Fear Not! by Michael A. Verdicchio
Copyright 2006 Michael A. Verdicchio
Modern psychology seems to suggest that living with fears is normal. Some popular phrases today include, "accepting your fears," "managing your fears," "embracing your fears," or "coping with your fears." But is that really the way the Creator intended us to live - with fear?
There are countless people today trying to accept their fears. They are doing everything they can to manage their fears. They are unclear on exactly how to embrace and cope with their fears.
There are many facets and aspects of fear; one of the biggest is being fearful of what others think of you. People do things, say things, and even buy things because of their fear of what others might think.
They join clubs or organizations because they are afraid that if they don't, others might think badly of them. They say things and talk a certain way because they are afraid they might not say the right thing in front of the right people. They purchase items because of a fear of not measuring up to those around them. The fear never ends.
You don't have to live with those kinds of fears.
Fear will always limit you and keep you from being the person you really want to be. Fear is destructive and it ruins lives. Learning to live with your fears is not the answer. Ignoring your fears is not the answer. Getting rid of your fears is the answer and it is available.
If it is "normal" to live with fear, then why is that not clearly spelled out to us in the Bible? In fact, just the opposite is true. Many times on the pages of Scripture you will find the phrase, "Fear not." If it is normal to accept your fears, why would the Bible instruct us to be abnormal by telling us to "fear not?" That certainly does not make any sense, if it is indeed normal to live with your fears.
Why does the Bible say, "I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears?" If it were God's intention for us to embrace our fears, why doesn't it instead say, "I sought the Lord and He helped me to embrace and accept all my fears?" If the intention of the Creator was that it be completely normal to live with your fears, why would He promise to deliver you from all of them?
God never intended for His people to be defeated and full of fear. He desires just the opposite: that we live a fulfilled life, an abundant life. He wishes above all things that we prosper and be in health.
Quite the contrary to living with your fears, and accepting your fears, the Bible says that fear has torment. Fear is your enemy. Someone once described fear as "sand in the machinery of life." Fear doesn't help; it hinders. Fear doesn't get us through an open door; it keeps us in the hallway. Fear never helps you put your best foot forward; it just keeps both feet in cement.
So many Christians are living needlessly with fears - all sorts of fears. God can deliver you of any and every fear, even your deepest, darkest ones.
Jesus told a man, whose daughter had just died, "Fear not, only believe!" The man refused to fear, and believed, and his daughter was raised back to life! Why did Jesus tell him, "Fear not?" It was because fear will always keep you from believing and accepting the promises of God. When you believe the promises of God, you will see them come to pass in your life.
Think about it - if it’s normal to have fears, and you have no fears, you would be abnormal, right? Why would God want you to be abnormal?
He doesn’t. He truly desires for you to be set free from all your fears.
Are you tired of living with fear? God can deliver you! Ask Him to help you and deliver you from all your fears.
Michael A. Verdicchio is a husband, father, minister, and broadcaster. He has been the voice on numerous productions over the years. Michael is the author and producer of "Inspirational Pep Talks", available at http://www.InspirationalPepTalks.com
He is also the author of the book, "Healing from God is Available". He has produced other motivation and inspirational items, including the audio CD, "Healing Words", available at http://www.ChristianInspirationalGifts.com . He is the voice for the current series, "Stories for Joshua."
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Dear God, I'm Mad As Hell
Dear God, I'm Mad As Hell by Rob Marshall
Copyright 2006 Rob Marshall
In Bible studies that I've taught, I've often had people talk with me afterwards and mention that they're struggling because they're not getting answers to their prayers. They want to have faith, they don't think that they're doing anything wrong, but nothing seems to be happening, nothing is changing.
It reminds me of a theme that comes up throughout the Psalms. It's a theme that we don't like to talk about because it seems like the Psalmists are saying, "God! We cry out to You, but You don't answer!"
Whether we like it or not, there are times when it seems like God is a long way away. We feel like the Psalmist who wrote: "But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale." (Psalm 44:9-12 NIV)
There have been times when I've felt like dying. Has that ever happened to you? When you feel like there's no hope, God has forsaken you, so you might as well just give up?
Most of us just put on a brave face and try not to admit it, but the truth is, we're frustrated and angry. We're mad at God and we don't know what to do.
Part of the frustration that we deal with is because we begin to believe that it's something we've done wrong. There's a problem with "me" but I don't know what it is. God must be angry with me for some unknown reason, and if I could just figure it out and say I'm sorry, it will all be better.
