Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A Call to Be Courageous

In our Beth Moore class on Esther yesterday, the topic was around FEAR. The study this week is an exhortation to be courageous, as Esther was, when going to face the king on behalf of her and the other Jews throughout Persia.

Some of the notes regarding fear were:


  • I am the biggest obstacle to myself in overcoming

  • There is no denial in courage - you need to look your fears flat in the face and you don't deny it, but rather, you deny its power over you!
  • You may be one brave decision from the most important turn in your entire path...
  • The most common command in scripture is: "Don't be afraid"
  • We tend to cherish fear and/or hide behind it
  • Don't be motivated by fear!
  • The enemy - Satan - knows our fears and he's all over it!
  • "What If" = "I Fear"....the "what ifs" in life, usually don't even happen

I don't know of a single person who couldn't benefit from this lesson on fear - we all have them, some moreso than others, but any fear is in contradiction to God's word - he says in I John 4:18: "There is NO fear in love. But perfect love drives out ALL fear"

Let us be strong and courageous in facing our fears and come to the full knowledge and trust in the Lord that NO MATTER WHAT....God is ALWAYS with us, and will see us through...

Janelle

2 comments:

Mary said...

Thanks Janelle! This post comes very timely for me, and your words have brought me great comfort today.

Saw your picture on the TDIPT blog ~ what fun to meet another member in person. Looks like it was a great time!

Hope your year has started off well, and your decision to leave your conventional "job" is giving you more time for enjoying the artful pursuit!

Hugs,

Mary

Janelle Willis Hurt said...

Oh it was very timely for me too!
I'm glad the Lord used that to bring you comfort today...
Oh and meeting Carol was such a pleasure! We just hit it off from the minute we met - felt like I'd known her forever...
Yes, I'm still enjoying not working at a "real" job - if I don't want to work one day, but relax - spend time with friends, etc., then I can!
Janelle