Believing the Promises of God - in His Word

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed… Without weakening in his faith… Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. ~ Romans 4 [selected 18-21]



Friday, February 19, 2010

It's Just the FEAR Growling


Psalm 64:1 NKJV
1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;

Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

Psalm 64:1 NIV
1 Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

Psalm 64 [The Message]
A David Psalm

1 Listen and help, O God. I'm reduced to a whine and a whimper, obsessed with feelings of doomsday. 2-6 Don't let them find me— the conspirators out to get me, using their tongues as weapons, flinging poison words, poison-tipped arrow-words. They shoot from ambush,
shoot without warning,
not caring who they hit.
They keep fit doing calisthenics
of evil purpose,
They keep lists of the traps
they've secretly set.
They say to each other,
"No one can catch us,
no one can detect our perfect crime."
The Detective detects the mystery
in the dark of the cellar heart.
7-8 The God of the Arrow shoots!
They double up in pain,
Fall flat on their faces
in full view of the grinning crowd.
9-10 Everyone sees it. God's
work is the talk of the town.
Be glad, good people! Fly to God!
Good-hearted people, make praise your habit.

The Bible tells us to 'beware' and 'to be on guard' against the schemes of the enemy - but never are we to 'fear with dread' our very lives in any situation or circumstance. Those are hard words to swallow if you are the one in the middle of a [seeming] attack.

How many times has the enemy asked you the "What if..." question?

  • "What if ......... he dies?"
  • "What if ......... I lose my job?"
  • "What if ......... he walks out on me?"
  • "What if ......... he takes my kids?"
  • "What if ......... I get sick?"
  • "What if ......... [___you fill in the blanks___]?"
The 'tag' line to each one of these is the fear for survival. Add this 'tag' to any one of the above and you've named the fear:
"...How will I [we] survive?"
___________
Are you 'biting the hook' or sinking your own teeth into the 'fear' of that? [So it's not always the enemy - but the FEAR of the enemy that paralyzes us.]

There is nothing the enemy can do to us without the permission from a Sovereign God.... but often our 'fear' of him and his treats is where we fall short in trusting the God who has already given us the victory.


When those challenges come today or next week or next month [and they will] ask yourself the same question, "What if...?" but instead of being paralyzed by the dreaded answers , [which is where the enemy wants to take you] follow.... your own answer to the finish line? And when you come to the end of it, say to yourself, "Then what.....?"

Usually you will find a phrase like one of these.........

"But GOD...!"

"Then GOD did...!"

IF our hearts are fully engaged in trusting God's Heart, then these 'fears' can be 'put to death' when they are smashed in the palms of His Almighty Hands!

Will we let go of the 'grip of fear'... and let God Himself quiet the 'roar' to a mere growl?

Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
JESUS ONLY in 2010

9 comments:

Wylie @ Shout A Joyful Noise! said...

Such truth. The Lord really opened my eyes to what He wanted me to see about spiritual warfare when I studied "Lord, Is It Warfare? Teach Me To Stand."

That was it - God spoke into my heart that I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenlies, FAR above the {limited} power of the enemy & it changed my life! Praise the LORD!!!! Have a super blessed weekend sister! Love you!
Wylie

Anonymous said...

Once again, you have spoken truth to me and when I needed it most ! You have know idea how timely this was for me to read this, Steph. God is truly using you to speak; That is a great honor ( and heavy responsibility ).

You are so valuable....

Alleluiabelle said...

Oh Sweet Friend,

As I type this comment I am under physical attack. I have been praying for so many and right now I have been experiencing stomach pain, a feeling of heat in my throat and feeling like on the verge of an anxiety attack or something hich I haven't had in quite a while. So I ask you to pray for me here as I type this and as I read this timely post for me in the very moment.

I am praying in the spirit right now.

Very, very powerful post my friend.

I love you.

Alleluiabelle

Patrinas Pencil said...

releasing my grip on fear or anything else for that matter is always my hearts desire - that I might desire first and formost HIM and only HIm.

Fear has such a loud roar sometimes - and it scares me more times than I care to admitt. I fight fear with faith, as fear is the opposite of faith - that's why fear comes knocking at the door of God's faithful followers.

Fear used to have a grip on me - now, because of my faith in a great big God, He has given me an extra measure of faith to fight against this fear. He knows exactly what we need for each battle. Now, fear still comes but it (usually) does not overpower me. The Lord walks with me through every fear based thot or action. He empowers me to do it anyway - to walk through the fear with faith that He is right beside me - all the way.

I am learning to walk right into fear with the personhood of this King of KIngs called Jesus. The presence of His Holy Spirit carries me right through - to the other side.

But Fear does come and it must be quieted!when it does. I'm not in control of the enemy's poison laced arrows. They will come and sometimes they come often. But if I'm walking so close behind my Savior, that the dust of His sandals settles on my feet - then I know that I can and will respond in faith. Faith chases away the fear and causes it's shadow to simply fade away.

Fear must be attacked with spiritual warfare. It is that powerful of a weapon against our 'fleshy' tents.

seems like we are on the same page here, Stephanie

Keep growing closer to the Lord!

Patrina <")>><

Debra@CommonGround said...

I love the anagram for fear.
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
It's so very true. We hold on to God, and trust Him, knowing He will always take care of us, and that we are in the palm of His hand!
blessings,
Debra

B His Girl said...

I will press on through the noise and continue the journey with His promised peace. Still soaking in your words. will respond soon. Hugs, B
Hope you are digging out of the snow!

Cherie Hill said...

Fantastic post! God has truly been working on me in trusting in His sovereignty... He just used you to emphasize His message this week! Thank you sister for always being at His becon call and relaying His messages!
Blessings to you!
Cherie

TRUTH SHARER said...

I AM ENCOURAGED beyond measure! We ALL needed this reminder and you have put your ARMOR ON here in your comments and replies!
We, IN CHRIST, are no match for the enemy!! And I really needed the reminder from all of you [ever comment here should be taken as valuable] as well but Debra's reminder of the
'FEAR' word...

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

...really hit home again because this photo was really my cat, Griffin, YAWNING!!! Talk about false evidence! But when I caught this [a little out of focus] I thought to myself that if Griffin saw this he would have said he was 'growling' in order to 'puff himself up'. Isn't that just like the enemy of our souls?

Let's continue to 'get a grip' and be 'Armed and Dangerous' in God's Mighty Army! We are WARRIORS - Soldiers of the CROSS!!! Let's live like that!

Praising God with ALL of you for your courage - even in the midst of FEAR [real or not]!

Stephanie

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

In my recent writing, I've landed on two stories from Daniel (the Lion's Den, The Fiery Furnace); both situations call the remembrance the battle between faith and fear. As I've reflected on them both, I'm reminded that in my own struggles against the enemy schemes, I can have complete confidence in God who delivers his own one-two punch in all situations.

His promise of rescue always exceeds the enemy's threat of destruction.

Great reminder, Stephanie.

peace~elaine