOOSE TO DO IT AFRAID.

TRUSTING GOD WILL LEAD & GUIDE YOU – THE FEELING OF FEAR IS NATURAL TO OUR FLESH, BUT FEAR IS NOT THE TRUTH… YOU CAN TRUST GOD OVER YOUR FEELINGS!

 

FEAR IS A CHOICE & SO IS FAITH!

 

Make the choice to remember WHO God is & what He has done for you! Think of how God loved & protected you… how He has walked beside you & carried you in times when you did not have the strength… When things get tough or you begin to worry about what things look like in the ‘seen’ or even the opinions of others, make the decision to choose faith over fear.

 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong & courageous. Do not be frightened, & do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

I don’t know what you’re facing today, but I hope you choose to trust God. This can happen when you make the decision to focus on God over whatever you are fearful of… Nothing is greater than the power of God. He cares VERY deeply about you & your life personally – He will never leave you; God is with you no matter what & no matter how dark things get.

 

Faith means being sure of the things we hope for. & faith means knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.

Hebrews 11:1

The ability to act on your choice to trust God comes when you choose to see things as they can be, not as they are. It is not unusual to see life as it comes to you, but we always have a choice to be SPIRIT LED – Not flesh or emotionally driven.  Faith is built upon trust, but faith is also a choice we make – you can choose for God to be more powerful than your fear.

God wants us to trust Him in the good & bad times of life. This means, even when we don’t understand what is happening or why – Even when nothing makes sense & everything is seeming to go wrong. God is not only in our life during hard times to eliminate or calm the storm… His presence & power is present in EVERY season & moment of life, but we have to allow His presence to be stronger than the fear of the “unknowns.”. It is easy to trust God when things seem good, but the real faith & peace is measured in the middle of what looks so wrong in our life. 

3. PRESSURE WILL ALWAYS REVEAL WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.

When you have pressure you face in life, & when things are uncomfortable or stressful… have you ever thought about what comes out of you?!? Is it faith or fear, anger or peace, frustration or gratitude, hope or negativity? – what you invest in yourself the most, is not only what will lead you… it shows what you are submitted to.

“IF WHAT COMES OUT OF YOU DURING TOUGH TIMES IS NOT FROM GOD – IT IS A GOOD INDICATOR THAT YOU ARE NOT BEING LED BY YOUR SPIRIT & THEREFORE HAVE GIVEN YOUR POWER OVER TO SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES GOD.” 

When something or someone is put under pressure, it squeezes out of you what is inside of you… The things that life, people & situations squeeze out of us – is fully dependant on what we allow to rule inside of us. When you make the choice to live a life of faith, it means that you make a deliberate choice to believe God – no matter what things look like around you. This means that you can even go forward THROUGH that fear – with STRENGTH & POWER, knowing you can trust God in EVERY MOMENT!

 

My dad has always taught me, WHATEVER YOU ARE FULL OF – YOU WILL BE LED BY. This means what you put into your mind, spirit, body, & life – will be your leader… & so much in my own life, I am frustrated at people & situations & things… & yet I do not take the time to evaluate why I think or respond or feel some of the ways that I do. If I really take a look into my heart & do a self-check, I would & I have found that the areas I am not happy with in my life, have more to do with me than I would like to admit. 

I am either not trusting God, living in ACTION what I know to be true, or even am just unaware of my come across based on how I feel internally about something & it holds me back. What I need to realize a lot for my own life & journey is that if I am not happy with what is coming OUT of me – I need to make sure that what I am investing IN me is of worth. Too often I talk to people & they are mad at God, mad at the world… & they are mad at themselves because they cannot figure out why their life looks the way it does. They aren’t living their “dreams” – they don’t have the dream house, the dream marriage, the dream job, the dream relationships, the dream body, & I could go on… But what I would like to ask is:

Now that you are aware you are not living in the “dream” whatever it is for you… WHAT ARE YOU PERSONALLY DOING ABOUT IT? Dreams don’t just happen. God puts them in your heart & wants to help you make them come to pass… but how often do we quit or stop or get frustrated because things don’t happen, when, how, & in the ways, we want them to…. & Then we blame God. We have a part to play in GREAT THINGS HAPPENING IN OUR LIVES! & that should be exciting to you! YES, it will take work… YES, it will not be easy… YES, you will question at times if the price you are having to pay is worth it. BUT ALSO YES, YOU WILL NEVER BE ALONE, & YES, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO IT IN YOUR OWN STRENGTH. 

“Sometimes the fear does not subside, & you must CHOOSE to do it afraid, trusting & knowing that the power of God is stronger than what seems to be so powerful in a moment.” 

 

If you are like me, & you have found things in your life that aren’t working or healthy or the “dream” for you – my challenge is to say: look at yourself, evaluate what you are putting into your heart, mind, life, body & spirit. Because, WHATEVER YOU ARE FULL OF – YOU WILL BE LED BY! & I do not think that you want to be led by fear, insecurity, anger, panic, negativity or anything else that sounds like those words… haha 🙂 I want to do  great things & be GREAT for God – so I have to, we have to take the challenge to be FULL of the right things – so that the BEST things can come out of us & through us. 

“GREATNESS IS AN INSIDE JOB.”

No one sees all the amazing work you are putting in, or the greatness you are pushing for – but one day when that pressure comes… What will come out of you will give glory to God. He will be able to use ALL of your life – your past – present – & future because you are full of HIS WILL & HIS WORD… You become a powerful weapon in the kingdom for God!

 

 TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT

 

The enemy has one goal for you: he wants to discourage, paralyze, & destroy everything God has for you. We can’t let that happen! We must stop listening to fear & stand up to fight fear with the truth.

You may even face the choice today, to do the very thing you have been afraid of… For me, many times a win looks like having a good attitude with that person that I do not like or in the situation I am frustrated about… & it is so tempting to run as fast as we can in the other direction furthest away from FRUSTRATION OR FEAR… But I want to challenge you – Today I wanted to shut down & forget everything I have been writing to you here & I remembered this verse: 

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

 

I was reminded that true bravery is not having all the answers or acting like I am not scared or upset… To be brave is to admit – that we can’t do great things in our own strength & really living with the reality that we need God. & it is only through God, that we are able to truly conquer fears & difficult things that we face in life… when you encounter the presence of whatever you fear today & whatever you are going through – REMIND YOURSELF to not just stay in that presence, ENCOUNTER THE PRESENCE OF GOD!

 

INVITE HIM INTO EVERY MOMENT & EVERY SITUATION… HE IS STRONG WHEN WE ARE WEAK & HE IS STRONG WHEN WE THINK WE ARE STRONG ENOUGH… THERE IS NEVER A TIME THAT GOD SHOULDN’T BE WITH YOU. In the bible it says,  

Proverbs 3:6

In all your ways acknowledge Him, & He will direct your path.

That is the kind of life I want, a life of VICTORY & A CLEAR DIRECTED PATH in all seasons. & it is possible when you submit ALL your ways, what does that mean: (your stubbornness, your right to be right, your ethnicity, your political views, your family thought processes, your wins, your failures, EVERYTHING.)

& I leave you with this verse… you have NO reason to fear, God is WITH YOU!!! So, what are you going to do – now that FEAR is not an option?!?

 

 

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust & not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength & my defense; he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 12:2

2 11