Tag: Faith

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Faking Perfection vs Showing Progression | Let’s Talk About It (Part 2)

keeshonpatrick

Dear God, thank You. Please allow this to resonate with people, so that it may mold their lives. Gone are the days where we let the pressure of being perfect weigh us down or distract us from our true purpose. Your Word, says that You use all things for those who love You. God help us realize that it is all being used for our good and there is no need to fake it any longer. For Your Glory, forever and ever. Amen.

When you look back at your life, how do you want to remember it? Would you want to remember it as a life that seemed beautiful from the outside, but internally faced turmoil OR as a person that was honest about their ups and downs? They both will have an effect on your life, but one feels like freedom while the other feels like a burden.

The Burden of Faking Perfection

This may step on some toes, but that is okay. To become aware is the first step of change. Faking Perfection can be one of the worst burdens to carry. It adds pressures to your life that only God’s grace is equipped to cover. You become fixated in developing the character that you are betraying. In return, you lose focus on the purpose that you were born to fulfill. Wait, you do know you were born with purpose, right?

I asked that question, because the devil tries to destroy, distract, and discourage us. He wants you to feel like you do not need God to be the best version of yourself. He is trying to lead you to your demise. That is the danger of committing your life to faking perfection. You are allowing the devil to take you away from who you are truly supposed to lean on. In fact, 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) You may not realize it, but the reason that you are faking perfection is, because you do not trust the one Who is perfection. You are depending on yourself to fix those things that you lack, which leads to the inevitable… NOTHING CHANGING! Yet as a person who once cared that people thought I was perfect; I know that even when nothing changes… I could trick myself into making it feel like things were getting better. Again, it all came with committing to the fake character that I wanted people to see.

Are you to blame for people wanting to fake perfection? Allow me to address the judgmental Christians real quick. You play your part in people feeling like they have to be perfect or they will be condemned. The church is supposed to be more like a hospital than a courthouse. Yet, when people walk into the church as they are, they are avoided or belittled, by you. Little do you know that your interaction may have been what they needed to not only feel better, but meet God. I heard something the other day from Jonathan McReynolds, he said, “As Christians we feel like we have to make Jesus more famous, but really our goal should be to not make Him infamous.” As Christians ask yourself, would someone who does not believe in Christ, see your life and think, “Man, I see how (insert your name) is living and if that is what being a Christian is about, then I am good.” or “Man, I see how (insert your name) is living and what he is doing, I really want to get to know Christ for myself.” Are you leading people to God or giving them a reason to stray further away? (Luckily for them God will open up their heart, but you could have been the spark… BUT YOU WERE TO AFRAID TO STAIN YOUR REPUTATION AT YOUR CHURCH.) I felt led to really speak up for those people who fake perfection, because they are fearful that they will be invalidated for being real about their journey.

Remember this walk is a journey.

The Freedom of Showing Progression

Showing your progression is not always easy. We live in a day, where people do not value the steps as much as they do the outcomes. Social media shows perfection, stunting, and the highlights of people’s life. Don’t get jaded in thinking that the highlights matter more than the moments of progress. Without failing, falling, and losing would any of us truly know what it takes to succeed, get up or win? As I have grown; I have learned the importance of transparency. There is a certain freedom that you get from being the authentic version of yourself. Guess what sets you free– 31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” — the truth. I found it ironic that this verse talks about knowing the truth, not telling the truth. It is when you know Christ, that you are free. So, it is in knowing Christ, that you are free to tell your truth. Yet, in this verse the people thought that the only way to be enslaved, was physical. Unfortunately, you can be in a mental prison, in a faking perfection prison, or in the prison of feeling like you cannot be who you were made to be. I have good news though, just by knowing and believing in God, you are set free!

Why should you be okay with showing your progression? Allow Romans 3:23 to explain, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The reason why, is because we all have fallen short. From the pastor to the person on the corner, from the jailhouse to those in church on Sunday’s for worship. We all have sinned and fallen short. The beauty of telling your testimony, is that you allow for God to get the glory. You allow for His power to be seen. You also get the devil off of your back. The devil tends to go after the things we try to hide (though there is nothing that you can hide from God.) In knowing that we cannot hide anything from God, who’s opinion matters most. Why do we still allow ourselves to fake perfection? Why are we fearful of showing our progression? How else can we expect people that do not read the Bible, to understand how great God is?