When we face times like this we have to remember that others have gone through similar times. There's nothing strange about it and there's nothing wrong with us. We should be open and listen to see if there is some unconfessed sin that we need to deal with, but not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with guilt. And we shouldn't try to earn God's favor by believing that we need to be punished.
As my pastor once commented to me when I was thinking along those lines, "What! Was Christ's death on the cross not good enough for you?" I realized that I wrongly thought I had to pay the price, and I forgot that He already had.
We also need to follow David's example. In Psalm 43:5 he says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
It's OK to let God know that we're angry and that we don't understand what's happening in our lives. It's OK to tell Him how we feel. And then we need to remember that even if we feel forsaken, God is still there. He still loves us.
When we tell God how we feel, we also need to remind ourselves of who He is and make a decision to continue to praise Him. The sacrifice of praise often comes when we decide to stop all the negative voices in our heads and praise God in spite of our circumstances.
One of my favorite prayers is in 2 Chronicles 20:12. The prayer is in the middle of the story about the armies that were coming to attack Jehoshaphat. At the end of Jehoshaphat's prayer he says, "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
We need to let God know how we're feeling, but still keep our eyes on Him. He will answer our prayers and help us through any circumstances we're facing. His answer may not come in the way we want, but it will come.
Rob Marshall is the author of "Taking On Goliath - How to Unleash the David in All of Us." Learn how you can unleash your faith and overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams.
http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Copyright 2006 Rob Marshall
In Bible studies that I've taught, I've often had people talk with me afterwards and mention that they're struggling because they're not getting answers to their prayers. They want to have faith, they don't think that they're doing anything wrong, but nothing seems to be happening, nothing is changing.
It reminds me of a theme that comes up throughout the Psalms. It's a theme that we don't like to talk about because it seems like the Psalmists are saying, "God! We cry out to You, but You don't answer!"
Whether we like it or not, there are times when it seems like God is a long way away. We feel like the Psalmist who wrote: "But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale." (Psalm 44:9-12 NIV)
There have been times when I've felt like dying. Has that ever happened to you? When you feel like there's no hope, God has forsaken you, so you might as well just give up?
Most of us just put on a brave face and try not to admit it, but the truth is, we're frustrated and angry. We're mad at God and we don't know what to do.
Part of the frustration that we deal with is because we begin to believe that it's something we've done wrong. There's a problem with "me" but I don't know what it is. God must be angry with me for some unknown reason, and if I could just figure it out and say I'm sorry, it will all be better.
When we face times like this we have to remember that others have gone through similar times. There's nothing strange about it and there's nothing wrong with us. We should be open and listen to see if there is some unconfessed sin that we need to deal with, but not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with guilt. And we shouldn't try to earn God's favor by believing that we need to be punished.
As my pastor once commented to me when I was thinking along those lines, "What! Was Christ's death on the cross not good enough for you?" I realized that I wrongly thought I had to pay the price, and I forgot that He already had.
We also need to follow David's example. In Psalm 43:5 he says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
It's OK to let God know that we're angry and that we don't understand what's happening in our lives. It's OK to tell Him how we feel. And then we need to remember that even if we feel forsaken, God is still there. He still loves us.
When we tell God how we feel, we also need to remind ourselves of who He is and make a decision to continue to praise Him. The sacrifice of praise often comes when we decide to stop all the negative voices in our heads and praise God in spite of our circumstances.
One of my favorite prayers is in 2 Chronicles 20:12. The prayer is in the middle of the story about the armies that were coming to attack Jehoshaphat. At the end of Jehoshaphat's prayer he says, "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
We need to let God know how we're feeling, but still keep our eyes on Him. He will answer our prayers and help us through any circumstances we're facing. His answer may not come in the way we want, but it will come.
Rob Marshall is the author of "Taking On Goliath - How to Unleash the David in All of Us." Learn how you can unleash your faith and overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams.
http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Forty Days of Fear and Failure
Forty Days of Fear and Failure by Rob Marshall
Copyright 2006 Rob Marshall
In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says, "One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat." He goes on to tell the story of R. U. Darby who stopped three feet short of finding gold.
Darby, like many others, was caught up in "gold fever." He went out west in search of gold and after digging in a mine with a pick and shovel, he found it. He quietly covered up the mine and went back east to raise money to buy the equipment he needed to bring the ore to the surface.
His hopes were high as he began dreaming of paying off his debts and making a killing selling gold. But then something happened, the vein of gold disappeared. He continued drilling, but the gold was gone. He finally quit and sold the equipment to a junk dealer for a few hundred dollars and went back home.
