Choosing Faith Over Fear

In reading the book, Voices of the True Woman Movement, I was reminded of how Satan, the enemy, can use fear to keep us from being the true women God has called us to be. I want to share what I gleaned from Karen Loritts, one of the authors. She writes about being crippled by fear when her last child goes off to college and the empty nest syndrome sets in. I could relate so well to that as I am about to have Lauren, our oldest daughter leave for college in August.

Loritts describes her emotional meltdown as not something a woman who has been in ministry for 30 years should be experiencing. She confesses to having a hard time admitting to family and friends. Sound familar to anyone? Despite pressing ahead with her schedule and being faithful to prayer and bible study she hard a hard time shaking off the fear!! She gained some valuable insight that I want to share with you all. It helped me and I pray that that the next time fear tries to sneak up on you, you will arm yourself with these strategies.

Before I share the strategies I want to make sure we understand how powerful fear can be. Do you realize that fear does not travel alone? Fear packs some evil enemies when planning its attack. The following is a list of 10 evil companions of fear.
1. Fear distorts reality.
2. Fear victimizes.
3. Fear adds stress.
4. Fear creates doubt.
5. Fear cripples us.
6. Fear replaces faith.
7. Fear disappoints us.
8. Fear makes us doubtful of success.
9. Fear fills our heart with despair.
10. Fear steals and destroys.

Now, I know after reading this, you're probably not very uplifted, but we you must fear, becasue fear has met its match!! There is HOPE in Christ Jesus. Now for the Good stuff!! Lorrits writes that she realized she needed to turn to the Bible and read some things she has known all along. She read Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent." When the children of Israel were trapped by mountains and sea with the Egyptian army pursuing them from behind, Moses encouraged them. In other words, "Be still, be quiet and see the power of God working for you!! Loritts resolved to not let fear rob her of joy and blessing. We must do this also ladies!! Don't let Satan steal your joy. We are going to have troubles, hardships and difficult situations living day to day, it's part of our refining process. So we must be prepared and recognize fear when it starts to creep in.

Finally, here are the strategies found in James 4:7-10.

1. Submit to God. Or another word for submit is surrender. We are learning this is crucial as we study the True Woman manifesto. It's not a one time surrender either. I find myself having to surrender throughout the day. Sometimes, I fail to surrender and have to ask for fogiveness.

2. Resist the Devil. I'm sure you all realize the DEVIL is real, he's not a little make believe character dressed in red, carrying a pitch fork. Here's my favorite part of this verse-Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Did you hear that? God assures us that if we resist, he will flee. It doesn't say the he might flee, or he will probably flee, or he will think about fleeing it says, he will flee. It takes action on our part though-we must first resist him, then he will flee.

3. Draw near to God. We do this through prayer and spending time in God's Word. We also need to ask others to pray for us. Break down the wall of pride. Don't listen to the voice of the enemey.

4. Cleanse your hands. Repent of any sin and experience the freedom found in a right fellowship with God. His love is unconditional and bounds in grace.

5. Purify your heart. Get rid of any anger or bitterness you may have built up inside and not even realize it. Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." These verses can be so helpful to us if we will just apply them. We must pray them daily.

6. Humble yourself. We must be willingly to let down our guard with those we trust and admit we are struggling. I have found when I do this I am always supported and usually learn that my friend, who I thought had it all together, is struggling with something also. Let's face it. We were created for relationships with other women. Fulfilling our day to day responsibilities consumes a lot of time, but we must be intentional with making time for other Christian women.

I know this was a long post, but I shared what God laid on my heart!! Enjoying the journey to becoming a TRUE Woman of God with you all!!

In His Love,
Renee :)