Fear Not When

Written by Trophy of Grace

Cross Post from Consecrated to Him

"But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:1-2

We should not be surprised when trouble comes upon us. Jesus told us that in this world that we would have many sorrows and troubles, but that we should have peace in Him. James tells us to count all joy when we have troubles because that is when our faith is tested, and our endurance has a chance to grow. When our endurance is fully developed, we will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (John 16:33, James 1:2-4)

But I love what our Lord has told us in Isaiah 43:1-3 the best. He said “Fear Not!”

“Fear not when...”

• You lose your job.
• You fall behind on your mortgage.
• You get a negative report from the doctor.
• You are persecuted.
• Troubles press in on every side and you feel completely overwhelmed.

Our Lord knew that we would have to go through all of this. That’s why he said WHEN you pass through the waters, through the rivers, and walk through the fire. He says, “I will be with you. I will not allow the rivers of trouble to overflow you. You will not be burned by the fire and the flames will not scorch you.” Thank you Jesus!

He is encouraging us to take heart and remember that we are His. We belong to Him and because we are His He will take care of us. Whether He has already made a way of escape or determines that He will walk us through the trials we have been redeemed. We are not alone in our troubles. So when fear comes knocking on the door of your heart allow faith to answer it and fear will flee.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord, For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

If you have allowed your roots to grow down deep in the Word of God then during the times when the heat comes and there is drought in the land you will not be crippled by fear. Instead you will still be full of hope and trust in the Lord. You will keep pressing forward leaving all of your troubles in His hands and knowing in your heart that everything will work out for your good no matter what. You will not lose focus or become distracted by your problems; instead you will continue to produce good fruit in your life. You will be an example to others and when they see your strength they will know that it is by the power of God that you are able to overcome. Your faithfulness and determination will bring glory to our Lord.

So when troubles come fear not! For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Do not be dismayed, for our Lord will help us and strengthen us. He will uphold us with his righteous right hand. (2 Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 41:10)

Too Much Emotional Drama

MySpace Friend writes..

Its been a while since i asked for advice ... but i am only a teenager.. i cant help it ... i have a problem that every teenager deals with and its hard to rid of.. but i am trying and i dont know where ...or how to start..so i need help... I used to be so centered around God about 3 years ago ... i havent let go... but i have fallen back some steps and its hard to catch up ... but my problem is ... that i bring- cause alot of drama between myself and world... not physically emotionally its taking its toll on me.. i am only 19 years old... and i kno i am not alone in this ... the smallest things cause me to have a total emotional break.. not crazy is what i keep telling my self and i have lots of love and suport of my family ... they give me the advice to just live and get over it .... stop worrying .. things are gonna happen according to God anyways mine as well live for now... my mind set is alway future.. which causes me stress/ and always getting panic attacks ... its starting tho to affect this Man i am in love with ... he cant emotionally take what i dish out .. it over rides all my Good and potiential and it stresses me out but according to him ... he still loves me no matter what ...lol even if he has to put me in a padded room ...jk but still its something i am not sure how to deal with .. i am very open to ppl .. but they are so closed... to all my drama cuz i have so much of it EMOTIONALLY not physically i wouldnt ever openly display this emotion .... i want to rid all the bad and negative i have ... its just i have gotten mixed up in all the wrong crowds i am finding my way out of these accustoms i developed not even knowing that who i was becoming ... i know this must make me sound like a bad person... but i dont want to lose all thats good and that i have ... and my emotions are about draining me and everyone around me ... I need help ... i dont wants shrinks or anything that crazy ... Cuz i am not crazy i just want advice on how to deal with this like every other teenager ... BECAUSE ITS HARD LIVING THE LIFE OF A TEENAGER ....

many thanks :
hopefully you can help me unstress my emotional attachment to all the things that makes it hard

Trophy of Grace replies..

We are here to help you sister. We know its hard being a teenager and that’s why we started this ministry to reach out and help whoever was willing to ask. You can come to us any time you want. It is our pleasure to serve you. We are glad that you have come back.

