Hannah's Friends

Wow! God is GOOD!!! He has opened so many doors for me & I am so very grateful that such a BIG God notices little me. A friend is moving & stepping down as the leader of a local infertility support group, Hannah's Friends. Well, after prompting from the Lord, I stepped up to fill her shoes within the group. I KNOW this is where the Lord wants me... He has confirmed it for me several times since.

Anyway, we (the support group) met last night & I finally got to meet A in person! She led the group last night & was GREAT I might add! After last night, I kinda feel like Joshua stepping up into Moses' shoes. Seriously though, I know that with the Lord guiding me, I will do fine! A led us in a devotional about fear that was so awesome I had to share!

Fear Not
Learning to fear less in a fearful world
by Jennifer Wennekamp

Our world offers us so many opportunities to fear, but there can be no mistaking that God does not intend for us to live a life full of fear. God’s word is filled with promises that we can overcome any fear and that we do not need to let it affect us. I pray that as we begin this journey of studying God’s word on fear that we can grow in faith, confidence, and peace. I pray that these devotionals will be a blessing to you as they are to me as I prepare them.

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-14, Ephesians 3:14-21

Key Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

This verse tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear! What an awesome promise. We can know then, that if we have fear- it is not what God wants for us. He did not give it to us. We could just stop there and think well I feel fear, but I know it isn’t from God and try to go on, but then we wouldn’t really get the victory over that fear. We have to realize that God didn’t give us a spirit of fear- but He did give us a different spirit. He gave us His Spirit. In 2 Timothy 1:14 (AMP) He tells us to guard and to keep- with the greatest care, the precious and excellently adapted Truth, which has been entrusted to you, by the help of the Holy Spirit who makes His home in you! In Ephesians 3:16 it says- don’t you know that you are the temple (the place that God put his presence in the Old Testament) of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Can you believe it? Can you even fathom it? God’s Spirit lives in and abides in you. Not just out there somewhere, but right inside you! Everywhere you go, and in everything you do- God’s Spirit is with you.

Since God’s Spirit is in us, God says we do not have to be afraid. The Spirit that He has given us is not cowardly or timid, is not lacking in love, and is not confused and unstable. It is a Spirit of power, love and a sound mind. No matter what we are going through, or how weak our human spirit feels- we have power already on the inside of us. When we feel like we can not put up with another person or when we don’t like anyone- much less love them, we have love on the inside of us. When we feel life is too much, that there are too many decisions to be made and we feel like we are losing our minds, we must remember we have a sound mind right on the inside of us!

We don’t have to be afraid because God has given us His Spirit to combat anything that would make us afraid. We may not always feel like His Spirit is there doing His job, but that isn’t because of anything God has or hasn’t done. We have to nurture and grow in Christ so we can recognize and receive that gift in our lives. We can’t live our lives always being carnally minded and expect to fully and completely receive that gift. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul tells the Corinthians that even though they are saved Paul could still only give them the milk of the word-the basic elementary things and could not give them the meat- the deeper and even more useful things of God because they were still carnally minded. They were still following after the flesh rather than following after the spirit.

If we want to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in our lives as effectively as He can we must start to seek after spiritual things. We must take time to read and study the word, to pray and praise and have fellowship with our Father. When we do these things we are stirring up the gift that God has given to us as Paul instructed Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 1:6. It says as we stir up the gift the fear will decrease and we will see that power, love, and sound mind increase in our day to day life.

So begin to stir up the gift that God has given you to help you conquer any fear that is trying to have a hold in your life.

Prayer/Confession: Father, I thank You that I do not have to be afraid. I thank You that your spirit lives in me and that You have given power, love, and a sound mind. As I stir up the gift You have given me by spending time with You I believe that I will overcome the fear that may try and overtake me. Thank you Father that You are a giver of good gifts, that You love me, watch over, and make me whole. Amen

(http://narrowroadtravels.com/fearnotpt1.aspx)

So we talked about our fears at last night's meeting...

What do I/have I feared? A big fear in the past has been that I'm not a good parent & that's why I haven't gotten pregnant yet. Currently, it is that I won't get pregnant at all (not b/c I'm not a good parent or anything though). I really believe (through prayer & my relationship with Jesus) that He has promised me that I will have another child. But the fear that maybe I misunderstood Him has crossed my mind. Maybe He just couldn't tell me that I'm NOT going to have a baby yet b/c I haven't been ready to hear the truth or maybe I just refused to hear it? Maybe He's just letting me think this temporarily until I'm ready to hear/in the place where He can tell me that no, I'm not going to have a baby after all?

I'm not letting Satan win this battle. Right now I believe He is telling me that yes, I'll have a baby & until He tells me otherwise I'm clinging to that; I'm clinging to Him. Like I have heard a fellow church member say, "Believe that God is going to do it for you & if He does, GREAT, but if He doesn't, just say, 'That's okay, Lord. I know that whatever Your plan for me is better anyway.'" I'm walking by faith & not by sight!

Praise You Jesus! Praise You that I have the power to overcome any/all my fears within me! Praise You for giving me a spirit of power, love, & a sound mind! Praise You for loving me & for dying on the cross for me!