Decided? Decided!

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear and champion faith. Fear is a spiritual force used by Satan to keep people down. God loves peace, joy, and love, and does not want us to have anxiety or fear. We have control over our thoughts and can choose to rely on human thinking or do it Jesus' way. We can cast our worries on God and have faith that he will provide for us. Waiting and suffering may be necessary to strengthen our faith, but it is only for a little while. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Deuteronomy 20.2-4 It shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people, and shall tell them, Here, Israel, you draw near today to battle against your enemies. Don't let your heart faint. Don't be afraid, nor tremble, neither be scared of them. For Yahweh your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. God loves peace, gentleness, joy, love, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control. God does not love enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, or envy. Hmm, that last group sounds a lot like social media. God doesn't want us to have anxiety. 1 Corinthians 7.32 He doesn't want us to be fearful, lose heart, panic, or have dread. Not about other people, not about circumstances, not about where the money for the bills is coming from, or how we're going to put food on the table. These are all very real things in life. These are not sins. Thoughts and feelings and tumultuous mental spaces are not sins. God isn't going to magically whisk them away, but he is going to fight for us, go ahead of us, and give us victory. He will provide for your needs. He will give you the tools to handle those thoughts and feelings and tumultuous mental spaces. He will sustain you. His part is clear. What about our part? Ecclesiastes 11.10 says, we are to, therefore, remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for youth, and the down of life for vanity. In ourselves, this is easier said than done. Our society wants us to fear, be worried, or be anxious about everything. Just look at the news cycle. Our society also wants us to wear trendy fashion, be thin, look a certain way, act a certain way, watch the same things, etc., etc. Everything we say or do seems to feed into this storm of stress. In addition to that, they tell us that it is natural, normal, and unhealthy not to have them. When we're focused on all that, it is almost impossible to put it away from us. The first thing is to realize, believe, and accept that choice is the major determinant of these things. The first argument I'll hear is, I didn't pick this, I have a medical condition, I have a mental disorder, or a myriad of other similar comments. Fine, if you want to believe that, just stop right here. Go home, live your best, managing your condition life. But when we are in serious mortal danger, don't we pray instead of accepting it? When we're seriously sick, don't we pray instead of accepting it? When people in the world get injured, sick, medically unsound, don't they go to the doctor, have operations, take medication, and try to fix themselves? Not saying that they're substandard or abnormal, but wishing to alter their condition to be something that they can live with without pain, misery, or uncontrolled anything? Of course they do. It's a billion-dollar industry. That's what coping mechanisms are. That's what taking space for yourself is. That's what mental health days are. That's what radiation therapy is. It's what companies like Pfizer are built on. No one wants to be sick. Every single thing that is observable in the universe can be altered. It may be beyond our means, like adding an atmosphere to Mars or controlling the radiation that emits from the sun, but it can be altered. In the right circumstances, it can be altered, and it will be altered. Now why are we, as humans, any different? In fact, if we couldn't be changed, we wouldn't have a medical profession, or research, or half the technology that we've created. But, of course, for us, the deal is that we can only alter so much. We're only capable of so much. We have limitations, but one of the limitations we do not have is our imagination, our mental faculties. We can choose our mood. We can choose our thought patterns. Now, not the ones that assail us due to advertising, entertainment, other people's words, or random things that slap up against the walls of our minds, but we can choose what we think on consistently. Things that we accept as worthy of thought, and things we reject because they are not thoughts for us. We have a huge amount of control over our mental landscape. But what about those who struggle with that in the natural? Well, they have a legitimate problem. Spiritually, they've made a choice. If they have, not choosing is a choice as much as choosing is. Think of it this way. You can go forward or not. Going backwards is not going forward. Sitting down is not going forward. Moving sideways is not going forward. Jumping a lot is not going forward. Anything except going forward is not going forward. It doesn't matter how slow you go forward, or how fast you go forward. That's what Jesus' things are. You can do it His way, or you cannot. Anything but doing it His way is not doing it His way. No matter what you pick, what your success rate at it, the speed at which you do it, what you believe, what you feel, what you think, what others tell you, and what you know or not. Anything but His way is not His way. It's a binary equation. A black and white reality with absolutely no gray areas at all in any way. The black and white never, ever, ever, ever, ever meet. That means we have a choice. We can rely on human thinking, human reasoning, human science, human ingenuity, or we can do it Jesus' way. Jesus said in Matthew 6, 27, Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan? That means that we shouldn't be anxious. John 14, 1 says, Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. Luke 12, 26, If then you aren't able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest? Well, Jesus was talking about very specific things in those instances. Okay, okay. 1 Peter 5, 6-7 Humble yourself, therefore, unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. Proverbs 24, 19 Don't fret yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious of the wicked. Psalm 37, 8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath. Don't fret. It leads only to evildoing. Philippians 4, 6 Let nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Not enough. Don't be anxious. It's in there. Don't be troubled. Yep. Don't worry. Yep. Don't be faint-hearted. Yep. Don't be grieved. Yep. Don't implies that you can not be these things. That it is possible to decide not to be these things. So, can we just decide not to be depressed? Just