Thoughts

God is teaching me so much about trust and focus. It seems that when you step out and think you fully understand a concept of the Kingdom, He reveals so much more...showing that you really know very little! Every turn is a new facet of Him to discover. And yet, He is faithful, gentle and loving. He never leaves us and will never put more on us than we can handle. He promises that 'a bruised reed He will not break', so the stretching will not result in our breaking. Somehow that brings great peace to me.

Ex. 33:14 says "My Presence will go with you, and I (in My Presence) will give you rest (peace).

What distinguishes us from the world? Peace...His rest which is that unexplainable calm, quiet, lack of striving in the midst of storms. The disciples experienced this as they found themselves on the Sea of Galilee in a storm with Jesus asleep in the boat. They called out to Him, and He answered "Peace, be still."

Peace in spite of....

Peace in the midst of....

Peace through all....

Psalm 91 gives great insight into the secret of living in peace: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

May you focus your attention on dwelling with the Most High this week, shutting out all distractions and resting in the secret place with Him. There's nothing more important than this.

His peace be with you as you Focus On Him.

Ann

Fear

Is it just me, or do you also deal with various kinds of fear? There are 365 "Do Not Fears" in the Bible, and yet I still have been dealing with fear this week. I know 2 Timothy 1:7 clearly says "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." (KJV) The NIV says it more gently: "God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power, love, and self discipline." I relate more to the KJV in this instance. It's fear that I have struggled with, and fear tends to erase my "sound mind." Timidity hasn't been my issue, but fear has kept me buried far too long.

I've overcome many of my fears: the fear of public speaking, the fear of public opinion, the fear of man, the fear of failure/success etc. I even confronted my fear of water and learned to swim this summer. But this week found me facing fear all over again. You see, this week I had to face the dreaded evil tube...the MRI! In spite of the tranquilizer the Dr. gave me, I still freaked and had to resort to an IV of something that caused me to sleep during the procedure. I'm a grown woman full of the Holy Spirit, and a simple medical examination caused me to panic. Ridiculous!

I know fear is not from God and yet in this situation it rose up and tried to take control. Last night I dreamed of being put into the MRI, and awoke in a panic. However, God is faithful. When I fell asleep again the Holy Spirit rehearsed scriptures in my dream. How awesome is that? The last one was Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers (and that means me, too), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things. ... and the God of peace will be with you."

God gave me a strategy for deliverance from fear! Think on the TRUTH. By focusing on the Truth of all God is and does, fear is eliminated from my mind and peace floods my spirit.

Satan's only real weapon against us is fear and his battleground is our minds. If he can get us to fear, he can immobilize us and stop our effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. When we allow fear to rule our emotions it also rules our minds, and we align ourselves with the LIE that is satan. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy and his favorate way to accomplishe this is through fear.

1John 4:18 says "Perfect love drives out fear." The scripture goes on to say that we love because He first loved us! So why should we fear? His love covers all. We are His children, created for His good works. Romans 8:15 says: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father."
Psalm 91:4-5 says: "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday."

That covers it all, doesn't it? Why should we fear when we have the Almighty Most High God as our shield and fortress!

If you have been dealing with fear, I pray a renewed focus for you today. May the Truth of God rule and reign as you align yourself with Him. Do Not Fear! The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty and is armed with strength! (Ps. 93)

Walk in the peace of God who never leaves you as you remain...

Focused On Him,
Ann