So today, let’s hold each other accountable. I have your back, if you have mine and regardless of that God has both of our back. Today let’s agree to start showing our progression. Show it even if it is only inside a notebook or notes that you stick on your mirror. Sometimes the person who needs to see your progress the most, is the person that stares at you when you look into the mirror. Once you grow past that, start publicly sharing the power of the God, we serve. Remember your testimony could be the spark. Also, let’s vow to no longer fake perfection, but instead give it to God. Allow him to fill those areas that you feel incomplete.

The Cycle of Faking Perfection vs The Transformation of Showing Progression

More importantly than anything that I have written, by chance that you do not have a relationship with Christ today, say this aloud:

“Dear Father,

I now believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins and the sins of this world. I believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.

Lord Jesus,

I now confess to You all of the wrong and sinful things that I have ever done in my life. I ask that You please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that You have personally shed for me on the cross. I am now ready to accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity.

Father, Jesus – I now believe that I am truly saved and born again.

Thank You Father.
Thank You Jesus.”

Maybe you had a relationship with God, but life happened. Today is the last day that you will allow yourself to fake perfection.

Say this aloud:

“Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus Christ.  I confess that I have fallen away from You.  I confess that I have sinned against You by backsliding away from You, Your ways and Your Word.  Like the prodigal son, Lord, I humbly ask for Your forgiveness for the evil I have done.  I repent and turn away from this evil life that I have lived.  I miss You so much!

I now recommit my life to You, Lord Jesus.  I just want to come home.  I want You to be the Lord of my life now and forever more.  Please forgive me for wandering and walking away from You.  I’m so sorry that I have hurt You.  I ask that my sins be washed away by Your Precious Blood.  I thank You for the price You paid so that I can be cleansed from all my sins!

Lord, fill me once again with Your Holy Spirit that I might live unto righteousness with You.  Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me O Lord.  I choose on this day, a new life.  As for me and my house, I choose to serve the Lord!

Thank You, Father, for restoring me into fellowship with You.  Thank You for the Blood of Jesus that has cleansed me.  Thank You that, like Peter, I am restored to fellowship with You, and I ask Lord, that we would continue our walk again.  Flow through me to advance the Kingdom every day of my life.  I ask all these things in the Name of Jesus.  Amen and Amen!”

If you said either of these aloud and you believed it in your heart. I would love to personally congratulate you and welcome you to the family. He led you to this post for a reason. He used it to open your heart and ease your burden. Never forget that He loves you and has plans for you, that you have not even planned for yourself. Let Him use you. Yield yourself, so that He can show you the plans He has for you. All it takes it just a little trust, in Matthew 17:20 the Bible says,“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

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What If It’s Not As Bad As You Think?

keeshonpatrick

Dear God, I come today to you asking to be used a vessel for both change and hope. God every day is another chance to be a better version of myself. I am just grateful to be used. God keep putting me in places that I can help others. Keep allowing me to see that, I am right where I need to be. Thank you for everything from the past to the future. For your glory, Amen.

In a time like this where every part of life feels like a storm, God is still in the midst working it out for our good. In fact, I come today with a question, What If It’s Not As Bad As You Think?

Let’s dive into this verse, “20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” How many of us are in a situation, that has made you give up all hope? Your current situation makes you think that there is no way God is still there. There is no way He is allowing me to go through this. You find yourself under what feels like your own dark cloud. It seems to be following every move that you make. It messes up your plans, your relationships, and even your appetite. This is for those people who have been through and seen some dark days. What would you do, if you found yourself in what feels like an everlasting storm? Would you lose faith?

Imagine, yourself in grade school. You are taking your exam and you come across a question that does not make sense. You read it multiple times to make sure your brain is not deceiving you. Then you muster up the courage to raise your hand to get the teachers attention. Only for the teacher to whisper to you, that this is a part of the test that she cannot directly help you with. Yet, she lets you know that; “1)If you do not find the answer for this question, come back to it later. 2)You may want to reread the passage to look for context clues, and 3) If you miss this one question, you will not fail the test, don’t worry about it too much.”

Like the teacher, in verse 21-22, Paul comes through with some advice that probably changed their perspective of the storm that they were going through. 21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Are you hardheaded too? I would have been right there in the boat feeling like God gave up on me. Deep down I would have known that I was actually there, because I chose not to listen. Seriously, there are some test we are taking and storms we are in, simply because we are not where we are supposed to be. Stop being so quick to blame God and think about what you did to end up there. Through self-evaluation you may be happy to find out that even when you are not where you should be, you are covered by His grace and mercy.

