Fear Not

Some of us are natural warriors. Through our experiences and temperament, it is ingrained into our very fiber to fight when faced with adversity. Others choose to retreat...bury the feeling and run. Interestingly, these responses even mimic the physiologic design our Elohim created in us, known as “fight or flight.” Thus, whether it is a learned belief system or an involuntary response, when faced with fear we tend to either fight or run. However, The LORD has told us repeatedly to fear not...and fearlessness is achievable only if we are dependent upon Him.

For those who fight, we have to remember The LORD is the mightiest of warriors. We think we’ve made it through some “stuff” and pride ourselves on being a strong person. But, this in itself is a weakness and a struggle. Self-reliance is not trusting God, and it prevents Him from pouring His fullness into us. HIS power is made perfect in our weakness. HE is the source of our strength. We are only conquerors through Christ! When we are dependent on God, Christ’s power will rest upon us. Living in self-reliance-warrior-mode is exhausting because we are fighting a battle we cannot win alone. The war, the battle, and the victory is His!

Likewise, if we tend to bury and retreat, we never face the very things we are afraid of...so we continue to run. Nothing ever gets fully resolved. In essence, we never process through anything with Jesus, never receive healing, and never fully experience Grace. We should instead run to our Strong Tower of Strength, seek His refuge, and allow Him to cover us with His wing. We must retreat into His presence, not into ourselves, or (especially) into our own thinking. If we are not willing to confront issues with Jesus, like the “fighter,” we are self-reliant in carrying our burdens. We grow weary, exhausted, and debilitated as the weight accumulates. We become a prisoner in our own mind and never experience peace. The task is to take His yoke, hold our thoughts captive in Christ, and invite Him in to repair the wounds we have neglected due to fear.

Rejoice, for Jesus is the Prince of peace! Perfect love casts away all fear. 

Jesus Is The Balm of Gilead

Brokenness is a heart condition. Jesus is the remedy...and His cure guarantees eternal life!

When we invite in The Great Physician to perform His spiritual surgery, we receive a heart healing that includes redemption, restoration, rest and peace beside the still waters of everlasting love.

Won't you cry out to The Balm of Gilead? That He may bind and heal your wounded heart? 

Psalm 30:2

O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me..

Psalm 107:20

He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

Psalm 103:3

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;

Psalm 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted

And binds up their wounds.

Matthew 9:12

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

1 Peter 2:24

who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

Jeremiah 8:22

Is there no balm in Gilead,

Is there no physician there?

Why then is there no recovery

For the health of the daughter of my people?

Isaiah 53:5

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are a

Bitterness Dorsn’t Give Others A Chance to Repent

 .

Bitterness Doesn’t Give Others A Chance To Repent

Sometimes we hold on to hurt without communicating the nature of hurts to others.

They often aren’t even aware they have offended us. When we stuff our feelings eventually, the stuffing is going to come out.

That’s because when you fill anything with pressure, it will explode. In the same way, the outburst in our hearts can result in broken marriages and relationships, especially our relationship with God.

Some are shocked to find out that we have been keeping score of their wrongdoings against us.

Give people a chance to state their case and learn to forgive. Don’t stuff your feelings. Express them, forgive and release others to Jesus – the One, who displayed to us with His precious blood how mercy triumphs over judgment.

My Times Are In Your Hands.

There is a fascination in this culture with wanting to know the future. The truth is people don’t understand the reality and the pain of knowing the future. Jeremiah knew this pain well. God gave Him the ability to see into the future - the devastation, captivity, and disaster God’s people would face as a consequence for their idolatry and disobedience. He was grieved to the core for his countrymen and the nation of Israel. So much so that he is known as the ‘weeping prophet.”

We should be grateful that we don’t know what is coming around the bend in our life. There are enough trials, tribulations, hardships, losses, betrayals, and bitter blows that will have us grieving and weeping too.

Comfort yourself knowing that our God is already living in the future, sees all and already turning things around for your good because He loves you.

