Fear be gone!

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." I have written about this verse before and quite frankly, I hope that I still write about it many more times. The impact of this verse on our daily lives is just phenomenal!

I want to start by elaborating on fear. We don't just fear. We fear something, a situation, a person or maybe a future possible event. Fear always has a root that stems from something and that something is almost always a lie. Satan is the great liar, the father of all lies. He plants these lies in our minds (thoughts) and when we dwell on these thoughts, they create emotions and then ultimately we start acting and responding out of fear. (actions) The sequence is always the same thought, emotion and action.

He plants these lies to sow doubt and to break down our faith. Fear thus takes root and all kinds of emotion ensue for eg. anxiety, worry, stress, nervousness and the list goes on. So you might be wondering how all this links back to "perfect love casts out fear"?

Well the Bible says that God is love, He is perfect love and when we keep our eyes focused on His love, we will not fear, because the greatness of His love for us is far bigger than any fear. So if you feel anxious, worried or stressed and fear has gotten the better of you, take some time out and identify the lie, because when we worry, we have started believing somewhere deep down that God isn't all that He says He is.

For example if you worry because you don't know how you will pay your bills then the lie might be "why would your God provide for you, how sure are you that He will come through for you?" If we fall for the lie, then we start believing that God is not the great provider that the Bible proclaims Him to be and fear creeps in. So in our minds we think that God is our provider, but in our hearts we worry that He won’t provide. We need to take the lie captive and submit it to the Word so that our mind and heart can be in agreement. The truth is that nothing can separate us from the love of God and the more we believe it, the more we will know His love and the fear will be cast out.

Obtain a greater revelation of His love! Sit in His presence, read the Word, write down verses, look back at testimonies in your life, do whatever you can to try and comprehend even slightly the amount of love that He has for you. If we can just grasp the tip-of-the-iceberg of His love for us, then we will never fear again and no worry or anxiousness will ever hold us back from living life to the fullest! Let love grow and watch fear disappear!

Picture credit: lthomason

Having grace for today

It's so easy to compare our journeys with the journeys of other people, but it's not helpful or encouraging to do that at all. We are all on different journeys with God and by comparing ourselves to others imply that we are not content with our own journey. It takes the focus from our own journey with God and discontent starts to creep in. We start believing that our journey is not as great or exciting as someone else's and we become discouraged.

The truth is that no matter how inspiring or impressive someone else's journey looks, it’s not intended for you and no comparison is needed. God has a plan and a journey for each one of us and it is our responsibility to walk that journey in obedience and contentment. Sometimes the journey will be underground and sometimes it will be for all to see, but believe me when I say that YOUR journey will always be the one that satisfies you the most.

Being inspired or encouraged by someone's journey is amazing and testimonies are there to share, but it does not mean that we can compare ourselves to others. We need to walk a road to reach certain places and we have no idea what others had to endure on their journeys to reach the place where they currently are. I heard a preacher once say: "the grass might look greener on the other side, but it took a lot of manure to get it that green."

God gives us grace to walk our OWN journey and if we start walking someone else's then we will get discouraged, tired and dissatisfied. You might think that some people get through difficult things so easily, but it is because God has given them the grace to cope with the situation. It is not a reflection of their strength, but rather of God's grace and favour. We do not have the grace to walk someone else's journey. When we live life focused on our journeys, we will be ready with the grace and favour of God to tackle anything that comes our way. If you are trying to walk someone else's journey, you will still be walking on your own path, but your head will be turned the wrong way, thus blinding you to what's ahead. Make sure that you focus on your own path therefore being prepared for the potholes and steep hills, but also open to receive all of the blessings and fruit.


Picture credit: Pam Lennard

Warning lights

Often, too often, we allow emotions to cripple us. Emotions should warn us, but not control us. Too often our emotions become the problem because we don't ask the correct questions: "where does the emotion come from? Or why do I feel this way?"

I have heard the expression many times that an emotion is like a warning light on the dashboard of your car. It goes on when something internal is wrong. In that moment we have two choices, break the light and ignore the problem or investigate the problem. The thing is, that sometimes the little light is scary, especially if we don't know where the problem lies, how deep it is, how long it is going to take to sort out or how much it will cost you.