decide not to have an anxiety attack? On our own? No. But with God? Yes. Absolutely yes. I've suffered from anxiety attacks. I've had these issues. I've been incapacitated up all night. Unable to leave the house. Unable to breathe. I've had the headaches, the chest pains. I've had these issues. But I don't anymore. It didn't go away. I chose to send it away. Not in me. Not by my efforts. Those efforts weren't a sin. They weren't evidence of weak faith. Faith didn't even come into it. And if it doesn't come into it for you, then thank God for your doctors. Pray for them that they have wisdom when they deal with you. But I am simply telling you that all the years of all my efforts, my best, wholehearted efforts, did nothing to end it and barely helped me to manage it. But in Christ, relying on the sacrifice of Jesus to be the end point of my fears, anxiety, depression, and worry, it's only a matter of faith. Not faith believing that it's going to happen maybe one day. Fingers crossed. Faith knowing it is true. It will happen. And that you don't have to accept anything less or anything else. It is a choice. It is a decision. That's what starts the whole journey. 1 Peter 5, 6-10 says, Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. That last part doesn't sound that good. Stand on faith and discipline ourselves and keep alert while we cast our cares in Jesus, especially when we have to suffer for a little while. Well, no one likes to wait or suffer. But look at things in their natural. We take a pill and we have to wait for it to take effect. We paint a room, we need to wait for it to dry. We go to cook and it takes a while for the food to be ready. We stop taking caffeine or we cut down on our sugar intake and we have withdrawal symptoms for a few days. Then we even out and usually feel better. Waiting, especially detoxing from something, isn't fun. But it isn't forever. Spiritually, we have to wait for rescue to prove and strengthen our faith. For how long? A little while. How do we do it? To make sure that we're doing it right so that we deal with it instead of dragging it out for months, for years, weeks, like a child throwing a tantrum while you just want them in bed. Well, we purposefully give Jesus all our anxiety and worry. We put it on the cross. Every time, after that moment of choice, whenever a worry comes up, refer it to the cross. Tell them, sorry, that's not my department. Head over there. I left it on the cross. Do it by choice, just like we put on pants or the armor of God, Ephesians 6, 10-18. Do it daily, hourly, every ten minutes, whenever the thoughts hit. Then we have the tools to resist and do this correctly, to detox from the cycle of fear and stress and live in peace and security. It's all about the Lord. And the next step is vital. Praise Him. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Out loud, in your head, a verse, a poem, a song, a dance. Send worship His way to the throne itself. Not because you want to get something. Not because you're asking or you're demanding. Because He saved you and that's enough. He saved you from sin. He saved you from this. He saved you, period. Praise Him for saving you. Don't worry about your feelings. Praise Him anyway. It's the surest way to rid yourself of negative and dose yourself with positive. As long as your heart means it, it doesn't matter if your flesh and your feelings and your mind tell you it's silly. Your spirit will inform your emotions. You are not praising for what will be, but for what is already accomplished in, on, and through the cross. It's not easy. It's simple, but it's not easy. There's days when I do it 10 or 20 thousand times. But every time it comes up, I say out loud when possible, No, I dealt with that. That's God's problem. And then I praise the Lord. I thank Him for the solution. I thank Him I can be carefree. I praise Him. I do not always feel like it. I end up being fine, but at the start, I don't always feel it. And the result? God does His part. I have seen restoration, support, strength, and answers. I've had bonuses arrive early and unexpectedly. I have seen food last longer than it should have. I've seen depression and anxiety fade like smoke in the wind. I've seen traffic disappear so that we can all be home on time. Because when we're on the road and praying, everyone gets blessed with flowing traffic. I've seen it. It works. When bad thoughts come calling, remember who is in charge. We don't need the negative in our life and our minds. We don't even have to be negative. We don't have to put up with depression, anxiety, worry, fear, or any of that. Why? Because the outcome is already decided. We just have to catch up to it, praise God. Hope is the expectation, the firm and absolute knowledge that it will come to be. This is not wishing for an outcome, desiring an outcome, or positive thinking an outcome your way. This is expecting God to fulfill the promises God has made in His Word. This is expecting God to be and to do what God's own nature is and does. That's no wishing, my friends. That is a certainty. Seek Him in His ways. The rest will fall into place, and you will find yourself victorious, positive, operating in joy and peace, and truly content with the life that you have, the life He sustains within you. When doubt comes, kick it to the curb. The outcome is already decided. Choose to praise the Lord for it every day until it arrives, and then afterwards, too, because look at the great thing that He did. Read it in the Word. Believe it. Receive it. Choose it. Walk in it. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Proverbs 13, 24-25. Who hasn't corrected their kids, or been corrected by a parent, teacher, or boss? It never feels good, but there are times when we need and deserve it. Now, I'm not talking about petty correction designed to control us. When it's a parent to a child, it is motivated by love and should be done in love, for the benefit of the child, to protect them or correct a behavior that will cause them problems in life. We do it promptly and kindly. We get it over with, and we move on. Why? Because it's a correction. It's not a big deal. God's the same way. His corrections are motivated 100% by love. They are quick, and they are meant to improve us. Every time, it proves that He truly loves us, because He doesn't let us run around doing whatever we want, whenever we want, regardless of consequences. As we close, remember that you have birth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love, and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you, just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent His only-born Son into the world, that we might live through Him. And this is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear, too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.