of fear and abiding

I haven't had any original thoughts lately.  Nothing of my own to share here.  My Love has been out of town so I have been rocking the single Mom thing but to be truthful I was distracting myself  with TV series on Netflix long before that.  God continues to speak to my heart though.  One word keeps repeating itself even though I keep trying to tell Him it doesn't apply to me: fear.  I am not a worrier.  I am not afraid.  Fears do not consume my daily life as I know it does for some.  And yet, God keeps telling me not to be afraid.  That abiding in Him will thwart any future fears on the horizon.  When fear AND John 5:1-5 were talked about for awhile on Sunday morning I pretty much got the message loud and clear.  Anyway.  Here are some other unoriginal ideas God has been giving me lately.  Enjoy!

"You shall have My Joy.  But Life just now for you both is a march--a toilsome march...  The Joy will come, but for the moment do not think of that, think simply of the march.  Joy is the reward...  Joy is the reward of patiently seeking Me in the dull dark days, of trusting when you cannnot see...  Joy is as it were your heart's response to My smile of recognition of your faithfulness...  Stop thinking your lives are all wrong if you do not feel it...  Remember you may not be joyous, but you are brave, and courage and unselfish thought for others are as sure signs of true discipleship as Joy."  -God Calling, December 16

I know, right?  Oddly specific to where I am at right now.  Want some more?  How about a promise of some spiritual warfare?  Fun!

"There is no miracle so wonderful as the miracle of a soul being kept by My Power.  Forces of evil batter and storm, but are powerless.  Tempests rage unavailingly.  It is like a cool garden...set in the midst of a mighty roaring city.  Try to see your lives as that.  Not only as calm and unmoved, but as breathing fragrance, expressing beauty.  Expect storms.  Know this--you cannot be united in your great friendship and bond to do My work, and in your great Love for Me, and not excite the envy, hatred, and malice of all whom you meet who are not on My side.  Where does the enemy attack?  The fortress, the stronghold, not the desert waste." -God Calling, December 14

Well at least I'm not crazy.  There is some spiritual warfare going on and it is disguised in many ways.  And yet there is more.  Remember the fear reminder?

"Love and fear cannot dwell together.  By their very natures they cannot exist side by side.  Evil is powerful, and fear is one of evil's most potent forces.  Therefore a weak vacillating love can be soon routed by fear, whereas a perfect Love, a trusting Love, is immediately the Conqueror, and fear, vanquished, flees in confusion.  But I am Love because God is Love, and I and the Father are one.  So the only way to obtain this perfect Love, that dispels fear, is to have Me more and more in your lives.  You can only banish fear by My Presence and My Name.  Fear of the future--Jesus will be with us.  Fear of poverty--Jesus will provide.  (And so to all the temptations of fear.)  You must not allow fear to enter.  Talk to Me.  Think of Me.  Talk of Me. Love Me.  And that sense of My Power will so possess you that no fear can possess your mind.  Be strong in this My Love."  -God Calling, December 12

I try to tell God that I am not afraid but he clearly is trying to prepare me for something he knows is coming.  Sidebar: When I read the above passage it was the third time in a weak I had heard the word 'vanquished'.  Weird, huh?

"There may be many times when I reveal nothing, command nothing, give no guidance.  But your path is clear, and your task, to grow daily more and more into knowledge of Me.  That this quiet time with Me will enable you to do.  I may ask you to sit silent before Me, and I may speak no word that you could write.  All the same that waiting with Me will bring comfort and Peace.  Only friends who understand and love each other can wait silent in each other's presence.  And it may be that I shall prove our friendship by asking you to wait in silence while I rest with you, assured of your Love and understanding.  So wait, so love, so joy." -God Calling, December 10

Sometimes I wonder how anyone else reading this devotional could possibly have it apply to their exact day the way it does to me.  But God is awesome like that.

He has also be speaking to me through scripture (in Isaiah and Galatians this week) and sermons and emails and visits from friends.

So I sit here this morning with no real original words.  God is speaking.  He is teaching me of the march ahead and raging storms and abiding to prevent fear and waiting in silence.

I know it has been awhile since I last posted.  The gaps in writing might be wider in the near future.  But God is busy working and preparing our hearts.  And sometimes to get a heart ready for something big a lot of other junk has to be dealt with first.  Pray for us.