The opposite of FEAR!
So I've always been a pretty headstrong person. Even as a child and teenager I wanted to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing. And if it wasn't the complete opposite it was usually different. I liked being different. I never was afraid to do or wear or act how I wanted to.
I never dyed my hair purple or wore crazy clothes for attention....not THAT Kind of different. Just wanting to go enough against the flow that it felt good. (That has been a blessing and a curse to me at times) Alot of my friends were afraid to stand out. Afraid to be labeled as anything other than "cool". I didn't want to be cool...I wanted to be ME! As a kid and teen I was involved in so many sports and teams. I loved the fact that I broke the stereotypes a lot of the time. And I loved being so diverse. I wasn't afraid to be "the girl who drove a truck" or "the girl who prayed at school events"...I actually loved it
One minute I was cheering on my high school football team from the sidelines and minutes later I was walking my 300 lbs hog around a show ring wearing my FFA jacket (this really happened my junior year..I left the game early to show). But in between cheer and FFA was softball, volleyball, weightlifting, theater, serving as a class officer, being super involved in my church youth group and working a part-time job in high school. My parents always taught me I could DO ANYTHING, SO I DID! (I had no idea as a kid that the confidence my parents instilled in me would impact the life I would live for God) I did everything I could and it gave me so much confidence. I felt like I could take on the world. As an adult I stay just as busy but the list is a little bit different. (And there really is a whole world to take on!)
Ok. A lot a bit different. I no longer work a full-time job, but if you're a parent you know that raising two kids is a job in itself. I am always doing whatever I can to selflessly give of my talents and time. Fear creeps in SOMETIMES and tell me I'm not good enough...it tells me that I'm unwanted....it tells me that I should ask peoples opinion to validate myself...and that is not what God says about me! Not even close!
I've never been afraid to "put myself out there". Sure there are times where I feel less secure than others, but I have learned that sitting back and waiting for a rock with a note attached to it telling me what my next step in life is to fall from the sky is about as crazy as it sounds. I think we sometimes don't do things cause we haven't felt like God "told us to"...but did He tell you not to? I have personally stepped out in faith by starting this blog. God never told me START A BLOG JAMIE LEE. But I have a story to tell and it glorifies Him. Why wouldn't He want me to share? I have started a fitness class for women to work out and enjoy Christian fellowship. God knew the desire of my heart and gave me a place to encourage women and fellowship together as we lift Him up!!! He has woven every detail together and I simply said yes every time the Holy Spirit nudged me. I say things God places on my heart or just truth I have stored away in my heart when I see fit in a conversation. No God doesn't send me and email and say JAMIE LEE PLEASE ENCOURAGE THIS PERSON and I email back and ask God if HE'S SURE and He emails back and CONFIRMS YES THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO. He doesn't operate like that. He's given us wisdom and a sound mind and has already spelled out how He wants us to live and encourage one another.
Proverbs 3:27 says "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, When it is in the power of thy hand to do it."
There's no reason to hesitate about doing the right thing...just do it. When you see an opportunity to be Jesus to someone..do it! When you over hear someone seeking Godly wisdom..share what you know! When someone needs prayer...PRAY! DON'T WRITE IT DOWN TO REMEMBER. STOP AND PRAY RIGHT THERE. IN WINN-DIXIE OR THE GAS STATION. PRAY! What's stopping you? Why would you hold back? What if someone would have held back from you? Freely you received freely we are to give! Don't let FEAR stop you. Fear of what they will think, say, expect from you, or want to know.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control."
Have you had it in your heart to start some sort of ministry? Is it your desire to join one that is already going? Do you know you need to make amends with someone you've had an issue with for far too long? Has God asked you to step outside your comfort zone? Do you feel Him calling you to do something that makes no sense to you? If you're scared of it, that's not God. If you're worried it won't work out, that's not God either. God's given us a spirit of POWER AND LOVE AND SELF-CONTROL (some versions say a SOUND MIND). Doesn't that sound like the OPPOSITE of fear? Doesn't that make you take a deep breath and say to yourself GOD IS FOR ME! Well good, say it to yourself! Cause He is! He is for you and wants you to lean on Him. He's already shut the mouth of the lions whose den you will fall in. He's already parted the waters where you'll be backed up to with nowhere to go. He's already made a way.
The phrase "Do not be afraid" appears 365 times in the Bible! That's enough for a "daily reminder from God to live every day fearless! Regardless of if you're in a valley or mountain season...live life in a way that's the opposite of fear!
When going against the flow is uncomfortable, press on! When you're the only Christian at your work place.. keep bowing your head to pray for your lunch. Keep walking away when the conversations don't honor God. Keep encouraging others to seek Christ in their difficult circumstances. When your family doesn't support your new found faith in Christ, pray for them. When your husband doesn't understand why you want to be at church so much and He ridicules your obedience to God, don't stop! When you want to do something big for God, but no one believes in you..do it anyways! Live a life in FEARLESS pursuit of the one who loves you more than you can ever know! Be the opposite of fear and obey the Holy Spirit in your life. Let the "fear" of the unknown be a place of comfort knowing our God MADE the unknown and ordered all of your steps before time began! Do not fear tomorrow because He's already there! Be the opposite of FEAR today and follow Him every step of the way!
