You met a man who celebrated God with you , and that ’ s nice . But what does this have to do with me ?”
A whole lot . If you spend your whole life grasping for happy in the future , you ’ ll end up missing God ’ s transformation in the present . You ’ ll run after something but you ’ ll never catch it . I know this to be true because I have lived this way . And one thing I have come to terms with is that if we want the Spirit ’ s power to crush our momentary fear , the only place that will happen is in the here and now .
Will we believe God can change us right here , or will we continue to pull on a wishbone and hope our best dreams come true ?
I know , my collaborators in fear , that many of you are just like me . And in this moment , right here , your excitement is starting to wither . Why ? Because you ’ ve hardly lived in the moment and you feel horrible about that . Let me tell you something : God does not point His finger at you . He doesn ’ t give you demerits . He doesn ’ t send you to your room without dinner . He speaks life . Let ’ s allow it to soak into us and be with Him in this very moment :
Child , I am with you . I will strengthen and help you ; I will uphold you ( Isa . 41:10 ). You can feel afraid , but know this : I will sustain you no matter what — I will not let you fall ( Ps . 55:22 ). Still feel anxious ? Pray . Petition .
46 SMG Solutions
Offer thanksgiving . And let My peace waterfall on you ( Phil . 4:6 – 7 ). I give you My peace ; don ’ t you believe ? It is peace I leave and peace I give , not like this mad world offers but as only I can — so don ’ t even fuss with all that madness ( John 14:27 ). Turn your shortness of breath into deep breaths , for you have not been given a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind ( 2 Tim . 1:7 ). You don ’ t have to fear the intensity of love ; you see , My perfect love casts out fear ( 1 John 4:18 ). My consolation is what will bring joy ( Ps . 94:19 ). Come , get to know Me . Come , get to see how much I care about your crossed arms , your shaking hands , your jitters , and your allover-cold sweats . I see it all , and guess what , My child : there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ( Rom . 8:1 ). So pull up a chair and let Me do what I do best : minister to your heart murmurs .
I don ’ t want to let these words fly by unnoticed . I don ’ t want to stay the same . Do you ?
Part of beating what you always do is realizing what it is . I know that I am prone to stay in the status quo , like a teenager with her head stuck in her smartphone , both avoiding and dissing instruction .
Just thinking of this also makes me think of my son . Sometimes I have to tell him to put on his listening ears .
Normally this happens when I am on the verge of going berserk , and after I have repeated myself for the fourth , fifth , or sixth time — and my insides are about to spill rage all over the kitchen floor . It is my last-ditch effort that says , This is the moment when you absolutely must listen . It is the moment when everything is on the line if he doesn ’ t hear me . It is both my way to ensure things don ’ t fly over his head and to really reach deep into his heart .
With this in mind , I wonder : Will we put on our listening ears to hear God ?
Father God , we don ’ t want to miss You anymore . Will You help us to hear the call to be brave ? We believe , by faith , in Your power to teach us , to lead us , and to help us venture to the heights we are deathly afraid of . Illuminate these paths by the current of Your Spirit . But most of all , give us eyes to see and ears to hear through the entirety of this book . Amen .
No One Said It ’ s Easy
When I look at myself , I see a girl who wants to be brave but isn ’ t so certain she actually can be . I love all those generic affirmation memes online — Go , woman , go ! and Nothing can stop you ! and You are better than yourself . Half of me gravitates to them , wishing they were true , but after reading a hundred and one of them , I have never seen them