Who would ever think that I would be sad
that today is the last day of our 14 Day Journey on FEAR!
Leaving FEAR should be a day of REJOICING ,
yet this journey was about
FEARING GOD.
And as I was going deeper into
FEARING GOD,
GOD brought me DEEPER into my own FEARS
that were getting in the way of
FEARING GOD.
But isn't that what GOD does,
as HE takes you deeper into surrendering
ALL that gets in the way of fully
RECEIVING HIS PERFECT LOVE.
For FEARING GOD
is to
LOVE GOD with
ALL your heart
ALL your soul,
and
ALL your mind,
And guess what?
I have fallen
DEEPER in LOVE with GOD
because of FEAR!
Wow. Only GOD.
TO FEAR GOD is to LOVE GOD.
For when you
REALLY FEAR GOD
HE will extinguish the
FEARS of your heart
with
HIS PERFECT LOVE.
I am a different person from 14 days ago,
when I began to go deeper into FEAR.
I am in awe
of how GOD has set me
FREE
from so many irrational
FEARS,
because
HIS PERFECT LOVE
drives out FEAR~
"We need have no FEAR of SOMEONE who loves us perfectly; HIS perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what HE might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what HE might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that
HE really loves us" (I John 4:18).
I was AFRAID of GOD for most of my childhood,
that seeped into adulthood,
because I didn't know the REAL GOD.
I was like Eve in the garden after she ate the forbidden fruit,
hiding behind a bush in FEAR of GOD.
I hear GOD chuckle
because HE is always the winner in
HIDE & SEEK.
No matter where you may
HIDE,
HE SEES you.
And HE lets you HIDE,
yet HE does not stop
SEEKING.
HE waits for you to SEEK HIM.
And HE is always giving you opportunities to
SEEK HIM,
amongst all the distractions
that lure you blind you from
SEEING HIM.
But think about how quiet you get
when you are the HIDER.
You become so STILL & QUIET
so that the seeker won't find you.
But what if you become so
STILL
that you WILL hear the soft whisper of our
SEEKER
who gently invites you to
COME TO HIM,
as HE knocks on the door of your HEART
because HE wants to do LIFE with you.
HE WILL HIDE with you.
HE WILL CRY with you.
HE WILL BE ALONE with you.
HE WILL BE with you in your FEARS.
And because HE WILL,
FEAR washes away
because HIS LOVE takes first place.
So when FEAR comes knocking on the door of your heart,
FEAR THE LORD~
Let those who fear the LORD say: "HIS love endures forever'" (PSALM 118:4).
Oh to FEAR THE LORD
is to embrace
HIS PERCET LOVE that never dies~
"Give thanks to the LORD, for HE is good. HIS love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1).
Oh how I know this to be true
as THE FEAR OF THE LORD
saved my life~
"Come and hear, all you who FEAR GOD; let me tell you what HE has done for me. I cried out to HIM with my mouth; HIS praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened; but GOD has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to GOD, who has not rejected my prayer"
(Psalm 66:16-20).
Now that is my story, from the moment
I stopped HIDING from GOD in FEAR
and instead
FEARED GOD,
30 years ago,
when I RECEIVED HIS PERFECT LOVE,
who is JESUS.
Therefore,
let's enter
into the month of
MAY,
tomorrow,
LIVING FEARLESSLY LOVED,
through
the new DAILY DEVOTIONAL SERIES~
"FIRST THINGS FIRST"
(listen to the song below)