Fear of The Lord

Because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid; What can man do to me?"


Have you ever thought of fear as a good thing? I know it's not something that usually comes to my mind. Just the word fear invokes so much emotion that I become defensive and on guard. But today, I want to look at the fear of The Lord.

There are many verses in the Bible about fearing The Lord. The most recognizable is Proverbs 9:10 that says, "The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

But do we understand what that even means to fear The Lord?

On my journey of understanding fear of The Lord, God has taken me to a place I didn't want to go. He allowed me to have to deal and confront some of those "what if" fears and unknown future fears that I struggle with. He has shown me that my heart needs to be set on Him and not to allow anyone or anything to take His place in my life. He has revealed His constant, unchanging nature that I needed to be reminded of.

And ultimately, He has shown me just how devestating and fearful being separated from Him by sin can be. It's a dark, lonely and unknown place. That is not a place I want to even visit for the weekend!

But God's grace and mercy and love is overwhelming, and I feel this in an overwhelming rush when I repent of my sin. And for me, this is where I truly experience fear of The Lord. I feel an overwhelming awe, reverence and amazement that despite Him being without sin, He welcomes me, cleanses me of the ick of my sin, and calls me His child.

Have you experienced God in this way in our own life? Have you felt the Fear of The Lord?

The Power of Christ Through My Fears

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient or you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
              2 Corinthians 12:9-10



Fear. It's crippling, immobilizing, and suffocating. It can keep us from doing things we should and causes us to react in ways we cannot control. Left unguarded and unchecked, fear can spread like wildfire in our hearts.

For too long I have lived trapped by a variety of fears. Giving up control, failure, rejection, weakness and the list could go on and on.

As I tackle this issue of fear in my life, I sought help in the Bible. Does it have anything to say directly against my fears? Some of them, yes, but one passage in particular stood out to me.

In the passages above, Paul reminds us of Jesus' words on grace. But it was more the words on my weakness that drew me in. You see, I can't stand to be thought of as weak. But I am. I can't stand to be thought of as a failure. But I am. I can't stand to be known for lack of self-control. But I am.

But Paul takes my weaknesses and holds them up to the power of Christ in me. So while I am a weak, control-freak who hates to fail, Christ's power has given me strength. I just need to live in that power so that through my fears, or weaknesses, that Christ can truly display His power.

So no matter what may come, I will delight in my weaknesses because I am weak, He is strong. Though the fear may immobilize me, it ultimately causes me to turn to Christ and rely on His power
in amazing ways.

How is He using your fears?

Intentional Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will it--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
            Romans 12:1-2



When you see the word sacrifice, what comes to mind? More than likely, you got an image of an alter with either an animal or person being killed. And yes, that is the dictionary definition. Do you ever think that there are things that we are making a choice on a daily basis to sacrifice our lives to? Work, entertainment, food, power and popularity are just a few things that we can be offering our bodies as a sacrifice to. But today, I want to look at the first two verses in Romans 12 to give us another picture of sacrifice. A living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God.

When I first read this passage, I'm all on board for this living sacrifice to God thing. I mean really, it sounds like it's the direct way to be holy and pleasing to God, so who wouldn't want that? But how do I do this and what is God calling me to do? In verse two, we are told how to be living sacrifices. And here is where it gets not as appealing. It means making choices to not live as the world around us does, but to hold everything we put into our bodies, both physically and spiritually, up to the will of God.

In chapter 17 of Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst says, "Moment by moment we have the choice to live in our own strength and risk failure or to reach across the gap and grab hold of God's unwavering strength. And the beautiful thing is, the more dependant we become on God's strength, the less enamored we are with other choices." I love this quote, because it really does nail down how I feel when I am living in God's will. I'm not swayed by the other things I could be "enjoying". I'm not feeling empty or lacking in any way.

Lysa also points out that we are making the choice. And isn't that when being a living sacrifice becomes an intentional sacrifice! When push comes to shove, my choices and no one else's determine what my life is be sacrificed to.

It's those choices every day that are the hard part of the equation. Am I choosing to not watch that TV show that fills my mind with garbage? Am I choosing to not eat that piece of cake that will be gone before I feel better after a friend made a negative comment about something my kid did? Am I choosing to surround myself with positive and uplifting friends?

Choosing to fill my heart and mind with God's word is how the renewing and transformation really occurs. And that will make being an intentional living sacrifice, not necessarily the easy choice, but the obvious choice.

What will you choose today?

The Lord Is My Portion

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
                     Lamentations 3:22-24




Do you ever wake up in the morning and wonder how you are going to make it through the day? What you do you? Do you pull the covers back over your head or take a deep breathe and let your feet hit the floor?

For me, there are so many days when the lure of my pillow would be my choice. But what would happen to the three little people who need breakfast? What would happen to the laundry that is piled up in my laundry room? And the emails...garbage...exercise? That list of things that "need" my attention is most of the time what makes me want to stay in bed.

I have to be honest with you. I am scared to death of failing and not completing my to do list. Why? Because somewhere along the way, I found my idenity in being the responsible and reliable person that everyone depends on. And the saddest part is that everything I do is accomplished in my own strength.

