Slaves of Fear

I can’t believe I haven’t touched based with you guys since last year! Actually, it’s only been about a month but you know what I mean… Happy New Year!!! I am declaring a year of fulfilment in your life. May 2016 be a ground-breaking, bold and fearless year for all of us.

Last weekend we had an amazing Women’s event, a true Night of Encouragement. We had about 90 women; some brought their children because we offered an amazing childcare experience. And to think that this is only our second year and God has blessed us and this incredible opportunity to minister to so many women is just mind-blowing. This is only the beginning of what’s to come; we are looking forward to next year’s event on Friday, January 6, 2017. The theme of the night will be “Beauty for Ashes”. It’s going to be transformational and we invite you beautiful ladies to join us. More information will be shared as the time approaches.

 

As we settle into mid-January, I want to talk about Slaves of Fear. One of the definitions of the word slave is a person who is strongly influenced and controlled by something. When you are under the influence, you lose control of your actions. It’s a power that affects and takes over the person, thing or course of events. And for many, fear has been that stronghold. Fear has become a powerful influence; it has gained control and has dictated the course of the lives of many people. Take for example 2015; can you honestly say that you accomplished everything you had set out for? Be honest. Only a small percentage can probably say YES, the grand majority will say NO. We get answers like, “I tried but I didn’t get around it “or “I was going to but then something came up and I got discouraged”, “Maybe next year”, “I wanted to but I got scared”. And there it goes again, fear creeps up until it takes complete ownership of our lives. And what’s sad is that we begin to believe all of the lies that the enemy infiltrates in our minds. We become Slaves of Fear.

The bible declares in Romans 8:37 that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. That’s powerful, isn’t it? His love makes us more than conquerors, His love makes us face our biggest fears, and His love assures us the victory; therefore, we shouldn’t live in fear. 1 John 4:18 tells us that “there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear…” and that perfect love can only be found in Jesus. Last weekend, we were encouraged not only to Be Brave but despite what unforeseen challenges we may face in this year, we will declare victoriously that We Will Not Be Shaken! In order for that to come alive in your life, you have to live in complete freedom of fear! Yes, that means kicking that little sucker to the curb. John 8:36 says “so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” As children of God, we are no longer held in bondage, we become free in Jesus. And that goes for any situation. Through Jesus Christ we are free from bondage, strongholds must come down, addictions must be broken, sinful activities must cease, and our past must be forgotten. And yes we must be free of fear. Fear can no longer control you. Is it easy? No. Will it happen overnight? Not really. Will you struggle with it? Maybe, but remember Romans 8:37! Ask Jesus today to help you and He will. Be receptive to His Word, because His Word will guide you into all truth.

When we are in Jesus, we are free, it’s not something temporary. This does not consist of being free on Sunday mornings during worship and then we become captive on Monday afternoon, I’m talking about a permanent freedom; free indeed as the bible states. Do not be captive by the lies of the enemy that try to bully you. Do not be a Slave of Fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 assures this, “for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. Fear does not come from God, the only spirit that comes from God is the Holy Spirit; therefore you have the authority to cast out any fear that wants to come over you. Whatever the Lord has placed in your heart to accomplish in this New Year, I pray that the Holy Spirit guides you into completing His perfect will. Something interesting happens when you surrender your dreams for God dreams; they become a lot bigger and bolder than what you could have ever imagined. And although the dreams may seem scary at first, it just feels right. A sense of peace comes over you and the sweet whisper of God tells you, “Do not fear; I am with you, everything will be alright.” When this happens, you will begin to see how much more productive you will become in whatever you do because you just know that …God’s got this!

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

~landypf

But.. what if?

Have you ever wanted something really bad and did everything the way you were supposed to; I mean you crossed all of your T’s and dotted all of your I’s, and nothing?  Have you thought about how you would feel or react if things simply didn’t go as planned? I often think about it, especially in this walk of faith that day to day we endure. Life is a journey with many peaks and valleys, highs and lows, good and bad. How do we maintain a steady and balanced state of mind when things simply do not go our way, when prayers are not answered, when we don’t receive what we want but receive what we did not expect? Let’s talk about the many “But.. what if’s” that surprises and confronts us. What should our reaction be?

But.. what if I’ve been praying day in and day out for a specific request and God doesn’t answer or simply “delays” his answer? How am I going to react? Will I stop praying because I didn’t get my answer when I wanted or how I wanted it? Have you thought about that?

But.. what if I’ve been declaring God’s healing power over my sick body and I do not receive healing? Am I going to stop declaring? Will I stop believing that God heals because He didn’t do it for me? Have you thought about that?

But.. what if my faith is SO big and I am believing for something BIG and I am wrapped around God’s promises to the point that my faith is not shaken. I know that I know that I know it will come to pass (next week). And it’s a month later and everything is still the same. Will my faith be shaken? Will I still believe and know that I know that it will happen? Or will I just give up? Have you thought about that?

 

And there are countless examples that I’m sure you can think of as well. The point here is this: What will your attitude be if what you are asking, declaring, and confessing with faith turns out to a big “but what if” moment in your life? It appears out of the blue to disrupt your smooth connection of faith and prayer with your Heavenly Father.  I am the first one to believe in prayer, having faith, in declaring God’s promises and all of those beautiful biblical affirmations. But it is important to understand that our prayers are channeled to the throne of God through this question: Is it God’s perfect will? Sometimes we will receive exactly what we want and ask for, because it was God’s perfect will at that particular moment. Many times, we will have to wait, wait, and wait a little longer to receive our blessing. The word of God says in Proverbs 10:22 that “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it”. When God blesses, there will be no sorrow, confusion, bitterness, none of that. God’s blessings bring peace, love and joy. So many times, it is in God’s perfect will to answer that request but it's simply  not the right time. And that is why we must learn how to not only have faith but also, wait in the Lord for His perfect timing. You may be in God’s perfect will but be out of His perfect timing and that can be damaging to our lives.

I would like to propose that in this New Year, only 9 days new we really think about this. This is the time where we are still pretty fresh and excited about the New Year and we are on cloud 9 with our resolutions. Our prayer lives is in full speed and we believe for anything and everything good to happen to us. And I am all for that! I’m actually one of those people! Lol But let’s take a moment to think about the “But.. what if’s” . This will relieve us from many heart breaks, frustration and even anger toward life-and God.

When the “But.. what if’s” pop up, simply say THANK YOU! Thank you Lord because things didn’t happen the way I expected, they happened exactly the way you wanted them to happen. Then what? Then keep doing what you were doing. Your biggest mistake will be to simply give up. Continue praying, continue believing, and continue giving thanks because if it didn’t happen when you wanted, it will happen God wants. His timing is impeccable – and His clock is always on point, literally! If He didn’t answer a prayer when you wanted, do not give up!! He’s working on something bigger and even better.. Just wait a little longer! Do not get caught up in the moment; open your eyes to God's vision. And you will see what God sees, for we only see the  puzzle piece but He sees the whole picture.

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

 

 

Photo Credit: www.photographymojo.com