Slave No Longer

 11/8/2022

Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, i will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." 

Note: The Bible says "fear not" 365 times. I know I have shared this before, but it bears repeating. 

In the past several days I have been meditating on the grip of fear and how much it steals from your life. I know this firsthand as it stole an entire year plus of my life and my family's. That was 12 years ago now, but, unfortunately, is still fresh for those who lived it with me. This is particularly true for one member of my family. The memories of that dark time run deep.

Fast forward to this week, and I find myself looking at the consequences of fear and the lack of what happens when it takes over your mind, and often, your body. One situation occurred with a loved one of mine. She had a medical condition arise and it shook her badly. Now, this is not unusual for this person, or for that matter, other members of my family in fact. Covid has been the biggest monster for both her and me, but I digress. This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I sent her some of the songs that get me through the storms of life. Both are by Casting Crowns, and I will link them at the end of this post. I also wrote words of encouragement and said I would be praying. I had a deep feeling in my soul that all would be well, and, thankfully, it was. I did get to thinking how this worry and fear she was experiencing stole precious days away from her, as well as many nights sleep. Like I have said before, I have been there. Knowing her suffering made me sad, because I also knew that there was nothing at all I could do to ease it. The only thing that could was a clean bill of health. 

The other situation about fear was how it has kept me from attending church almost entirely since the beginning of Covid. I have gone on a few occasions when expressly invited to a special event that was taking place for someone I care about. That was what drew me back this past weekend. Another person I love dearly, I will call her Spirit daughter, was giving a presentation after going on a mission's trip to Africa. She had asked me to pray about coming, which I did. Sunday morning, I texted her I was praying, and I knew the Holy Spirit would be with her. I then got ready to go back to a place that I currently have complicated feelings about. My beautiful girl was sitting with her computer preparing for her first presentation of the morning when I walked in and she burst into tears, and I followed. It was a moment that I will never forget, and I was so profoundly blessed by. Was I leery about going? Yes. Would it have been easier to stary home? Yes. Would she have been gracious to me and understanding? Yes. Would I have missed the blessing of our moment and of her amazing presentation? Absolutely, yes! 

I could go on and on about other things that God is revealing to me about the loss of precious moments and opportunities. How many of my relationships have suffered because of my giving into fear? It is not at all where God wants me, or anyone of His children to be unless we are being chased by a ferocious wild animal or person for that matter. 

Every time I have been anxious about anything the past few weeks, all I can hear in my spirit is, "Do you trust Me?" Yes, is always my answer. In order to keep that trust foremost in my life, my faith in my Savior has to be much bigger than the fear the destroyer wants to keep me captive to. I pray I will be able to one day truly claim that I am totally surrendered to my Jesus and a salve to fear no longer.

I am, as always, a work in progress. 

Casting Crowns - Oh My Soul (Lyric Video) - YouTube

Casting Crowns - Just Be Held (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube

After the Obedience

11/4/2022

James 4:7 " Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you."

I had a wonderful experience this morning. After 37 days of passing the 40 days Right of Life campaign on my way to and from work, and feeling called to stop and participate today, I finally did. Most of the time the people standing outside in all kinds of weather praying and saying the rosary are Roman Catholics as that is the church that organizes the campaign. The 40 days are filled with prayer, non-judgement, and bringing awareness to the truth about the sanctity of life. This morning, however, not only I felt led to stop, but three men from a local evangelical church also were called to join this effort. I must say, the two lovely but reserved women that were scheduled to be there were not quite ready for our enthusiasm and boldness, but said they were blessed by it. I was so moved and felt the power of the Holy Spirit. I asked if we could all pray together, so one of the men offered a prayer as did I. I was so grateful that the daily Spirit tap led finally led me to obedience. 

Of course, the more we submit to God's will, the more the evil one is out to destroy us. Today, the battle did not come through the usual channels with the same buttons pushed. No, the devil knows when our armor is on tightly. So, how does he attack? He upends the ones we hold most dear, and that is exactly what happened today. Instead of taking me on knowing I was listening to God, seeking His will, and in prayer, he attacks the unprepared. It is so devious and so effective. He even knows exactly which buttons to push to activate our most sensitive areas that are the hardest to release to Jesus. Today, I saw first-hand how this happen to someone I dearly love. Sadly, there was nothing I could say to help fight this attack, for my loved ones amor only seems to be effective when battling for others. So, I sit quietly and hold my loved ones up to Jesus for comfort and so that they can finally believe the truth about themselves instead of the evil ones lies. 

Will this realization of my being obedient to God prompting an attack on someone I love stop me from doing what my Savior calls me to do? I can answer truly that no it will not. It will, however, draw me into deeper meditative prayer for those I love to be able to withstand the slings and arrows of the deceiver, and to trust Jesus in every battle. 

Isaiah 26:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."