It Is Not As Bad As You Think! In fact, it had to happen, because you needed to see His powerful hand over your life. If you never went through the storm, you would have never known that no matter what He allows to happen around you… He won’t let you be destroyed! Even as you are lacking faith in Him, He still has your back. This is a message for those that need to know, you will not be lost! The coronavirus can’t destroy you; the government can’t destroy you; society can’t destroy you; bad relationships can’t destroy you… because we serve a God that can do exceedingly and abundantly more than all we ask for! You may have suffered some loss and your ship may be damaged, but if you are still breathing there is purpose for your life!

If you can find a better verse to sum up 2020, let me know. I truly believe that, God put this in front of me, because there is this lesson that we get from living through our storms. They may break the things around us, but they still have a way of making us stronger. Each storm prepares you for the next one to come. The storm may wreck your home, relationships, but it will not destroy you nor your spirit.

If you have been dealing with a storm, if you have been dealing with a test and it feels like your ship is about to sink, can I offer you a chance to use the ultimate float, the ultimate life saver, Jesus Christ!

Say this aloud:

“Dear Father,

I now believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins and the sins of this world. I believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.

Lord Jesus,

I now confess to You all of the wrong and sinful things that I have ever done in my life. I ask that You please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that You have personally shed for me on the cross. I am now ready to accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity.

Father, Jesus – I now believe that I am truly saved and born again.

Thank You Father.
Thank You Jesus.”

Maybe you had a relationship with God, but life happened. The storm damaged your ship and you can feel yourself floating away from your relationship with God.

Say this aloud:

“Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus Christ.  I confess that I have fallen away from You.  I confess that I have sinned against You by backsliding away from You, Your ways and Your Word.  Like the prodigal son, Lord, I humbly ask for Your forgiveness for the evil I have done.  I repent and turn away from this evil life that I have lived.  I miss You so much!

I now recommit my life to You, Lord Jesus.  I just want to come home.  I want You to be the Lord of my life now and forever more.  Please forgive me for wandering and walking away from You.  I’m so sorry that I have hurt You.  I ask that my sins be washed away by Your Precious Blood.  I thank You for the price You paid so that I can be cleansed from all my sins!

Lord, fill me once again with Your Holy Spirit that I might live unto righteousness with You.  Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me O Lord.  I choose on this day, a new life.  As for me and my house, I choose to serve the Lord!

Thank You, Father, for restoring me into fellowship with You.  Thank You for the Blood of Jesus that has cleansed me.  Thank You that, like Peter, I am restored to fellowship with You, and I ask Lord, that we would continue our walk again.  Flow through me to advance the Kingdom every day of my life.  I ask all these things in the Name of Jesus.  Amen and Amen!”

If you said either of these aloud and you believed it in your heart. I would love to personally congratulate you and welcome you the family. He led you to this post for a reason. He used it to open your heart and ease your burden. Never forget that He loves you and has plans for you, that you have not even planned for yourself. Let Him use you. Yield yourself, so that He can show you the plans He has for you. All it takes it just a little trust, in Matthew 17:20 the Bible says,  “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

 If you can think of anyone who could use this, send it to them and ask them, “What If It’s Not As Bad As You Think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0RBLNA64sU

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In Whom Do You Put Your Trust In?

keeshonpatrick

Lord, before I begin to put words on this page, please open my mind to see Your word in ways that have never been seen before. Allow these words to be the reassurance that people are needing in this moment. Allow these words to touch hearts and win souls to grow Your Kingdom. Have Your way Lord, in my life, in my writings. Have Your way in me so that it will spread it, to those who I interact with. For your glory, Amen.

Right now, we may find ourselves in situations that have caused us to lose faith in God. Situations that have made us put our faith in other places such as; the government, social media interactions, or people that make you feel better, but none of these thing will ever be able to completely aid your problems. When looking into this verse and looking at the moment we find ourselves in; I have one question:

In Whom Do You Put Your Trust?

Now I ask this question, not to receive the expected, “God of course” answer. I want you to be honest with yourself. When you are experiencing your highest moments, who do you put your trust in? When you are experiencing your lowest moments, who do you put your trust in? (Give yourself a minute to think about it!)

WRITE IT DOWN!

For me, I try my best to always put my trust in God, regardless of the situation. I came to the realization that God is the filler of my hope. God is the supplier of my joy and peace, without Him there are things that I cannot handle on my own. Yet, if I am going to be real with you and myself, I have moments where I am extremely weak. I have moments where I doubt myself, which is dangerous. When you doubt yourself, you are doubting the power of God. When you doubt yourself, then you do not give him the credit that he deserves in being God and you under mind the Holy Spirit.

