The Spirit of Fear

Good Morning Everyone,

Have you ever had profound, dark fear come in your
home and take residence? I know I have.

When someone in my family is terribly ill, close
to death, when a new illness is diagnosed,
when the money runs out and all the bills are due,
when you are sleeping and strange noises awake you.

These can bring on great fear. Even the news
today brings fear upon people... The world seems
chaotic at best, unstable. Nothing we can count on.

I can remember one particular time (I have had many
such) that I was very, very ill with asthmatic bronchitis,
and I was not responding to antibiotics well. I couldn't
lay down at night, I couldn't breathe. At the same
time my mother was about 18 hours away, in intensive
care, in a medical coma, slowly dying from a botched
surgery. I remember such fear taking me over.
Everything seemed so uncertain. Life was unstable,
how could I cope? There were other things going on
too, I felt like my life was falling apart. Each time I
struggled for breath, that fear would strike my heart
and say.. you are not going to make it this time.

Then I remembered. For God has not given us a spirit
of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

I started speaking that verse out loud, rebuking
that spirit of fear. Amazingly, it left immediately!

Each time I felt
fear creep in my thinking I would say that verse outloud
again. A valuable lesson in the greatest times of crisis
times is to speak God's word out loud. Satan hates it,
he cannot dwell where it is spoken. Remember when
Jesus was in the wilderness and spoke the word to
satan, he had to leave! God's word is powerful,
it accomplishes things, it is alive, it provokes good
and rebukes evil.

I am reminded that our Lord and Savior is the
prince of peace. He brings great peace. If we
are not feeling it, two things are happening.

We are not spending enough time in his presence
telling him how we are feeling and asking for his help.

We are receiving the negative of fear and not allowing
in the peace of Christ. This is a mental choice.

There is not a fairy to come around and sprinkle peace
dust on you when she sees things are going badly for you.

You have to make the choice. I refuse to recieve fear.
I refuse to be discouraged. I refuse to allow the circumstances of life to overwhelm me. I will trust
in the Lord and not be afraid.

I have been there, done it, it works... and things change.
I can testify to the greatness of God to change any
situation no matter how dire, no matter how impossible
it seems. I have seen God change many situations that
were desperate, people who were lost, people who
were dying, people who were very ill, people who
walked away from my life. God turned all this around.

What satan meant for evil, God used for good.

My suggestion is for you to read God's word. Let
it impart hope into your spirit. You will see it
lift your soul and encourage your heart like
nothing else. Read Psalms 91. Believe it,
cling to it, trust in it.. for God breathed his word,
that we might have hope and strength in the time
of trouble.

Reading the Psalms should be part of every morning.
For in it are the heartaches of the average man,
and the great sufficiency of God to provide and
overcome all obstacles in this life.

God is never limited by our minds, our fear or
our thinking. He is God. Just trust, and never
receive that fear. He has plans for you, a hope
and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Count on it,
speak it, believe it, receive it, find peace in it,
dwell in it, and live like you believe it.

Your life is a testimony to those around you,
if you really believe what you say, or are giving
it lip service. Walk a walk of faith. The world
needs to see you believe, and what God works
out in your life.

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord;
be brave and of good courage,
and let your heart be stout and enduring,
Yes, waith and hope for and expect the Lord.
Psalm 27:14

I love you my friends. If you need prayer, if
you are experiencing fear. Please remember
God is only a prayer away. And He can change
any situation. As thy faith, so be it unto you.

love always
millie


ps.. for those of you on my list who say satan is not
real, and he doesn't exist and everything is about what
we think.. think again. Jesus spoke to satan, he knew
he existed. You cannot seriously read the Bible and deny
the existence of satan. You would be in absolute denial.
A huge mistake. We do have a enemy of our souls
who roams the earth daily seeking whom he may devour.

We also have a anchor for our soul, that holds
us firm when the storms of life hit.

What choice will you make?




THE BANDIT OF JOY ----
by Max Lucado

Black Bart terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen
years, roaring like a tornado in and out of the Sierra Nevadas,
spooking the most rugged frontiersmen.

During his reign of terror between 1875 and 1883, he is credited with
stealing the bags and the breath away from twenty-nine different
stagecoach crews.

A hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No artist ever sketched
his features. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He never fired a
shot or took a hostage.

He didn't have to. His presence was enough to paralyze.

He reminds me of another thief-one who's still around. You know him.
Oh you've never seen his face, either. You couldn't describe his
voice or sketch his profile. But when he's near, you know it in a
heartbeat.

If you've ever been in the hospital, you've felt the leathery brush
of his hand against yours.

If you've ever sensed someone was following you, you've felt his cold
breath down your neck.

If you've awakened late at night in a strange room, it was his husky
whisper that stole your slumber.

You know him.

It was this thief who left your palms sweaty as you went for the job
interview.

It was this con man who convinced you to swap your integrity for
popularity.

And it was this scoundrel who whispered in your ear as you left the
cemetery, "You may be next."

He's the Black Bart of the soul. He doesn't want your money. He
doesn't want your diamonds. He won't go after your car. He wants
something far more precious. He wants your peace of mind-your joy.

His name?
Fear.
His task is to take your courage and leave you timid and trembling.
Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of God, fear of tomorrow-his
arsenal is vast. His goal? To create cowardly, joyless souls.
_____________________________
From The Applause of Heaven
Copyright 1990, Max Lucado