Source:
lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-trees-in-garden-of-eden-part-1.html
Conquering Fear
I kept saying above that God broke me free of it, but the truth is
I broke free of fear in God's strength.
We can do nothing without Christ, but
He does nothing until we take that step in faith.
As soon as I said,
"enough! I don't know what this block is, but I'm over it!"
, He literally said
"Finally"
in a fit of immeasurable joy,
and opened my eyes to a host of amazing wonders!
It's like He could finally hold my hand and run with me!
I can keep up because I'm no longer heavy with fear! Don't you want that? Don't you want to know Your God on every level? Are you willing to take the risk and step out in faith to find out?
Do you trust Him to take care of you wherever you go?
You and I both know there's something holding you back.
If you're not shining, if you can't say the words "I love, love, love myself" and
ooze nothing but joy to overflow,
if you can't walk by different religions without feeling sad, then something IS holding you back and, perhaps, you don't know the power of Your God! Perhaps.
Fear is only conquered when we truly trust God,
when we love ourselves as He loves us,
so much so that we can't help but
share that love with others,
and teach them to do the same.
Darkness cannot exist when light is present. Fullstop.
Fighting darkness and fear is a waste of time and energy. Light! Be light, be love, focus on the good, and that will overflow to cast out the negatives.
Food for thought:
all those people we judge - 'backslidden' brothers and sisters, other religions, cult groups, sociopaths, criminals, other Christians with different perspectives -
can only be changed by personal encounter with God. Not a word you utter means anything without that.
Plus, you don't know enough to know that you're absolutely right about everything you believe, so stop worrying about it and stop fighting it.
Love them instead, but first, love yourself!
If it was not God's will that any should perish, why do we focus so on who will perish? Why don't we become, as individuals, a safe space for all to come and be, and be loved? Why don't we do that, our part in Love, and let God do His work? Let us focus on love and light. The details will be worked out by God. You'd be surprised to see true Serendipity, which is His.
Your Powerful Mind
Let me tell you what I've learned about Love - I'm still learning.
Love, not courage, is the opposite of fear.
That is why it is the gift that is above all others.
Love frees us so we can see more clearly.
We are not anxious, worried, distracted juggling multiple "what if" thoughts. We see clearly what is in front of us, even in some small part the way God sees, when we see in Love.
The battlefield is truly in the mind.
It is why the New Testament is so focused on
renewing your mind!
All the gifts in Corinthians - love, tongues, understanding, faith, knowledge, interpretation of tongues - are there!
It is the battlefield because
it is what we, in God's image, create with!
The
heart, mind
and
tongue
are what we're cautioned about, because they are the most powerful aspects of our being. The heart and mind both feed thoughts and feelings.
Our hearts and minds,
produce emotions (love and fear) and feelings (joy, sorrow, hope, anger).
Our tongues,
the words we speak, form the declarations and contracts we seal (with God or the accuser) to create what we see. We may want to, but we can't avoid the responsibility of being creators if we are made in the image and likeness of God.
If you don't wield your mind and heart, regardless of how much you say you surrender to God, the enemy will.
Surrendering to God is empowering, not oppressing.
The scripture
"I become less that You (God) might become more"
does not mean that you disappear. In the Holy Spirit, you'll learn that
'the old you becomes less, that the new you - in the true image of God in Christ - becomes more'
.
The manifestation of the part of God that only You can carry,
because of what He created You to be. So surrendering to God means freedom for You to wield your mind!
God has empowered you.
Fear or Love?
If you can't hold every thought captive,
use your feelings as an indicator
of whether or not your thoughts are positive. If you've surrendered to God, you have nothing to worry about. Good feelings - joy, peace, calm, contentment - come when we remember that we are righteous (even if not always right) in Christ. When you're angry, afraid, resentful, jealous,
what are your thoughts?
Now, beware that bad feelings were created by God (just as physical pain was)
to let us know when something is wrong. Don't ignore them,
but put them in their right place, deal with the cause, place your burden at God's feet and then turn your thoughts back to what is good.
Spend most of your time on the good.
Energy invested in negatives is energy positives don't have access to. Let it go, for your sake.
You see, you can't do any of this if you don't love yourself.
This is why I ask you to
choose - fear or love?
What you choose for yourself is what you will choose for, and impart to, others. You can choose. In terms of complexity, thoughts are the most difficult to manage. Feelings are easier, but still fairly complex if you're at work or in the midst of a task. Emotions, which actually chart the direction of our thoughts, love or fear, are easier to detect. If you can detect your feelings, do so. If your heart starts racing, you're not breathing deeply and it's not accompanied by a smile, perhaps your thoughts are infused by fear.
Turn it around. Infuse your thoughts with love.
You can choose to stop, make yourself breath - envision inhaling love and exhaling fear
- and choose to think, and put your energy into, good thoughts. "Nothing is too big for God, who has entrusted me to be right where I am right now, in Him", "things always work for good, for those who love God", "if there is power in my words, I declare that all is well starting now".
Think about the good thoughts that empower you, and think those.
That's why the Word is our sword.
Write your good thoughts for a week, and see what you learn about yourself!
You might empower others!
Try It
I think there's a lot to chew on here.
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
After you try this, listening to your feelings,
click here to read part 2,
where I finally get to the
Trees in the Garden of Eden.