Thursday, July 14, 2011

FEAR, THAT UGLY BEAST...



My dear, sweet friends, fear and anxiety are of the Enemy, and if you don't turn your backs to their blazing missiles, they will strike you countless times throughout the day. Don't forget this: you, as a child of the Lord most high, have been given the shield of faith by which to extinguish those fiery darts. Use it DAILY! Regardless of what kinds of fearful emotions flood your mind, persist in throwing them off, and pretty soon you'll find them falling in line with your faith. Don't hide your fears, bring them out in the open and declare them dead and useless in light of the strength and courage God gives through faith and trust in Him. Concentrate on placing your hope and faith in Christ, and soon all fear will lose its foothold. (Isaiah 12:3; Psalm 62:8). Without faith you can do very little to ward off this ugly beast. He will haunt and taunt until He finds another passageway through a weak spot in your armor. Cling hard to this verse of scripture found in Isaiah: "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'" And He will, my precious, dear friend. He has shown Himself faithful and true in so many circumstances of my own life. I have no cause to believe He will ever stop revealing His ever-present trustworthiness.

The reason I say all this is because I have a writing deadline a mere 6 weeks away, and many things pull at me, giving me reasons to fear that I won't finish in time, but I know these are all tactics of the Enemy to slow me down, discourage me, and render me useless for God's Kingdom.

Let us all join forces to pray for one another in these difficult times when the Author of Lies wants nothing more than to make us believe we are never going to accomplish the goals God has set before us. With the help of our most holy Lord, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

Anybody got an AMEN to that?

4 comments:

Lynn Dove said...

Thank you for the reminder and the encouragement, Sharlene! Fear is one of the most crippling forms of attacks by the enemy I have faced repeatedly in my life. Blessings to you to remind us that we have One Who is greater than the one in the world to help us overcome our fear.

Nise' said...

AMEN! Shar. I needed this reminder as I am dealing with some health fears and love how the Lord works to remind and comfort me with His presence. He is so faithful!!!

Melis said...

Amen! I've been struggling with this one...tempted to take a nap instead of study for fear I won't understand or will fail to finish. Sometimes I even get anxiety over opening my email inbox for fear that I will have to address an uncomfortable issue! Brad encourages me to just "slay my dragons". I'd like to let the Lord do that and claim peace in Jesus' name. Thanks, Shar!

SHARLENE said...

Melis!!! It was so good to see you here on my blog. How are you? I need to catch up with you. If you happen to read this reply, shoot me an email when you get a chance. I would love to hear about all the latest happenings in your life - and talk a little bit about those "fears" you're experiencing.

I love you, dear heart - and so does our faithful God.

Write soon.