His grace will be sufficient each day to help you thrive and live out the fullness of the abundant life Jesus came to give God’s children and when we are ready to go Home, He will be there guaranteeing our safe arrival in heaven and into His everlasting arms of love.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

Nothing hurts, and nothing heals like the truth. Facing the truth is sometimes like getting a shot from the doctor. Facing the truth sometimes brings a sting, but eventually, healing will come, and we will feel better.

The truth heals us and restores us when we place our lives in the hands of God. Without placing our life in Christ’s love and grace, the truth can only hurt us, and there are even times when the truth can maim and traumatize us. However, God has organized things in such a way as to bless us and heal us when we are with Him and when we rejoice in knowing the truth.

The truth heals and restores our soul because when we live and immerse ourselves in the truth, eventually the truth will lead us to God. We are healed and restored by the truth because the truth always leads us to a place where we find comfort and love in His presence.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is this…God loves us beyond our ability to fully comprehend. All the hurt, trauma, and tragedy of this life can be washed away in the truth of God’s love and grace if we are willing to be His child.

This washing away of our darkness is how the truth heals and restores us. After we are washed clean by Christ’s love, we find ourselves being wrapped up in His arms. In the washing away of our lies and deceptions, we begin to see clearly our Savior who stands by us every second of our life. We also see He wants us to join Him in Heaven after our mission on earth has been completed.

Do You Love A Prodigal?

Do you love a prodigal? Are you grieving? Do not lose heart.

If your loved one has walked away from God, remember God's faithfulness, meditate on His Word, and stand on His promises. 

Our loved ones cannot escape God's unrelenting love in its passionate pursuit of them.

We have a beautiful picture from Luke 15:4-6 of Our Father's love for His wayward children . "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep'" 

Jesus will bring those who belong to Him home. " I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28!

Only God Completes Me

 “You complete me.” Who can forget this famous line from the movie, Jerry Mcguirre with Tom Cruise that had the hearts of women young and old going pitter-patter bursting with the intoxicating idea of romantic, fairy tale love? As romantic and beautiful as that scene was, it is not real. Truth be told looking for another person to complete you is wrong. Not to mention, it is not emotionally or spiritually healthy. Why? Because we are all desperately flawed, and people will fail us. But there is One who is without flaw and is able to complete us. God’s Word says “You have been made complete in Christ.” Colossians 2:10

If you're looking for anyone or anything to fill and complete you other than Jesus, you will be let down, disappointed and blame others for your unhappiness. Only the love of God can fill the yearning in our hearts for love and acceptance. Only His love satisfies..

God’s word says “You have been accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:6.  Complete acceptance of who you are is only possible when you can see yourself through the eyes of Jesus - Loved, accepted, chosen, adopted, forgiven, redeemed!.

Don't set others up for failure to do what only God is able to do. You will live with constant disappointment.  Choose to live in the fullness of His love. Jesus completes you.

.

God Is Truth

We must stay armored up and ever-vigilant in seeking Truth. The prince of darkness is searching for souls to accompany him in eternal death. He will do anything to impeach the Truth of The LORD of hosts in the hearts of men. The enemy is cunning and disguises himself well; he makes darkness look delicious and deception is his game. Believers are not immune, as Satan is always searching for the tiniest crack of compromise in order to gain a foothold...any way in to create chaos, doubt, and confusion.

Be watchful, turn from temptation, seek truth, and then stand firm on it. If it doesn't align with The Living Word, then it simply isn't Truth. God’s Holy Word is final, absolute, and immutable. Regardless of the schemes of the enemy, The Word of The LORD stands for Eternity!

Beware of our enemy...but trust in our omniscient and powerful God, for He is the only author of peace, truth, and light. Our identity is in Jesus alone; we are His...created by Him, for Him, and in His image! If even for a moment we struggle, our Sovereign-Protector-Father-God is always just a prayer away...and there is power in The Name of Jesus!

Proverbs 23:23

Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

Ephesians 6:14

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Psalm 145:18

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

James 4:7

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat of any tree in the garden?'"

2 Corinthians 11:14-15

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.

