This is a popular scripture on anxiety and my personal favorite, rightly so. It not only says what not to do but what to do. First, I believe that as a member of this tribe, you already know by now that anxiety and worry are manifestations of fear. So you have to come out of it.
Sometimes we come up on seasons when life demands much more than we can give and we just can’t deal. But ever so often, instead of realizing it’s beyond our scope we put ourselves under pressure trying to attain what we do not have so we can meet up with the demands.
Can we talk about the courage he had even to the point of death? This Usher used the opportunity of his accusation as a medium to spread the gospel. His life was threatened, but he still gave a sermon. Even in death, he must still speak of Jesus. Ah! The audacity, the confidence, the courage, and as if that wasn’t enough he prayed for their forgiveness as they killed him. Chills But all this was not in vain. This murder introduced us to a man named Saul. who we know and love as Paul the Apostle.
Now I know that today’s topic sounds strange and you might be thinking, I joined this devotional to gain the courage to pursue my dreams and not to get beaten. You’re almost right. You see, the OUT OF FEAR Devotional is designed to help you defeat fear and acquire the courage you need to move in the direction of God. However, I do not know if that direction for you is taking a beating, literally or figuratively but I do know that it comes with the territory.
So today, I want you to know that the Spirit of love, of power, and of soundness of mind is available for you when you feel afraid. So let’s practice.
Could it be that there are situations where I need more courage and not more vengeance? Have I wrongfully prayed for death on people that needed light and by so doing refused the opportunity to grow in faith and courage? Have I been so focused on my comfort and my desire for retribution that I missed an opportunity to walk in love and grow in faith? Was Stephen right to have accepted being stoned to death instead of calling blindness on his stoners?
You cannot do faith without company or community. I know that virtual reality, quarantine, and social distancing have us thinking that we can live on our own and do life alone, but let me burst that bubble real quick, they lied to you. Faith thrives in community. If this were not true, God will not instruct us not to forsake our gathering together to fellowship as brethren. However, I have come to notice that the issue with the majority of people I know is not that they would prefer to be alone, they just don’t want to put themselves out there and get rejected or be betrayed because they trusted the wrong people. And that’s fear.
But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what…
And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will…
Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” JUDGES 7:20 There are four major things that are evident in any partnership. The first is that it…