The junk dealer decided to hire a mining engineer to take a look at the mine. After doing some calculations the engineer told him that whoever had done the drilling didn't understand fault lines. He also told him that the vein was just three feet from where Darby had stopped. The junk dealer found the gold and made millions.
We often fail because we stop short of success. When I looked at my life, I realized that I'd never really failed at anything. When I took a good hard look at my "failures" I realized that in every case, I had simply quit.
Have you taken the time to look at your failures in life? How's your track record when it comes to facing difficulty and disappointment? Have you developed the habit of quitting?
The Old Testament story of David and Goliath is familiar to just about everyone. We all know that the "little guy" defeats the "big giant" with just a sling and some faith. But what we often don't think about is God's army and what they experienced.
When we read the story we learn that the army got up every morning, prepared for battle, did their "battle cry," and then something went terribly wrong. The giant Goliath came out and challenged them to send out their champion.
It was at that point that every man's heart failed and fear overtook them. This process was repeated day after day for forty days. For forty days they hoped and prepared only to have to face failure again and again. No one had the courage to face Goliath until a young shepherd boy named David came along and said, "I'll fight him!"
I don't know how those soldiers felt for those forty days, but I know that I've had many times in my life when a giant problem seemed too hard to overcome, and my fear led to a decision to quit, a decision to fail.
But what can we do when faced with defeats and setbacks?
The first thing to do is to think about R. U. Darby who stopped three feet short of gold, and those soldiers who let fear cause them to fail for forty days. And then remember that we can't give up, there's too much to lose. After all, our dreams are at stake.
Reaching our dreams will require that we face our fears and overcome our failures. Success may be right around the corner and it will probably come in a way that we don't expect. Darby didn't know that all he needed was someone with mining experience and the soldiers didn't know that a young boy would kill the giant.
Hold on to your hope, continue to pursue your dreams, and know that the answer will come when you least expect it.
Rob Marshall is the author of "Taking On Goliath - How to Unleash the David in All of Us." Learn how you can unleash your faith and overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams. http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Copyright 2006 Rob Marshall
In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says, "One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat." He goes on to tell the story of R. U. Darby who stopped three feet short of finding gold.
Darby, like many others, was caught up in "gold fever." He went out west in search of gold and after digging in a mine with a pick and shovel, he found it. He quietly covered up the mine and went back east to raise money to buy the equipment he needed to bring the ore to the surface.
His hopes were high as he began dreaming of paying off his debts and making a killing selling gold. But then something happened, the vein of gold disappeared. He continued drilling, but the gold was gone. He finally quit and sold the equipment to a junk dealer for a few hundred dollars and went back home.
The junk dealer decided to hire a mining engineer to take a look at the mine. After doing some calculations the engineer told him that whoever had done the drilling didn't understand fault lines. He also told him that the vein was just three feet from where Darby had stopped. The junk dealer found the gold and made millions.
We often fail because we stop short of success. When I looked at my life, I realized that I'd never really failed at anything. When I took a good hard look at my "failures" I realized that in every case, I had simply quit.
Have you taken the time to look at your failures in life? How's your track record when it comes to facing difficulty and disappointment? Have you developed the habit of quitting?
The Old Testament story of David and Goliath is familiar to just about everyone. We all know that the "little guy" defeats the "big giant" with just a sling and some faith. But what we often don't think about is God's army and what they experienced.
When we read the story we learn that the army got up every morning, prepared for battle, did their "battle cry," and then something went terribly wrong. The giant Goliath came out and challenged them to send out their champion.
It was at that point that every man's heart failed and fear overtook them. This process was repeated day after day for forty days. For forty days they hoped and prepared only to have to face failure again and again. No one had the courage to face Goliath until a young shepherd boy named David came along and said, "I'll fight him!"
I don't know how those soldiers felt for those forty days, but I know that I've had many times in my life when a giant problem seemed too hard to overcome, and my fear led to a decision to quit, a decision to fail.
But what can we do when faced with defeats and setbacks?
The first thing to do is to think about R. U. Darby who stopped three feet short of gold, and those soldiers who let fear cause them to fail for forty days. And then remember that we can't give up, there's too much to lose. After all, our dreams are at stake.
Reaching our dreams will require that we face our fears and overcome our failures. Success may be right around the corner and it will probably come in a way that we don't expect. Darby didn't know that all he needed was someone with mining experience and the soldiers didn't know that a young boy would kill the giant.
Hold on to your hope, continue to pursue your dreams, and know that the answer will come when you least expect it.
Rob Marshall is the author of "Taking On Goliath - How to Unleash the David in All of Us." Learn how you can unleash your faith and overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams. http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
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