Let's say that your "dashboard" shows a light of irritation, you may stop to think and realise that you are just hungry and it's pretty easy to solve or you might realise that it's something about someone else that irritates you and you might need to dig a bit deeper to find out where the irritation is coming from and why it is affecting you so much. Or you might notice your irritation, but have absolutely no idea what the underlying problem is. Don't worry! If God has revealed an emotion to you, then you are totally capable of dealing with it. Take some time out, even if it is just 10 minutes and just sit with Him and ask Him where the emotion is coming from. Sometimes something as simple as irritation can be underlying fear or sadness which can easily turn into frustration or anger if not acknowledged and dealt with.

Emotion should not scare us, it should rather guide us to become more self aware so that we can manage ourselves better and always be filled with joy. Be bold today and don't be scared to look at what is lying under the emotion. Sit with God and ask Him to reveal what you are ready to deal with and allow Him to help you through it. Nothing is impossible for Him!

Picture credit: Hdwallpapersin

Wait a minute...

Three weeks ago I thought: "I have a certain amount of things to do and at the end on November I'll be done and then it's time to relax." My appointments were booked, my move was planned, my visa prepped and all I needed to do was pitch up. Or so I thought... It turned out that every task that I needed to do grew about 3 extra tentacles and it was out of control.

Some things I had to do 3 times, I got dropped by people at the last minute and my most important appointment got postponed twice without me having any say in the matter. Needless to say, I got discouraged. Why was everything taking so unusually long and just when I think that I have one thing covered, it pops its head out again?

Suddenly I thought: "wait a minute... Who do I believe is in control here?" the correct answer would be God, but if I really believed that, would I be getting frustrated right now? No, I guess I won't, because even if it is out of my control, it will never be out of His hand. Amazing what a little change in perspective can do! I was so caught up in getting things done, that when things didn't go my way, I got frustrated instead of holding my circumstances lightly and allowing God to plan the timing.

Suddenly peace came and I knew that everything will get done in its time and that God's timing is perfect in every situation. It's so easy to forget that God is in control when we get so wrapped up in our own situation and then instead of peace, we experience frustration, irritation and maybe even anger. It has been 3 weeks now and some tasks are still not done, but peace reigns in my heart, because I know that there is a reason for everything and that God can do in a day what we can't imagine in a lifetime!

I can step back and relax, do my part when the time is right and just marvel at how He will make the story unfold. After all, He is the good shepherd and He knows how to look after His sheep.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28 ESV)

Photo credit: vi.sualize.us

And lift off!!

In my last blog I wrote about the worm and the cocoon phase, you might want to read that first for some context before continuing to read this post.

Your challenge, struggle or storm (aka metamorphosis ;) ) takes time, sometimes the whole cycle takes a day or a week, but sometimes it can take a few months or years, all depending on the size and depth of the revelation and change, but there is always a reward after every storm or struggle and therefore I think that the butterfly phase is awesome! You have learnt what you could, applied it as best you could, fought the good fight and now it's time to live and teach. I enjoy this phase as I love teaching and sharing. It's a time to give testimonies and encourage others.

I'm always excited about the butterfly phase, to me it's almost the reward at the end of the cycle of learning. You get perspective as you stick your head out of the cocoon, life makes sense again and as you spread your wings to fly for the first time with your new wisdom, joy is abundant. Your mind is clear and you are completely unstuck. (I always feel a bit stuck in the cocoon) :)
There is still a challenge though…

Did you know that a butterfly uses its wings to break out of the cocoon? It needs to do that in order for the wings to gain strength through the process and ultimately enabling it to fly. If you thus help a butterfly out of its cocoon, you would actually kill it, because it never developed its wings and thus won't be able to fly. I can't explain the entire process, as I'm not a biologist, but i think it's pretty awesome.

The challenge for us would then also be to break out of the cocoon and fly. It's not always easy, because the cocoon process was shaping and vulnerable and we need to gain some courage and boldness to push out of the cocoon. Also, people might not agree with our revelations, might resist our changes or persecute us for them and thus there is always a choice, remain in the cocoon or fly. Stay in the comfort zone or take a leap of faith. If we never leave the cocoon, we'll never experience the reward.