Let me immediately encourage you by telling you that Jesus loves you so much. He has not left you or forsaken you in anyway. Our heavenly Father has been waiting for you to come home. He says, “Return, my backslidden child, And I will heal your backslidings. I will love you freely, For my anger has turned away from you. Remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent. My kindness to you is meant to lead you to repentance” (Jeremiah 3:22, Hosea 14:4, Revelation 2:4-5, Romans 2:4-6)

Everything that you are saying regarding your emotional condition, stress level, and your choices in friends/associates I believe is a result of pulling away from the Lord and His will for your life. You are producing negative results and bad fruit in your life. It is affecting you and others all around you. You need to find peace and joy again. You have to come back to God. In Him is the fullness of joy. Praying and reading the Word will bring you the peace you so desire.

If you will repent and turn back to the Lord He will heal your mind. His Word will renew your mind. He does not want to you to be conformed to this world thinking and acting like the ungodly. You are a child of the Most High God and should live your life pleasing to Him. This is the least that we can do after all He has done for us.

The medicine you need is the Word of God. If you will meditate on it instead of the thoughts of stress and worry you will find freedom and peace. Worry and anxiety will open the door to the spirit of fear to come in and torment you. You have to resist worry and learn to trust in the Lord with all of your heart, leaning not on your own understanding. If you will acknowledge Him and seek Him and His way in all areas of your life He will be faithful to direct your path. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

If you know that you have made unhealthy or bad friendships then get away from these people. Ask the Lord to help you find friendships that will glorify Him and that will help you stay close to Him. Get back to church and get involved in your youth group. You need accountability from other believers. You may want to seek counsel from one of your local youth leaders or pastors. That is what the body of Christ is here for.
I leave you with these scriptures. Please meditate on them and do not ignore my counsel. The Lord is calling you back. Don’t ignore Him. He wants to do mighty things in your life if you will only trust Him with your mind and heart. Allow Him to make all of your crooked paths straight. You will see Him do a new thing in your life.

God bless you sister..

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5

“I will hear what God the Lord will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly.” Psalm 85:8

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4

“For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

In Christ Love,

Trophy of Grace

The Worry Is Back

MySpace Friend Writes:

The worrying is back, i took a final yesterday and did not do good on it. There is still another grade my teacher has to post which will determine if i will have a good grade in the class. I still have other finals to take but I'm starting to get discouraged. I have to get good grades to keep my gpa up so that I will be able to transfer to the new school. I'm trying hard not to let it bother me and pray about it but it keeps popping up in my mind.

Trophy of Grace responds:

The scripture that comes to mind is the one that always pops up in my head when I find myself losing my peace and giving into anxious thoughts.

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

You have to do your part by studying diligently and the leave the rest in God's hands. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Instead of meditating on what could or may happen. You need to meditate on good things, like the Word of God and it's promises. That is what will encourage you. Reading the bible brings us hope because we know that God's Word does not lie and never returns void. It will fulfill all that God sends it out to do.

You have to start speaking the Word over your situation and stop allowing the enemy to mess with your mind. Talk those bad, pestering thoughts away but telling them what the Truth (the bible)says.

Me personally, when I feel like I am just going to lose it I start speaking the Word real loud in my house. "Lisa!! You will not worry because God works all things out for your good. He has a perfect plan and purpose for your life. He hears your prayers and He listens to you. I will not worry but instead I will trust Him because He cares for me. He wants me to cast all of my cares on Him. I know that if I acknowledge Him in all my ways that He WILL direct my path. Now I am going to trust you Father with my situation because I know that you are for me, so who can ever be against me. As I trust you I know that your peace which surpasses all understanding will protect my mind and heart as I trust and wait on you. Thank you Jesus..Now I am going to put on my praise music and I will allow your Holy Spirit to comfort me. I will not allow the spirit of heaviness to torment me ANY MORE!! In Jesus name!!"

If you want peace then you need to know the One that gives true peace, Jesus Christ. I don't mean knowing of Him, but knowing Him personally. This means having a relationship with Him. The more time you spend with Him reading the Word and praying. The more you realize that He is true to His Word. He never leaves us or forsakes us. We can trust Him with everything at all times. There is no point in worrying because we know that Jesus has our back. The more you hang out with God's people by going to church and volunteering in ministry the more you will see that He is not only faithful to you but He is faithful to all of His children. This will also help build your faith.

You just need to draw closer to Him sister..

I will keep praying for you.

I love you!!!

xoxo's


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