Faith Over Fear
Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work, I shifted through my jewelry to find the perfect piece. The message was certainly appropriate for these trying times we are all living in. Slipping the necklace over my neck and taking a glance in the mirror, I picked up my purse and headed out the door. “Faith Over Fear” … what a statement piece!
Later, at the office, I hurried to print our case progress logs for the morning meeting. As I took my seat, my boss looked right at me and asked,
“What does your necklace say?”
He is a very observant man, and any interesting piece of jewelry will catch his eye. Once before I wore a necklace that looked unique, as if it had a message written in another language. He asked me, then, if it had a significant meaning, but at that time, the necklace I had chosen to go with my outfit did not. Yesterday, though, the message could not have been more appropriate.
I clutched the circular piece in my fingers as I held it toward him so he could read it as well, then I said,
“Faith Over Fear”
As the words left my mouth and reached his ears, he smiled and gave a nod of approval adding in,
“Wow! That’s powerful!”
Indeed it is. When the media wants you to live in fear and feeds you all the negatives in the world, please choose faith over fear! Choose faith every time, just as I did thumbing through my necklaces that morning as if I was on a mission. Let choosing faith be the mission YOU are on daily.
The noise of the world can overwhelm you. At the moment, we have the potential war in Afghanistan staring us in the face. We are starting to see more Covid-19 numbers that continue to rise in the United States, despite the vaccine that has been made available to children age 12 right on up to adults of all ages. In addition to that, we have the everyday worries of our loved ones that have been stricken with cancer or any number of diseases. It seems there is no where to turn for comfort and hope. That is when it is even more important to choose FAITH, my love!
I’ve heard it said that the Bible is playing out right before our very eyes. For years growing up as a Pentecostal Holiness in the Church of God, we were told horror stories of what the last days would be like. Years and years people have speculated it was the “end times” we were living in. If we weren’t convinced of it before, crack open the Bible that has gotten dusty through the years and refresh your memory of what, exactly, the Bible says! Some people it is just a compilation of “stories,” while others believe these things that have been written will surely come to pass. No matter what side you are on today, please make sure your heart is right and you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior so you will be certain to have eternal life with Him in Heaven. Right now Christians are being persecuted, so what I’m asking seems like a tall order to some. But I beg you to get your heart right with God before it is too late. We never know what is going to happen next in this crazy world. I have urged my very own family to get right with God, if they aren’t (because no one can truly know our hearts and no one has the right to sit in judgement either). But this comes as a plea for my brothers and sisters all around the world because I care what happens to you!
Faith Over Fear, my dear ones.
All you need is faith as small as a mustard seed. Imagine what can happen if we all have faith! See Matthew17:20 where it talks about the mountains moving if you just had faith as small as a mustard seed!
Our ONLY hope in this world today is through Jesus Christ! And despite what is going on in the world today, God did not give us a spirit of fear! See 2 Timothy 1:7 for reassurance:
7ForGodhas not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
When searching for scriptures to share regarding having faith over fear, I found a website that offers a free prayer guide. I encourage you to look into this, but even if you choose not to, know that God hears you. Whether your prayers are bold and authoritative, or whether you can barely utter the words with tears streaming down your cheeks, God HEARS you!! Even if you cannot speak at all, God knows your heart.
Instead of quoting all of the scriptures they provided, I’ll direct you once more to their site: GodTube
Be encouraged, and choose faith over fear!
Isaiah 41:13 – For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Questions That Should Not Be Asked After A Loss To Suicide
This year marked 20 years since my sister died by suicide. July 9, 2001 was one of the hardest days of my entire life. It was during that time God carried me, just like the Footprints In The Sand poem says.
When the community learns of such a tragic death, there are so many questions. Believe me, the family has tons more questions they would like to ask, but the ones that hold the answers are in Heaven (God & their loved ones). No one knows quite what to say or do. I thought I would offer some guidance, just as another friend did today. She lost her daughter in January of this year, and she and her husband are still trying to cope. We continue to rally around them and pray, knowing firsthand only God can comfort their hurting hearts. My friend shared this with a plea on her Facebook page, and I now share it with you:
The Questions You Shouldn’t Ask Me About My Son’s Suicide | The Mighty
I would also like to share another source for those struggling after such a horrific loss:
The Compassionate Friends Non-Profit Organization for Grief
One night I dreamed a dream.
I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
There was only one set of footprints.
I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life.
This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.
“Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way.
But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints.
