2 Timothy 1:7

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7


I just read the quote, “there is a fine line between fear and faith.” The verse above uses the word “timid” in the NIV, whereas the KJV uses the word “fear”. Fear says, “my sickness will conquer me,” or “my finances won’t cover me.” Fear looks at God and says, “you aren’t enough.” Fear looks at this world and believes in its power, its anger, its hatred, its confusion, and tells me they have a strong hold over me, one that I cannot conquer. Faith, on the other hand, says “My God is my refuge and strength” (Ps 46:1); that the “fowls of the air neither sow nor reap, but that they are fed by God” (Matt 6:26); and it tells me that “with God nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:35). Faith and fear do not coexist with each other. I cannot live in both at the same moment. When I pray, I believe God will do what I ask him on the simple premisses that I have prayed and seen him act before. When I pray and ask for something that is godly to happen, I set my faith upon him that moves mountains. I do not worry or stress that he will not hear me. I do not even worry or stress that his answer may be different than my request, simply because I trust in him to whom I come. His will is always better than mine, his way is higher than my way, and his knowledge is broader than what I know. With the Spirit of God working in me, I have the boldness to press forward, trusting in him who loves and cares for me. I have the power, love and self-discipline to place my faith in God when the world is against me. It may be so, but God never is! My faith will remain strong in him who saved and transformed me from a timid, fearful being into one who stands tall and strong for him!

Pastor Julia

image by pixabay

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t
Read more

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the
Read more