Life was made to share, whether it is a struggle or a victory and we shouldn't be afraid of sharing our struggles and victories, but rather embrace them so that others can be encouraged. Take a leap of faith today and share your testimony, you never know who you might inspire!

“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Revelation 12:11 ESV

Picture credit: imgfave

The metamorphosis…

And I'm back! It's been a while, but God has taught me wonderful things in the last season and I hope to be pouring them all out soon. :) Sometimes it's necessary to hibernate a bit, to let all the wisdom and lessons learnt sink in, to turn the worm into a butterfly. Well, on that note, let me just comment that I'm not sure if this butterfly is flying yet, but she's definitely peeping out of the cocoon and preparing to fly, all the while thinking "eeeek, this looks seriously scary!"

I'm going to focus on the worm and cocoon phase in this post and then write another one on the butterfly. I think it might be too long for one post. So here goes! Metamorphosis is never easy. Being the worm is the easy part I think, gathering information and munching on every new leaf that God gives you and there are lots. It's green and revelations are everywhere, it's an easy season where you can just stuff yourself full of all the goodness of God. I think that it's important to enjoy yourself in this season and not to push yourself into the cocoon. I can be quite fast paced and I often want to move quicker than I should. Moving too quickly takes the joy out of the now and it makes you miss things and feelings that are important. So relax, enjoy and be content. The growing is inevitable and will happen soon enough.

The point of the "worm" phase is to prepare you for the cocoon, the change, the stretching. The phase builds trust, courage and prepares you for the challenges of change that lie ahead. Without the "worm" phase you wouldn't have enough to sustain you in the cocoon. There's no need to be afraid of the cocoon, it's merely a phase in which you apply the things which you have learnt and really cement new revelations. Plus you have been adequately prepared for anything which lies ahead in the cocoon. God will always provide you with what you need, before you need it. Fear, on the other hand, will always try to discourage you, but it is the time to practice what you've learnt and to stand up against any fear.

It makes sense to me in this way: the worm phase is for learning, the cocoon phase is for applying and the butterfly phase is for teaching and showing others. The cocoon is therefore necessary, because you can only really teach and demonstrate once you have applied the knowledge yourself. This experience builds confidence and boldness and gives you the courage to push out of the cocoon and fly.

So in whichever phase you are, relax, enjoy and push through knowing that the time to fly will surely come!

Photo credit: favim

Live fearlessly!

God designed us to live fearlessly and yet we are so often held back every day by fear. Mostly when someone says "fear", I think of spiders or heights or those things that you find on people's general lists, but those are not the fears that I'm taking about.

I'm talking about those fears that paralyse you without you even knowing about them. Those fears that stop you from moving forward in life, those fears that limit your potential. Satan can see the potential which God has placed in us from an early age and often he creates situations to scare us and keep us from the exact thing which God is calling us to. For example, the fear of rejection can stop you from loving, caring or giving or the fear of failure can stop you from breaking borders and going places where no one has dared to venture before. 

Often it is quite daunting to think about the things that really scare us. It makes us feel vulnerable and it is easier to just brush them under the carpet and put our "I'm fine" face on. Even though we know that the issue will pop out its head again sometime, we just prefer to ignore it. I guess the problem is that when we start thinking "what do I fear?", the most logical next question would be "why do I fear that?" and this is the hard one to face, because often we need to think back to a situation which was painful and which left many wounds.

When God highlights a fear like this in your life, know that He will create a safe environment in which you can deal with it. He will give you all the support that you need and in the process He will be taking you to new heights of confidence and potential. The problem with fear is that it eats away your confidence and prohibits you from being your true self, because it convinces you that a different you will be better, more acceptable, more perfect, more loved, adored and successful. We then start compromising and adapting to being someone who in our own eyes will be more acceptable, thus focusing so much on being what we are not, that we completely miss out on what we have that is unique.

What will our lives be like if we stop living to meet unhealthy expectations set by ourselves and others and we start accepting ourselves, loving ourselves and focusing on the unique potential which God gave us individually? I'm trusting that the more free we become, the more we will live life with increased joy, peace, love and an abundance of passion!

Picture credit: favim