The verses from Lamentations that I have quoted above are part of the message from Lysa TerKeurst in "Made to Crave" this week and have really stopped me in my tracks this week. Is The Lord truly my portion for today or am I seeking to do things that give me a sense of fulfillment only to have tomorrow morning be another battle for my sanity? When was the last time His love was enough to fill me so that I am not consumed by the fear of failure?

Honestly, I don't remember. Isn't that sad? And I don't have any quick fix answers other than to make a choice to focus on The Lord. He is what I need today and everyday. He is what you need too, my friend.

So tomorrow when my alarm goes off, I'm going to take a deep breathe, thank The Lord for his blessings and ask Him to lead me in my day.

Made to Be a Victor

I keep asking that the Good of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength.

              Ephesians 1:17-20


Struggles. Cravings. Temptations. No matter what you call them, they are a part of our battle between the Holy Spirit in us and the sinful nature that we are born with.

I now call my daily battle with food "To Eat, Or Not To Eat". Why? Because I'm either fighting the pull to eat whatever I want with no regard or the other extreme of spending so much time counting calories that it consumes my day. But as I learned this week in Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst, I am made for more and don't have to live in either of those extremes.

I am made to live free of the bondage of food.
I am made to live in victory over my earthly obsessions.
I am made to be God's child.
I am made to be obssessed with only Him.
I am made to be alive with the hope of His plans for me.
I am made to be free to be who He created me to be.

He has given me victory over all my issues. It's freeing just knowing that, and fills me to the top with joy to live feeling no pull on my except towards God's word and time with Him. I'm not saying that I still don't face choices, dilemma's and times where my emotions could be quickly "satisfied" with a nice big brownie. I'm saying that I'm making the choice to think in God's victory rather than hope that it happens. God will meet me in my moments of temptation and craving. But I know He's already been there and won, so I need not fear them when they come.

So my challenge for you today is what is your mentality? Are you already thinking like a victor or still thinking solely of the hard times?

Yearning for God Only

My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of The Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
              Psalms 84:2 NIV


Have you ever had to list your priorities? For some reason, I hate having to do those type of things. I'm not really sure why. Maybe because sometimes when I list what my priorities are, I come face to face with where I'm failing. I always put God at the top of my list, but most of the time it's because that's what I know I should do, but doesn't mean I actually live it.

As I started the latest Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study, "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst, earlier this week, I've been boldly confronted and convicted with how messed up my priorities are. I have realized that not all areas of my life are being centered around God, mainly the area of food, which Lysa deals with in her book.

I have learned that I center too much of my food struggles around what I can or cannot accomplish. And base my own self-worth on what the number on the scale is. When I lose a pound, I don't give God the glory, I usually just pat myself on the back for working hard and eating better this week, and neglect to acknowledge that He gave me the time, strength and energy and provided that healthy food for me. But when I gain a pound, or five, I mentally badger myself, tearing myself down. I really should be turning my failures over to God and accepting His grace of getting to try again.

But the biggest thing I have learned, and what I ultimately want to make my goal for this study, is that the numbers on the scale are not what I want to change, but my heart needs to change. You see, the battle raging in my heart needs to stop. I need to not just make God #1 in my heart, but my ONLY god. If he isn't the only god, I am still not loving Him with my whole heart, and that is not what He deserves.

The verse from Psalms 84:2 is such a wonderful description of what I want to be my heart's cry. I want to yearn to be resting in the victories of God in my life, because He has already won my battle over food. He has won my battle over material things. He has won my battle to be noticed. I just need to accept His victory and live with Him guiding my every move, moment by moment and craving by craving. The cravings of my heart disguised as good things are really the temptations that Satan is using, trying to pull my focus off of my Lord.

If you are joining me in this journey of focusing everything on The Lord, that is great! I'd love to hear about it. If you haven't yet made that commitment, what's holding you back?

Thriving in 2014

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters
          Isaiah 55:1a



Here we are with just a couple days left in 2014. Are you a resolution maker? Do you keep them? I don't usually make new resolutions, but I do reevaluate where I'm at, where I want to be and new routines I want to get into to. I do this in September (beginning of the school year) and New Years.

Last year I was presented with the idea of choosing a word for the year. I thought it was an excellent idea to almost have a theme to live by. My word for 2013 was "Real" and I think I did pretty good with staying real in my relationships and how I dealt with life.

As I've sat back and tried to hear what God wants me to focus on for 2014, I was stumped. Then I stumbled onto the new song by Casting Crowns "Thrive. Have a listen.

I was so impacted the message of this song that I quickly pulled out my Bible and looked Isaiah 55:1 that talked about who is thirsty and coming to the waters. I am thirsty for more of The Lord and I want to surrender 2014 to Him and whatever it brings.

So my word and theme song for 2014 is "Thrive". Thriving in my relationship with The Lord. Thriving in where He has placed me to minister to others. Thriving in how I impact the world in His name

I encourage you to listen to what word The Lord wants for you to embrace for 2014. Once you know, share it with your friends and comment here, write it down, journal it!

Many blessings for the coming year!