2 Corinthians 2:11

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Ephesians 6:10-11

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Spiritual Warfare

In order to fight the good fight, we must take our battles to the spiritual realm. Our fight is not against mortal man, but rather against a spiritual host of wickedness. Therefore, we must know without doubt who we are in Christ Jesus, and utilize all the resources, power, and authority granted to us through The Cross!

Wrestle it out in prayer and put on the full armor of God. Resist the schemes of the enemy and he will flee. Call upon The Sovereign LORD of Hosts, who commands all things seen and unseen! This is and always has been transformative for God’s people! He IS who He IS - and HE IS the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! His power and authority are absolute, limitless, and unending!

Discern your enemy, but have faith in Jehovah-Sabaoth...stand firm, clad in the full armor of God - and always in The Name above all names! Renounce fear and rejoice that your name is written in Heaven! The battle, victory, glory, and honor are The LORD’s forevermore! Hallelujah!

1 Samuel 17:45

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

Luke 10:19

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Philippians 2:9

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,

Ephesians 1:3 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Ephesians 2:6

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

Psalm 105:4

Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

Zechariah 4:6(b)

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

Lord, Help Me Replace My Fears With Faith

 

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3 -

Abba God.

I pray that today and every day You will teach me how to replace my fears with faith... That I will cast my anxieties, fears, doubts and uncertainties upon You and allow Your Perfect Love to drive out those feelings that are not born of The Holy Spirit....that I will surrender my troubles to You, my Holy Heavenly Father, who is ALWAYS GREATER than any rejection, failure, criticism, emotion or enemy I may face today or tomorrow.

I pray that I will grow an enormous and abundant faith in You, an all-knowing, ever-present, always-loving God and walk in the confidence and sound mind that comes from knowing who You Are...that my trust in You will produce in me a faith that will motivate me to just let go of the things that hold me back, give them to you and receive peace beyond measure in my heart and mind.

I pray that I will cling to Your Truth and Your Promises and find refuge in You when I encounter dark valleys in my days, seasons and lives...place my trust in You, my Tower of Strength, for You Are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and You have repeatedly assured me that You are for me and will protect me.

Father, I thank You and praise You for Your Grace, Love, Mercy and Sovereign Protection in my life! I thank You for the atoning Sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, so that I may be reconciled unto You...for my adoption and citizenship in Your Kingdom...for the security, peace, and comfort that You provide in my authentic identity in Christ!

In the name of my beloved Savior, Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Help Me Walk by Faith When I Cannot See

“For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

Thank the Lord our faith depends on what HE can do, and not on what we can do. If you're walking by faith with some things in your life right now, don't stop, friends. Don't let go of His outstretched hand.

All God asks is that we trust Him. Trust Him with all we have. Trust Him to fulfill all our needs. And allow HIM to be our All in all. Don’t let lose sight of the Truth. God is a good God. His heart is pure.

EVERYTHING He does has purpose, and as hard as it is to remember sometimes, everything He does is filled with perfection.He is not leading you to leave you, desolate and alone. He won’t allow you to go the wrong way if you are seeking Him and His will for your life. Trust that! Hold on to it!

When we remember who He is, we can stand with confidence in what He is doing. We can know that HE is who He says He is and, that He is a GOOD GOOD God. A God who loves you so much, and if you could only see what HE sees, you would understand everything. You would understand His timing. His ways. His words. His direction.

Don’t turn from Him when you are feeling lost or confused – turn TO Him, and He will bless you. He loves you with an everlasting love. As much as the cross signifies that, He will go into even greater depths to show you all the more in this season of your life. Why? Because He loves you. Because YOU matter to Him. Because there is only one of YOU, and He longs for YOU to know His heart. To know His love. To know how valuable you are.

So rest in knowing that He sees you. He has His hand on you. He hasn’t forgotten about you, and where are you are at is not a surprise to Him. Trust Him. He is working. He is faithful and, He will show you. He will do, the impossible.

