Monday, January 18, 2010

Fear Not! (A late post is better than never...)



Last week I started an online bible study with my friend (and fellow Island Girl) Amber, from Still His Girl.

Our topic, based on Daniel 1 was Exploring: Courage, Conquering: Fear

One of the "assignments" (all of which are graciously *optional*) was to write about what scriptures spoke the most to me...in the face of fear.

What do I fear?

I guess the first stanza of Psalm 27: 5 explains it all:

For in the day of trouble....


That's the part I fear...

Like most of you, I've seen some trouble in my past.

Some very painful trouble.

I fear that trouble will find me again...sneak up upon me... or my children, or my loved ones.

Fear is a thief that steals hope and robs joy.

It distracts from the most important part of Psalm 27:5:

He will hide me safe in His dwelling.
He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle.
And set me high upon a rock.

Certainly, in the face of trouble, God does not leave us.

He protects us. He hides us. He sets us in high places where the storm will not wash us away.

Sometimes this happens in ways we cannot see until the trouble has passed.

Hind-sight is almost always 20/20.

Charles Fulton Oursler said this:

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves- regret for our past and fear of tomorrow.

I pray that is never said of me....

Christ hung on that cross so that I wouldn't have to be afraid of trouble.

Will trouble come?

Probably.

But...

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, 
for the Lord your God goes with you.; he will never leave you or forsake you....


No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 
For I am convinced that neither angel nor demons, 
neither the present nor the future, 
nor any powers, 
neither height nor depth, 
nor anything else in all creation 
will be able to separate us from the 
love of God 
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Duet 31:6 & Romans 8:38)

10 comments:

Tiffani said...

hey dear!

I am SO excited to be doing this with so many great girls!!

I loved your thoughts, especially the part about crucifying ourselves. wow.

I'm excited for this weeks finds!

And, yes, kudos to Amber. what a great job!

Lisa Smith said...

i am camped out in Psalm 27 from The Message right now. Love this post. Hate that fear!!

His Girl said...


Christ hung on that cross so that I wouldn't have to be afraid of trouble.


beautiful, encouraging post, Kellie! thank you so much for writing it, for participating in the study, and for pointing out such comforting scriptures.

xoxo!

Sheryl said...

doing the study along with you! looks like you know the verses to fight off the fear. good for you!

Kristin said...

LOVE the verse from Romans - it's one I've tried to teach my kids too.

Gretchen said...

I think as a Christian, it's sometimes easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if we believe, He'll protect us from all trouble--meaning...things like devastating earthquakes, miscarriages, disease, and the like, won't happen to us. He never promises that. But he DOES hide us, Kellie. He does love us. He never forsakes us, and He DOES give us hope in our salvation. Love the scripture you used to emphasize this.

I cannot tell you how much i loved your post. And lurve you.

Hillcrest Cottage said...

Awesome!!!! I loved reading about how you deal with "fear". We are such fragile creatures and God know it....think about all the times it says "fear not!" in the bible!

Lisa said...

Great take on the fear verses. There are so many good ones, made even better if we can get them down into our soul!

I like the poem on your sidebar and the coffee theme throughout. :)

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

I love Romans 8.

I'm already behind on Daniel. Sigh.

Cathy said...

A.MEN.