Category Archives: Acknowledge God
Your Peace
Ps.91:1 “Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty, 2 can say to him, “You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust.” [GNB, with emphasis].
In facing our fears there are some facts that you and I must know. The first fact is that fear occurs when we feel out of control. The second fact is that most of life’s issues are beyond our control. These two facts clearly show that life is filled with fear. The secret to overcoming all fears is not in a formula or in a ten steps list of to-dos. The key to overcoming all fears is a person and that person is Jesus.
Go To God!
Matt.8:25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
Where you run to when you have a crisis reveals who your saviour is. It is not where you go when you have it all together and you are well dressed on Sunday that reveals who your saviour is. Who your saviour is has nothing to do with the place you run to when you have just bought a new car. Where do you run to when you have a crisis? If it is not to Jesus, you are going to have a problem with storms because only Jesus can calm the wind and the storms.
Relax!
Isaiah 43: 2 “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
Do not be afraid! Instead have the kind of confidence, the God kind of confidence that is hinged in God’s truth. Why? You should not be afraid because as a child of God, you never go through crisis alone. The choice to tap into God or not is another thing entirely. But be confident about this very thing, you never go through crisis alone. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. If God is near then there is no fear. Since God is near then there is no fear. You and I must be focused on God’s closeness.
Chill Pill
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” [NIV, with emphasis]
I have had to travel by air a number of times and in this short period I have seen some turbulence, but nothing like what I experienced on one particular flight – and, I have not seen a storm like it till this very day. The pilots described what we faced as a “lightning mine”. We could literally see the lightning miss the wing of the aircraft by inches. And sometimes the plane would be in free fall for about twenty seconds. It was a terrible experience.
Jesus Is Near
Ps.145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. 19 …He also will hear their cry and save them” [NKJV, with emphasis]
We are going to look at three practical ways to respond as Jesus did. There are three practical ways to respond in peace and totally banish the fear of unexpected crisis from our lives. The first practical thing you and I must do is to refocus on God’s closeness. Get your mind off the crisis and onto Christ. Matt.8:23 “Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples.” Jesus was in the same boat with His disciples. Jesus was near. God is near. The presence of Jesus does not mean the storms will not happen.
Crisis Analysis
Prov. 3:25-26 “Have no fear of sudden disaster . . . for the Lord is your security.”
Your finances cannot be your security. Your age cannot be your security. Your good looks cannot be your security. Your oratory skills cannot be your security. Your mechanical skills or engineering skills cannot be your security. The Lord is your security. There are a few facts about crisis that we need to understand.
The first thing you need to understand about crisis is that it is inevitable. The Word of God in James 1:2 says, “When you face trials…” The Bible did not say if you face trials. Isaiah says “when you pass through the waters it will not overflow you, when you pass through fire it will not kindle upon you”. He did not say if you pass through the water or if you pass through the fire. You are going to pass through the waters, and through the fire; it is inevitable. Life is a chain of problems to be solved. In fact, leadership is leading from crisis to crisis. You need to understand that crisis is inevitable.
The second thing you need to understand about crisis is that there are different types of crisis. Some are situational crisis – things that happen on the outside that affects you on the inside. Some crises are relational – things that people you are in relationship with do to you and it is out of your control. Some crises are emotional – things that happen way deep down and you are in turmoil, overwhelmed by feelings of depression, of fear, and of guilt. Job is a classic example of an emotional crisis. Even secret storms, you do not know what it is but you are just going through that period of inner turmoil. It could even be the feeling of loneliness. You can be in the middle of a crowd and be going through an emotional storm.
The third thing you need to know about storms is that storms are impartial. Storms happen to the old and to the young, to the rich and to the poor, to the righteous and to the unrighteous; happens to those that are praying and to those that are not praying, happens to those that are fasting and to those that are not fasting. Crisis happens to both good and bad people. Matt.5:45 “…For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”
Prayer: Father, I will not fear sudden disaster because the Lord is my security, in Jesus Name. Amen!
God Is
Prov. 3:25-26 “Have no fear of sudden disaster . . . for the Lord is your security.”
I pray that if there is still any form of fear in our lives, it will find its way out, in Jesus Name. Something that sometimes tries to cripple us is the fact that we are afraid of crisis that we have not anticipated. Today, God will set us totally free of such fears, in Jesus Name. The fear of accidents, the fear of disasters; people do not want to travel to certain parts of the world because they are afraid of earthquakes. There are all sorts of unexpected incidents these days that can cause us to be afraid.
The Answer!
Matt. 9:29 “According to your faith it will be done to you.”
The sixth R in banishing the fear of failure is to Replace Fear With Faith in Christ. You and I must replace our fears with faith in Christ. Why? “According to your faith it will be done to you.” You can program yourself for faith in God or the fear of failure. It is your choice. Instead of being driven by the fear of failing, you should be driven by the faith to succeed. Instead of being faith-driven success seekers, a lot of people are fear-driven failure avoiders.
Staying Power
Isa.60:1 “Arise, shine;For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you”
The only way to avoid failure is never to try. On this side of eternity, no one is perfect. To overcome the fear of failure you must understand that everybody fails. Jam.3:2 “We all stumble in many ways.” Did the Bible say a few of us, or the mediocre, or the less than perfect stumble? Not at all! The Bible says ALL stumble, including evangelists, business moguls, prophets, leaders, and pastors etcetera. The day you get that, you set yourself free.
Risk Taking
Prov. 13:4 “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich” [NKJV, with emphasis]
Jesus is a Master of story telling. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us the story of a master that gave money to three of his servants while he was travelling. Two of the servants took a risk, invested the money and made more. The third servant was afraid of failing, so he did nothing. Matt.25:25-26 “…I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground . . . His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant!’” [with emphasis]. The master responded with strong but instructive words. When we do not push the envelop of our lives, God sees us as wicked and lazy. When we cave in because of the fear of failing, God says wicked and lazy. Read the rest of this entry