Let’s break down the first part of this verse, “13May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him,” So as you trust in God in whom gives you hope, He will fill you with joy and peace. How many of you are thinking “if that is all I have to do… sign me up.”? See it is not meant to be hard, but the enemy comes in and tries to rob us from our joy and peace. Right now I can think of a million reasons why I should not be happy. I looked to the left of me and there lied three mask. I look on the news and the government told me that I am worth $1200. I go into my favorite store, Target and there are 6ft stickers telling people where to stand. I cannot go see my grandma at her nursing home. Did I mention that schools are reopening, even though the thing that made it dangerous to be there last semester has gotten worse? If I did not have my faith… I would probably be the most pessimistic person you know. Yet not only am I calm, but I am trusting in God with my life, my peace, my joy, my hope and He has not let me down yet… and I have a feeling He never will.

As I trust in Him, as I lean on Him, He fills me up. God gave me a counter move for every move that the enemy tried to use to take my hope. We have to be careful, because where we put our trust, our heart follows. Stop putting your heart in danger, by putting your trust into things that are not sufficient enough to support it. See God wants to give you your joy and peace back, so that you have enough for it to overflow.

Don’t believe me? Let’s finish the verse. “13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The beauty about some hope overflowing is that, when it overflows from you it will get onto those around you. This is the order: Emptiness, Trust, Refill, Overflow, Blessed To Be A Blessing. You most likely do not want to be filled, unless you think you are lacking something. Hopefully from that lack, you run back to your source, actually the one and only source: God. Then when you go back to the source, He refills you. See because of the mercy the that He gives us, you will even have enough to be able to be a blessing to others. You will start to realize that this whole time He was blessing you to be a blessing. The reason that this is not a cycle is because when He gives us hope once… it is sufficient enough to last for the rest of our lives, but sometimes we just have to find it again. “All that we have is all that we need,” shoutout to #TCNation.

Need a visual that will last forever for what it may look like to be blessed to be a blessing:

Gross, right? Yet that may be how it looks when He has given you enough hope, that people are able to get hope just by being connected to you. I know you have that person that regardless of how you are feeling, if you see them your day just brightens up. Maybe the next time you see them, you should ask them in whom do you put your trust in?

It may even be time to ask yourself, “In whom do you put your trust?” Do you trust in others to be able to give you the courage to be honest and transparent in order to heal? Do you trust in me, in order to be able to restore your joy and peace? I pray that you do not put your trust in any of these things. “Try God, please don’t try me. Try Jesus, please don’t try me”

Again I feel led to try and build the Kingdom of God. So if this is your first time or your 101st time. Say this aloud:

“Dear Father,

I now believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins and the sins of this world. I believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.

Lord Jesus,

I now confess to You all of the wrong and sinful things that I have ever done in my life. I ask that You please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that You have personally shed for me on the cross. I am now ready to accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity.

Father, Jesus – I now believe that I am truly saved and born again.

Thank You Father.
Thank You Jesus.”

If you said this aloud and believed it in your heart. I would love to personally congratulate you and welcome you the family. He led you to this post for a reason. He used it to open your heart and ease your burden. Never forget that He loves you and has plans for you, that you have not even planned for yourself. Let Him use you. Yield yourself, so that He can show you the plans He has for you. All it takes it just a little trust, in Matthew 17:20 the Bible says,  “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

If you feel that this post can help anyone, send it to them and ask them, “In Whom Do You Put Your Trust?”

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God Laughed.

keeshonpatrick

Hello Father, thank You for giving me another opportunity to share Your word. Use me God to do Your will. You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My faith lies in knowing that regardless of what I think I want, You will always provide me with what I need. This is an opportunity to ease the burden of those who have put themselves on society’s timeline. For Your glory, amen.

Have you ever heard the saying, “When we make plans, God laughs.”? This is dedicated to that quote. The reason why it is funny, is because everything we do has already been written. No matter how many ideas come to mind, you can live with the belief that where you are, is exactly where you are supposed to be.

During our life many of us write a will or have written down a timeline of when we expect to accomplish certain things in life. Some of those timelines, may look a little depressing if you look at them now. It is okay, because remember: Where you are, is exactly where you are supposed to be. A plan without God is just an idea, it’s just a thought. If it does not align with His will then, it does not matter why or when you want it to be done. It will NOT HAPPEN! Remember: There is nothing that surprises God, meaning that if it is happening… IT IS NOT A SURPRISE and if it is not happening… THEN IT IS NOT A SURPRISE.