I never dyed my hair purple or wore crazy clothes for attention....not THAT Kind of different. Just wanting to go enough against the flow that it felt good. (That has been a blessing and a curse to me at times) Alot of my friends were afraid to stand out. Afraid to be labeled as anything other than "cool". I didn't want to be cool...I wanted to be ME! As a kid and teen I was involved in so many sports and teams. I loved the fact that I broke the stereotypes a lot of the time. And I loved being so diverse. I wasn't afraid to be "the girl who drove a truck" or "the girl who prayed at school events"...I actually loved it
One minute I was cheering on my high school football team from the sidelines and minutes later I was walking my 300 lbs hog around a show ring wearing my FFA jacket (this really happened my junior year..I left the game early to show). But in between cheer and FFA was softball, volleyball, weightlifting, theater, serving as a class officer, being super involved in my church youth group and working a part-time job in high school. My parents always taught me I could DO ANYTHING, SO I DID! (I had no idea as a kid that the confidence my parents instilled in me would impact the life I would live for God) I did everything I could and it gave me so much confidence. I felt like I could take on the world. As an adult I stay just as busy but the list is a little bit different. (And there really is a whole world to take on!)
Ok. A lot a bit different. I no longer work a full-time job, but if you're a parent you know that raising two kids is a job in itself. I am always doing whatever I can to selflessly give of my talents and time. Fear creeps in SOMETIMES and tell me I'm not good enough...it tells me that I'm unwanted....it tells me that I should ask peoples opinion to validate myself...and that is not what God says about me! Not even close!
I've never been afraid to "put myself out there". Sure there are times where I feel less secure than others, but I have learned that sitting back and waiting for a rock with a note attached to it telling me what my next step in life is to fall from the sky is about as crazy as it sounds. I think we sometimes don't do things cause we haven't felt like God "told us to"...but did He tell you not to? I have personally stepped out in faith by starting this blog. God never told me START A BLOG JAMIE LEE. But I have a story to tell and it glorifies Him. Why wouldn't He want me to share? I have started a fitness class for women to work out and enjoy Christian fellowship. God knew the desire of my heart and gave me a place to encourage women and fellowship together as we lift Him up!!! He has woven every detail together and I simply said yes every time the Holy Spirit nudged me. I say things God places on my heart or just truth I have stored away in my heart when I see fit in a conversation. No God doesn't send me and email and say JAMIE LEE PLEASE ENCOURAGE THIS PERSON and I email back and ask God if HE'S SURE and He emails back and CONFIRMS YES THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO. He doesn't operate like that. He's given us wisdom and a sound mind and has already spelled out how He wants us to live and encourage one another.
Proverbs 3:27 says "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, When it is in the power of thy hand to do it."
There's no reason to hesitate about doing the right thing...just do it. When you see an opportunity to be Jesus to someone..do it! When you over hear someone seeking Godly wisdom..share what you know! When someone needs prayer...PRAY! DON'T WRITE IT DOWN TO REMEMBER. STOP AND PRAY RIGHT THERE. IN WINN-DIXIE OR THE GAS STATION. PRAY! What's stopping you? Why would you hold back? What if someone would have held back from you? Freely you received freely we are to give! Don't let FEAR stop you. Fear of what they will think, say, expect from you, or want to know.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control."
Have you had it in your heart to start some sort of ministry? Is it your desire to join one that is already going? Do you know you need to make amends with someone you've had an issue with for far too long? Has God asked you to step outside your comfort zone? Do you feel Him calling you to do something that makes no sense to you? If you're scared of it, that's not God. If you're worried it won't work out, that's not God either. God's given us a spirit of POWER AND LOVE AND SELF-CONTROL (some versions say a SOUND MIND). Doesn't that sound like the OPPOSITE of fear? Doesn't that make you take a deep breath and say to yourself GOD IS FOR ME! Well good, say it to yourself! Cause He is! He is for you and wants you to lean on Him. He's already shut the mouth of the lions whose den you will fall in. He's already parted the waters where you'll be backed up to with nowhere to go. He's already made a way.
The phrase "Do not be afraid" appears 365 times in the Bible! That's enough for a "daily reminder from God to live every day fearless! Regardless of if you're in a valley or mountain season...live life in a way that's the opposite of fear!
When going against the flow is uncomfortable, press on! When you're the only Christian at your work place.. keep bowing your head to pray for your lunch. Keep walking away when the conversations don't honor God. Keep encouraging others to seek Christ in their difficult circumstances. When your family doesn't support your new found faith in Christ, pray for them. When your husband doesn't understand why you want to be at church so much and He ridicules your obedience to God, don't stop! When you want to do something big for God, but no one believes in you..do it anyways! Live a life in FEARLESS pursuit of the one who loves you more than you can ever know! Be the opposite of fear and obey the Holy Spirit in your life. Let the "fear" of the unknown be a place of comfort knowing our God MADE the unknown and ordered all of your steps before time began! Do not fear tomorrow because He's already there! Be the opposite of FEAR today and follow Him every step of the way!
Comments
Post a Comment