Sunday, April 25, 2010

What I am Afraid of...

I attended the Bethlehem Baptist Women's Conference this weekend. Let me first say that I am so very very grateful to my husband for agreeing to spend the weekend with Derek so that I could fly to Minnesota for this conference. What a blessing you are to me, Love!

The theme of the conference this year was "You are Mine... do you believe it?" It was about fear. I blogged a little while ago about my fear regarding having another child. The question was posed to us, "what are you afraid of?" Here is my lengthy list:

- I am afraid of tornadoes
-I am afraid of potatoes that have grown roots (don't ask it's weird I know)
-I am afraid of spiders
-I am afraid of change
- I am afraid of the unknown
-I am afraid of failure
-I am afraid that I am inadequate in terms of being a wife, a mother, and a child of God
-I am afraid of being alone
-I am afraid of my own sinful nature and the pull that it has on my life
-I am afraid of spiritual attacks from the evil one and the father of lies that cause fear.

Some of these are pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things. Tornadoes are certainly cause to be afraid, but spiders? Really? And how about those potatoes with roots? I mean come on! But the others are deep fears rooted in sin. Here is how I combat those fears.

Speak the truth to counteract the lies that cause the fears. The best way to do this is to continually speak Scripture to yourself. This is why Scripture memorization is so important. Some of my favorite "fear" verses are as follows:
Psalms 56:3 "When I am afraid I will trust in you."
Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
2 Thessalonians 3:3 "But the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."
John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Hebrews 13:6 "So we say with confidence, 'the Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?'"
Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Psalm 27:1 "The is my Light, and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

There are so many more verses I could give but these are some of my favorites. I use them to speak truth to myself when I am afraid.
-When I am afraid of change: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
- When I am afraid of the unknown: "Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
-When I am afraid of failure: "So we say with confidence, 'the Lord is my helper I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" Hebrews 13:6
-When I m afraid of being inadequate: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
-When I am afraid of being alone: "So do not fear for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
-When I am afraid of my sinful nature: "When I am afraid I will trust in You." Psalm 56:3
-When I am afraid of spiritual attack: "But the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3

The truth of Scripture trumps all fear. So thank you Lord, for being a God of faithfulness who gives your children the courage to overcome their fears. Thank you for winning the battle so that when we meet you in Heaven there will be no more fear!

4 comments:

  1. good stuff. so excited to see that the conference had such an impact

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  2. That's awesome and an incouragement to me!

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  3. This is so good. I hadn't read your blog for a long time, so I'm catching up. What great reminders not to fear. I've been anxious for the future lately, and some days all I can do is say the same verses over and over and over, but eventually it works and I remember to trust. Thanks for posting this. :)

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