How many of us can be just as glad for what he did not allow, as we can be for what he did allow? I ask this question, because growing up everyone told me a certain timeline my life should abide by. It actually felt like you were a disappointment if you broke that timeline in anyway. To society; kid before the marriage, disappointment, didn’t graduate in four years, disappointment, didn’t go to college at 18, disappointment, not married by 30, disappointment… BUT GOD LAUGHED.

What you realize is God purpose for your life will prevail, whether you are 10, 16, 25, 60, 99, or even 120. If God wants your life to be used for a specific reason, it will be used. Look at Abraham and Sarah, “old and dusty” to society, but God made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nation’s and it had to be fulfilled. Look at David, the youngest son of Jesse, but still chosen to be the king. Why? Because God judges the heart. Society may judge what you have, but God wants to know who you are. Society may judge the physical, but God works through the spiritual. So, if you are not the tallest, if you are not the most chiseled person, it will not take away from the purpose that God has for your life. If it is through him then it will always prevail.

This is so important to understand, because right now you are stressing and stretching yourself. You are doing things that you do not even like to do, just to fit in with society’s ideas (even me). Stop forcing it. Just try giving those things to God and watch how your life begins to flow. God has been laughing at my plans for 23 years. He is not dissing me, but he knows the plans he has for me. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) After reading that verse, ask yourself … what am I doing that is harming my life? The harm may not be physical it could be mental. The harm may not be mental, it could be spiritual. If it is harming you, it cannot be God. Even if you heart is desiring it, if that desire is harming you in anyway it is not God. God does not tempt us with evil. (James 1:13) Stop making excuse to keep doing those things, that you are doing literally to only please others and give it to God. He wants to see you prosper, He wants to give you hope and a future… He wants His purpose to prevail in your life. But He cannot do it without your permission.

He wants to make provisions that will surpass all of the desires of your heart. He wants to give you exactly what you need, when you need it. Right now, I feel this conviction to give some people who are tired of doing things on their own a chance to truly give it to God. This is a chance to give Him the most important thing, your heart.

So if this is your first time or your 100th, Read this aloud:

“Dear Father,

I now believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins and the sins of this world. I believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.

Lord Jesus,

I now confess to You all of the wrong and sinful things that I have ever done in my life. I ask that You please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that You have personally shed for me on the cross. I am now ready to accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity.

Father, Jesus – I now believe that I am truly saved and born again.

Thank You Father.
Thank You Jesus.”

If you said this aloud and believed it in your heart. I would love to personally congratulate you. He led you to this post for a reason. He used it to open your heart and ease your burden. Never forget that He loves you and has plans for you, that you have not even planned for yourself. Let Him use you. Yield yourself, so that He can show you the plans He has for you.

If you feel that this post can help anyone, send it to them and ask them, “Can you hear God Laughing?”

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The Anxiety Killer.

keeshonpatrick

Hello Father, thank you for giving me another opportunity to write. Today is personal for me, I am opening up a very vulnerable part of my life. I can’t hide it from You though, so why hide it from others. Maybe this medicine can help them too. I want this to be something that you can return to anytime you are dealing with anxiety. I pray that this will be something I can use for myself as well. God this is and always will be for Your glory.

Thursday, July 30, 2020, I had an anxiety attack. I had been feeling this dark cloud following me for a few days. With my chest hurting and my mind racing, I began to search for what was making me feel this way. While searching, I realized that this spirit was abstract. Abstract in the sense, that I had no idea why I was feeling this way. I had no idea what caused me to fall into this rut, but what was known is the pain, my inconsistency in breathing and that I had not prayed about it yet. Day 5 of feeling “off” and I had not even casted it to God yet. I was trying to handle it on my own. I was also trying to deny that I was feeling “off”, because it had been so long since my last attack.

The scary thing is I know that I am not the only one that does this.

