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