Our Journey Home

Friday, February 17, 2012

Are you afraid?

What makes you feel afraid? When are you fearful? What little lies creep into your thoughts? These are the questions I've been asking myself this week. I have been meditating on a scripture in 2 Timothy and I wanted to journal (well, blog... wink) about what the Lord has shown me in His Word.
"Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement."- 2 Timothy 1:6-7
I have read this scripture many times over the last few days and over and over again, I keep coming back to the Truth that 'God does not give us a spirit of fearfulness'. Yet, there are many times in my Christian walk when I have felt afraid. Afraid of the uncertainties of life, afraid of my own shortfalls, even afraid of change. But if a spirit of fear doesn't come from God, where does it come from? Then I remembered... that's one of the very oldest tricks in The Book. In the beginning, Satan used his craftiness to tempt Eve into sinning against God by lying to her about the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Eve ate the fruit and invited Adam to join her in this sin. Adam and Eve had never felt afraid or fearful until after they had sinned, because up until that point, they had enjoyed a perfect, beautiful relationship with the Lord. But after Adam and Eve had sinned, they felt afraid when God came into the garden looking for them, and they hid. Satan knew if he could cast even a little doubt into Eve's thoughts, he could cause her to sin. Satan hates God and he hates God's people. Satan enjoys distracting us from God's perfect love, and he will use any tactic possible to do so, including casting the shadows of fear and doubt. I believe fearfulness came into the world due to the fall of man.
What can I do when I feel afraid, when the shadows of doubt or fear begin to creep into my thoughts? Well, 2 Timothy 1:6-7 reminds me that the Lord has equipt me with 'power, love, and sound judgement'. I have power by the Holy Spirit within me and the Truth of God's word; I do not need to allow myself to be decieved by the lies of this world. I have the love of Jesus, a love that cannot be broken, a love that is unstoppable, unchanging, and forever. And, I have been given a spirit of sound judgement; I can prayerfully consider the circumstances and seek guidance from the Lord, and I can also seek Godly counsel.
Sometimes I when I blog, I like to write stories about our children that I don't want to forget, sometimes I enjoy writing about our family adventures, and other times, I write about something that the Lord has put on my heart. Today, friends, I am writing to share with you about the lesson God has shown to me through this passage of scripture; I am blogging all of this because I just can't seem to shake the idea that I need to write specifically about these verses. If you are reading this post and you have seeds of fear or doubt within your thoughts, I pray that you will be encouraged by God's Truth.
Have a great weekend!

The girls got their first set of legos this year for Christmas. Lots of fun!!!Bella completed this Miss Spider puzzle all by herself! She was SO excited about this accomplishment! She worked very,very hard.

A homeschool picture. Bella doing her 'work' and Wubs is deep in thought. wink.


"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him."- Nahum 1:7

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