How many of us face problems that we are so used to, that we have stopped praying for them when they pop up? We try to ignore or deny the things that are slowly self-destructing us. We do not realize that this is exactly what the enemy wants. The enemy wants us to own our deficiencies so that they can control us. The enemy wants it to control what we do, the way we live, and how we interact with others and even ourselves. But that is not what God desires for our lives to look like. There are a few things that he put on my spirit that I truly believe will be the deliverance from those things that give you anxiety. A few things that some of you may need (myself included). Let’s Talk About It:

The Anxiety Killer

“10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God” (Isaiah 40:10). Anxiety by definition is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Fear by definition is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Dismay by definition is consternation and distress, typically that caused by something unexpected. When you read these definitions they all going hand in hand. Fear and dismay cause anxiety. (Fear+Dismay=Anxiety… But God!) God does not want us to fear. Not because we are too strong, too good, too smart, too fine… NO! It is because He is with us and he is our God. We should not fear, because we are connected to Him. We should not be in dismay, because He is our God. Our faith in Him should be enough to comfort us. His Mercy and His Grace should be our foundation when dealing with things that seem out of our control. Yet right now many of you are thinking:

“That is easier said than done… You don’t get the things that I am dealing with!”

You are right I have no clue about what you are dealing with but He does. I have no clue why you are going through that, but He does. I have no idea, but what I do know is that if you believe in Him, He is with you! You are not dealing with things alone and you are not forced to figure things out on your own, but you have to to know that He is with you. To be fully transparent, no one knew what I was dealing with all of last week and I refused to let people in. Not realizing that in confessing my struggles and sins, there is a true freedom and healing. (James 5:16)

Fear and dismay, loneliness, even anxiety is all a consequence of our perspective. I am fearful of the things that I am dealing with and because of that I feel alone. I feel that God has left me to face these storms of life by myself. THE devil IS A LIAR!

Allow me to paint a picture: You and your friends are on a boat with Jesus. Everyone is having a great time, and then you notice a storm brewing. You look over at Jesus and He is knocked out asleep. You are on this boat, there is a storm right there, and Jesus is sleep. Since the storm was unexpected we are now in dismay. We know that this storm could be dangerous and we are also in this little boat, now fear begins to overtake our heart. Now that we are in fear and dismay, the thoughts of what could happen if we go through this storm begin to cloud our minds… hello anxiety! Yet, the one that we know can calm all storms, is right here sleeping. If he can sleep through the storm, then why are we so afraid? What I noticed about this story from Matthew 8:23-27, is that even when we are with Jesus, even when we can feel his presence over our life… WE STILL LET ANXIETY IN.

How many of us are living like that? We know God, we are aware of His presence in our life… yet we are still living in fear and with anxiety. (Check your faith and release your pride. Do not be afraid to go get help. Fix your heart and mind, stop trying to put band-aids on something that needs surgery.)

I believe that the next part of the verse could be the relief, the medicine, the killer of our anxiety. See with the faith in knowing God’s power, you start to realize why fear and dismay should not control you. (Your Perspective Changes) Let me be fully transparent, fear is neutral, dismay is neutral. Meaning if I see the storm and I am in the boat, naturally I may become fearful. Yet, if I know that Jesus is with me, then that fear should not control what I do next, but instead it should fall flat because of my faith.

In the remainder of the verse He goes on to say, “I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” This is what God wants to do for you, when you face something that brings you fear and dismay. He wants to strengthen you so that you can conquer any situation. Single parent, He will strengthen you; just fired from your job and your bills are due soon, He will help you; maybe you just had an anxiety attack recently, trust me He will uphold you. The comfort that this verse allowed me to have is that, even at my lowest moment I know that when I brought it to Him, my strength would be restored. I knew that when I invited Him into my situation, the medicine I needed was coming with it. I knew that because He is with me, I can overcome my anxiety.

One thing that I would suggest for those who are like me, when you first begin to feel “off”… PRAY. Do not wait until it builds up and you find yourself in the fetal position. Do not wait until you are sitting in a drive-thru line and struggling to breathe, because an abstract build up of anxiety. PRAY.

That is where I messed up. Before I came back to Christ, I had become so used to handling this feeling “on my own”. I was so used to depending on my own strength, but I was only making it harder. Trying to handle things on my own, did not make me stronger. It only made my anxiety worse, because I knew I never had true control. See it took knowing that He is there to make me feel comfortable. Now I know that He is on my boat sleeping, waiting to be awakened and listening to my faith being tested. When I reached out to Him last week, I know that He was proud because I changed my normal ways of dealing with my anxiety. But I can not help but think, if only I did it on day one instead of day five, it would not have led into an anxiety attack. It reminded me that God is there at all times, through the ups and downs… It might be wise if I let Him help me!

JUST REMEMBER: “10Fear 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.” (Isaiah 41:10 … The Anxiety Killer)

He will do it again and again… cause He is Alpha and Omega!