It was one of those days when I could have burst into tears at any given moment...I was just praying no one would ask me how I was doing. I couldn't put my finger on what was exactly bothering me, I was just extremely fragile. (I'm sure the men out there have no clue what I'm talking about, and have probably already stopped reading, but for all you ladies...I'll go on).
There I was: pregnant, very hormonal, sleep-deprived, and ready to cry. Honestly I didn't really want to listen to a lesson. I wanted to sit in a room by myself and cry for an hour. See I can't cry at home anymore, Dalton gets sooo upset when I do. So it's hard to get that release when I need it. But my sweet friends at church knew that I needed more than a good cry and they propped me up in my chair as the lesson began.
The lady leading class that day is Melanie Sanderson. I had never met her, but throughout the next hour and a half I found myself feeling like she knew me. And she knew what was bothering me. And God had put her there that day to speak right to me. Amazing! Melanie started out the class by having us ask ourselves what kinds of things we're afraid of and why. Turns out there are a lot of things that strike fear in my heart, and it became very obvious to me very quickly that FEAR was the real reason I was feeling on the verge of a total emotional breakdown. Here are some highlights from the lessson; things that stuck out to me and have stuck with me. What I learned that day gave me so much strength that I just had to share it with all of you. Maybe someone out there will benefit from it the way I did:
- At the core of most fear is the fear of change or the unknown
- Being afraid is not a sin; courage is being afraid of doing something and going through with it anyway.
- God did not give us a spirit of fear. Fear is from the Evil One. God is bigger than any fear and He can (and will) provide the strength to be courageous if we keep focused on Him.
- Learning courage is a process. Failure and mistakes teach us to have the courage to get back up and try again.
- If you are seeking God's will for your life and are striving to walk in accordance with His will, there is never any reason to be fearful. It is only when you're walking out of His will that you should be afraid.
Recently someone tried to use intimidation on someone I love very much to scare him out of walking through a door that God has clearly opened for him. I pray for that person because it is obvious they are consumed with evil to behave in such a way. My advice was to evaluate and pray about the situation. If you feel certain it is God's will, don't be intimidated or persuaded by this person trying to make you fearful. How can you be sure it is the Will of God? Consider the following:
"The Will of God"
The Will of God will never take you
Where the Grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the Arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the Power of God cannot endow you.
The Will of God will never take you
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the Wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the Army of God cannot protect you,
Where the Hands of God cannot mold you.
The Will of God will never take you
Where the Love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the Mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the Peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the Authority of God cannot overrule you.
The Will of God will never take you
Where the Comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the Miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the Omnipresence of God cannot find you.
~Author Unknown~
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