LAUGHING WITHOUT FEAR OF THE FUTURE

SHE is CLOTHED with STRENGTH and DIGNITY and LAUGHS WITHOUT FEAR of HER FUTURE.

- Proverbs 31:25

This is difficult when stress, worry, anxiety kick in. I often struggle with putting this into practice: "laughing without fear of my future". But as Women of God, clothed with STRENGTH and DIGNITY, we should be lighthearted. We should not be like a tea kettle, screaming on the inside with constant worry. We have to cast ALL our anxieties on HIM, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Philippians 4:6 says, "BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING". When the devil tempts me with worry, I sometimes have to remind myself that God didn't say "Be anxious for nothing EXCEPT.. This, that, or the other [insert your personal situation here]. He said to be anxious for NOTHING. HE HOLDS EVERYTHING IN HIS HANDS. HE cares for our every need. He cares about everything we are going through. Yet He says to His children: BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING... because He wants us to give it all to Him. And if we do, we don't have to worry.

Sometimes, we get so caught up in hoping and praying certain things will or will not happen that it becomes our focus. The devil can trick us into yielding to our fears. We get caught up into that state of panic, where we are paralyzed, terror-stricken, unable to entertain any thoughts except the "what-ifs". But instead of giving in, we have to LET GOD BE GOD & DELIVER US FROM ALL OUR FEARS (Psalm 34:4). 

Think of it like passing a basketball to and fro. Your mind is the gym. Let the basketball hoop signify Jesus.  The devil keeps bouncing the basketballs labeled, "fear", "panic", and "anxiety" your way. You've got to see past the devil's evil schemes and look up, toward the Light [the basketball goal: Jesus]. When Satan keeps bombarding you by bouncing all the basketballs to you, you may forget to look up to the place where all the basketballs go: in the hoop [Jesus]. So, no matter how many basketballs almost knock you over, you can only solve the problem by tossing each one into the hoop. All you have to do is keep throwing the balls in the hoop.. Keep bouncing them to JESUS. And DON'T pick them back up.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

- James 4:8

God never wants us to live in fear. "God has NOT given us a spirit of fear but of POWER and of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND (2 Timothy 1:7)." He wants us to live in his safety, protection, and perfect peace. "YOU WILL KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE, all who trust in You, whose THOUGHTS ARE FIXED ON YOU" (Isaiah 26:3). We need to read and pray Psalm 91 daily for protection over our families, loved ones, and ourselves. We have to remember that as we dwell in the secret place of the Most High, we abide in the shadow of the Almighty. He protects us & covers us with His feathers. Because we have made the LORD our refuge, NO EVIL WILL BEFALL US; NO PLAGUE WILL COME NEAR OUR DWELLING.

Thank You, Jesus, for pointing all this out to me today, not just for me, but for my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ who also need this message.

Too often, we make the negative emotions seem bigger than God by zoning in on them instead of zoning in on HIM.

May we all work to enter that REST IN JESUS.

May we all work to throw all our anxieties to Jesus.

May we all work to take His yoke upon us, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

May we be able to laugh easily, without fear of the future.

In the Love of Christ,

Rachel Marie