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

JESUS UNDERSTANDS

He was despised and rejected ---

a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our  backs on him and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care.

- Isaiah 53:3 (NLT)

Maybe this sounds like the story of your life or at least the story of your current situation. Think no one understands? Think no one cares?

Jesus Christ: the Son of God can relate. This verse strikes me in resemblance to the "loner" type. The lonesome person no one wants to be seen with. Imagine: the only man who ever walked the earth and never sinned: despised, rejected. In other words, Jesus was hated; the social outcast, you might say. All He ever did was save, forgive, heal, and deliver people, yet He was rejected by mankind.

What if you lived during the time the Son of God walked the earth? Maybe you would have avoided him like the plague. Maybe would have felt bad for Him and befriended Him, but only in secret: never to tell your family and friends. Maybe you would have admired Him from a distance, never bold enough to follow Him. Or maybe ---- just maybe you would have dared to believe, to take up your cross and follow Him. Maybe you would have dared to leave behind everything you knew (or thought you knew!) to take this journey with the Son of the Living God; to soak in the beautiful benefits of His presence (peace, joy unspeakable, comfort, healing, freedom); to sit at His feet and drink from the Living Water (the well that never runs dry!); to wash His feet with your tears & wipe them with your hair in repentance for your sins.

I posed this question at first, in a "what if" scenario, to allow your mind to ponder, in wonder what you would have done if you had the blessed opportunity to meet Jesus in person during His earthly life. However, this is very applicable for you now, today. Do you refuse to serve Jesus and give Him your whole heart in fear of what others might think? Or perhaps because you aren't willing to let Jesus free you from your bondage to sin? Or do you serve Jesus quietly  -- fearing what your family and friends might think? Or do you from time to time ponder the possibility of following Jesus, never bold enough to commit? Or do you live boldly for the Lord Jesus, beaming as a shining, brilliant light for Him? Following your loving Savior, falling more deeply in love with Him each day? Do you courageously live your life according to God's Word (1 John 5:3, Psalm 119:9)?

DO YOU DARE TO BELIEVE IN JESUS, who remains the same: yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6)? He still freely forgives all who repent & turn to Him (Titus 2:11-12, Ezekiel 33:11, Acts 2:38, Isaiah 55:6-7, Isaiah 1:18, 1 Timothy 2:8, Romans 10:9 & 13, 2 Peter 3:9, Isaiah 30:18), heals every sickness and every disease, because He is moved with compassion for the sick (Matt. 4:23), makes the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf talk, the mute hear, delivers all who are oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38).

I challenge you today to let nothing stand in your way of serving Jesus with all of your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart". I challenge you to move as far away from the torment of fiery hell as possible by moving as close to Jesus as you can possibly get. 1 John 5:3 says, "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome". I can assure you that if you fall in love with God continually and make it your focus to please Him, His commands absolutely are not burdensome. He helps us keep them (1 Corinthians 10:13). Besides, what is easier? To live this life any way you want and burn in hell forever? Or to live this life according to God's Word and live in eternal bliss with Jesus in Heaven forever?

Would you dare to believe? Would you dare to live your life for Jesus out loud, unashamed (Romans 1:16)? Would you dare to believe in His willingness, eagerness, and desire to perform miracles and healing just as He did then? Would you believe on Him to heal your broken heart, your broken life? Would you be courageous enough to have that child like faith He yearns for you to have (Matthew 18:3)? I challenge you to read/re-read Isaiah 53 & let Him minister to you. Let these words about Jesus resonate within your soul, as you read about what He did to save you and heal you.

Prayer: 

Father, in the name of Jesus, let every person who reads this be changed. Impress upon them strongly to live the Gospel and speak your truth with GREAT BOLDNESS, UNASHAMED. Let them feel the awe, wonder, amazement, majesty of Your Presence, Jesus. Let us shamelessly be "doers of Your Word" & not hearers only, because we know according to James 1:22, we are fooling ourselves if we listen to Your Word & do not do what it says. Let us proudly serve you, because you had no shame in taking on the full weight of all our sins & sicknesses, so that we may be free from sin, sickness & every evil (Psalm 91) in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father, for your infinite love, mercy, and grace. Thank You for all that You are: Savior, Healer, Provider, Prince of Peace, and so much more. 

In Jesus Name,

Amen

In God's Infinite Compassion,

Rachel Marie