I just don’t understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”
― Margaret Fishback Powers
Show Me The Father
Fathers help shape us into the people we are and will become in life. Some of us have wonderful fathers and look forward to conversations involving them. Others, however, have not had their biological fathers in their lives or have not had them as the best father figure to look up to in life. Instead, they have had to rely on other men to fill that role. Whether it was a grandfather, step-father, or an older man that came into their lives and took the child under their wing to mentor to them, men have an unique role in the lives of children all over the world.
“SHOW ME THE FATHER is the film our nation needs to see. We have become a society that
devalues and mocks fathers, but God created the role of fatherhood for a very specific
purpose. Many of our children feel unwanted and unworthy because half of their identity is
absent. Fathers are necessary for the next generation to heal.”
– Nona Jones, Author, Pastor, Speaker, and Executive
The movie SHOW ME THE FATHER is another beautiful movie from the Kendrick Brothers, who are well known for the movies COURAGEOUS, WAR ROOM, and FIRE PROOF. It is their first documentary, though, and people might groan when they initially hear that. However, this documentary shares true stories with wisdom and such power from fathers like Jim Daly (from Focus on the Family), Sherman Smith, Stephen Kendrick, and Dr. Tony Evans. These influential men share their stories and also share the fatherhood of God as well, stressing to us the importance of leaning on our Heavenly Father. God is good all the time, in every situation and circumstance, even if we may not see any good in the situation at the moment. God is ever present, and He is the father we can lean on and into no matter what we face in our lives, even at the hands of our own fathers.
Show Me The Father will be in theaters September 10, 2021, and I encourage you to go see this movie. Take your families with you!! Share with others who may be blessed by the true life stories and what we can all gain from these influential men.
I realize that everyone’s father story is unique to them, just as the men in our lives are unique. There is no one else like them, and while my father story is a happy one, others do not have a happy story when thinking of their own fathers. My oldest daughter struggles with the difficult relationship she has had through the years with her own biological father. So I understand, and I know first hand some of the challenges she has faced and is presently facing, even at the age of 24 years old. Unfortunately, her father/daughter relationship has been a painful source of heartbreak, and it still affects her today. Our fathers very much affect who we are, and are at the core of our identity and direction our lives take. They can help mold us and inspire us, or they can be the reason we question why we aren’t loved or “enough” for them to want a deeper relationship with us. Such has been the heartbreaking case for my daughter, and I have cried tears right along with her over this. There is not anything in the world wrong with my daughter – and never has been – yet it has pained me greatly that my daughter has questioned her own worth and value due to her father’s inability to be actively involved, take a lead role in her life loving her and being there as a father SHOULD be! Just recently, they had another falling out due to his inability to acknowledge how the things he has said and done have her hurt. Instead of accepting responsibility for his actions and words, he chose to invalidate her feelings yet again and place the blame elsewhere instead of with the person he sees in the mirror daily looking back at him, where it belongs. Sadly, instead of owning up to and correcting his behavior, things escalated to where she has decided not to try any longer with him. It saddens me greatly because my father is so very important in my life! HE is my rock, and the one I always turn to no matter what. My daddy is my everything, and it breaks my heart that my oldest daughter does not have this type of relationship with her biological father. Things could have been so different in her life and their relationship; however, he has chosen to become emotionally disconnected over these years, and in our eyes, has dropped the ball in his role as her biological father. Thankfully, all faith in men has not been lost, as she looks up to MY father with such love and admiration, as well as her step-father. Together, these two men have picked up the shattered pieces of my daughter’s heart and helped restore her faith in what a father is supposed to be. Her future husband has been instrumental in this as well, as these three men have helped change her view of fatherhood. She and her husband will strive even more so now to give their own children (when that day comes) two sets of parents that will move Heaven and Earth to be there for them, loving, nurturing, and making memories! I’m thankful for these men that have chosen to step up and show her what being a father is truly all about, and my heart is thankful these men have shown her the unconditional love and devotion of a father for their daughter/granddaughter.
Similar stories like our own will be told in this documentary, and it will have us all thinking more along the lines of the fatherhood of God as well. Show Me The Father has five men sharing their true stories. There will be story lines, of course, along with plot twists you didn’t see coming, but the movie will inspire and encourage you to be the best father YOU men out there can be for your daughters!
SHOW ME THE FATHER is a film the entire family needs to see, so why not go together to watch it? Be sure to get your tickets at showmethefathermovie.com and join families every where in theaters beginning September 10, 2021.
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