#trust #faith #confidenceinChrist #youareloved #hurtingheartsrestored #healingtherootsthatbind #helpforhurtinghearts #christianlife #getttotheroot #biblicalcounseling 

Your Past Is Not A Life Sentence

Satan likes to utilize our shame from past mistakes to fill us with a sense of indictment. The enemy gains a stronghold through our unhealed hearts; thus, intensifying and festering our anger, guilt, and regret. He uses our lingering, painful emotions to rob us of our joy and peace in the present.

Even more dangerous, the enemy can glamorize the past in a way that makes us long for pieces of our old self. This is a dangerous, slippery slope. Remember Lot's wife! Our past is the biggest indicator of how desperately we need our precious Savior!

In contrast, God says we are a new creation and justified by the Blood of Christ. God says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. God is able to restore the years the locusts have taken away. He promises an abundant life full of hope. Through His grace, every mistake can be miraculously transformed into a beautiful testimony of His love, mercy, forgiveness, and splendor. 

The past, along with the present and future, belongs to Abba God.

Therefore, let us trust and honor God by surrendering it to Him, all for His ordained and anointed purpose. Let us partner with The Balm of Gilead in a heart healing; obey and trust Him to make all things new; praise Him for all He has done and will continue to do.

Let us give God all the glory for how He made a way for us through Jesus; believe and fully receive His Grace. Let us rejoice that we are reconciled by The Blood of The Lamb; sanctified, transformed and regenerated by The Holy Spirit.

Take heart, for there is no place in the present or our future for anything old. We are a new creation...kin with Christ...citizens of Heaven. If there is anything useful from our brokenness, God can certainly transform it into something beautiful, according to His Will and all for His Marvelous Glory... Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

The Prison of What People Think

Or the prison of constantly thinking you know what other people are thinking about you. Both are as equally debilitating. Trust me, this used to be a big issue for me and if I am not careful, I can easily fall back into the chains of both of these prisons. The crazy thing is when I am fully looking to God each day, aiming to please only Him, I don't struggle with this at ALL. I am like a different person. In the past, if someone was in a bad mood around me, or said something to me, when I didn't do anything, I would try so hard to fix things and honestly think it was about ME. It was exhausting. Their struggles would become egg shells around me. Their heaviness or attitude, would become a problem that I thought needed solving. It's freedom when you realize that most of the time, what people do or say has nothing to do with you -- it has to do with what's going on in their own life. And all those times we imagine what they are thinking of us, hours or days later? They likely aren't even thinking about us at all. We are not as important in random people's lives as we think. Lol.

So be encouraged. If you have been spinning lately, over something you said or did, or over what someone might be thinking, take a breath. Bring to God. Who are you trying to please? If it's Him, do what He is asking you to do. in the situation. And if you didn't do a thing, but somehow are still struggling, release the need to please everyone except God. You have an audience of One. And friend, if you aim to please Him, He is well pleased. And when you can truly grasp that, it will free you. It change you. It will unlessh your mind to be fully YOU.

The Lord Is There

Loneliness is uprising in this season.  I just heard a session that described loneliness different than isolation.  Loneliness is a position of our heart and not just about physical isolation.  You can be super active on social media, busy at work or shuffling kids around town, even in the middle of a crowd and still be lonely.  Loneliness cuts deeper.  It says to our hearts things like: “no one hears me”, “I don’t matter”, “I’m not relatable”, “if someone actually knew what was going on inside of me”. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Dear sister; you are not alone, you have an almighty God who sees, a God who knows, and a God who will not forsake you.  So when the world feels dark, and you feel misunderstood, He is there.  It would be super easy to give you a 5-point plan on how to dig yourself out of loneliness.  But the reality is, here is one point:  Reach out to Him.  The very thing that is missing, is the Lord of lords and King of kings.  He is available to you right now, the Creator of the Universe and the lover of your soul.  Even now, the Holy Spirit and Jesus are interceding on your behalf, in the moments where you may not even have the words to say. This.Is.True.Love.❤️.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.” Romans‬ ‭8:34‬ ‭CSB‬‬⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭CSB‬‬⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans‬ ‭8:26-27‬ ‭CSB

Niki Chiles ‬‬