Fearless and Free

If you’re like me, you don’t just want to know the promises of God, but you want to know how to walk in those promises and realize your destiny. If we are going to live out the promises of God, we need to push past fear and step out in faith. When we have faith, it opens the door for God to work in our lives.

Often, what disrupts our faith is fear, which holds us back and keeps us from experiencing the promises God has for us. Fear and faith are powerful forces in us and have something in common: They both ask us to believe something is going to happen that we cannot see. Fear shouts that business is slow and we’re going to go under. Faith declares that God is supplying all of our needs. Fear whispers that we’ve been through so much, we’re never really going to be happy again. Faith confidently says our best days are still in front of us.

Each of us has to determine in our own heart whether to activate faith or fear in our life. You may set out to accomplish a goal, then along the way you run into some obstacles that look impossible and you feel like giving up. It is in times like that you can either activate your faith or let fear stop you. Maybe you want to apply for a better position at work, but when you find out someone you perceive to be more talented is also applying, you change your mind and don’t do it. That’s activating fear instead of faith. Don’t give up, but rise up. Keep moving forward and believe that you’re one step closer to living in the reality of your dream. Those obstacles aren’t there to stop you; they are there to develop you and strengthen your resolve. Fear brings with it torment and tries to confuse your plans. It is the enemy of your confidence; don’t allow fear to stop you. Sure, it’s good to live life responsibly and make conscientious decisions, but when you let fear stop you from enjoying life or meeting your potential, then you’re not living God’s best.

Maybe you’re missing out on God’s victory and freedom because you keep giving in to fear. If you feel fear today, know that it is not from God. The Scripture says that God is a God of love. He’ll give you the strength and resolve you need to move forward despite your fear. Even when, throughout your life, you see opportunities to settle where it is comfortable, resist the urge. God wants to take you higher. You will grow and take possession of your own Promised Land when you take bold steps of faith and embrace the new things God has in store for you.

When Joshua and the entire nation of Israel stood at the border of the Promised Land, their biggest enemies were not the armies, giants, and barriers into the land; but they were the fear and discouragement that could keep them from God’s promise.

God gave Joshua instruction in the simplest of terms: “Do not be afraid. You need to be strong and courageous.” God didn’t just give Joshua a helpful suggestion, but He gave him a command because He knew the path would be difficult. God said, “Joshua, when you feel fear, don’t let it stop you, and don’t allow discouragement to defeat you.”

Like Joshua, you may have barriers standing in your way. You may perceive that your coworker in the office is the reason you can’t get ahead or that your spouse is the reason for your lack of joy. Perhaps you think if you just had better finances you could get ahead. We are all guilty of creating these self-defeating scenarios, but at their very root is fear. What God said to Joshua, He is saying to you today: “Do not be afraid. I will be with you wherever you go.” Remember, the power that is in you is greater than the power of fear. When thoughts come that say, You’re not able, activate your faith by saying, “I can do all things through Christ.” Choose faith, overcome fear, and live fearlessly in the freedom God has already given you.

Joel and I were walking in the park one crisp fall afternoon, taking in the beautiful surroundings. I noticed a leaf floating through the air. It was dancing on the wind in what seemed like slow motion, and with such a carefree spin, as if to say, “Catch me if you can.” About that time, I saw Joel leap forward to catch the leaf. He grabbed at the air twice before he finally caught that little leaf. He looked at me with the biggest grin of accomplishment on his face and said, “This is one of my favorite things to do; I used to catch leaves all the time when I was a kid.” I laughed as I noticed how much inspiration and joy he got from what most people may overlook—the simple act of catching a leaf in the air.

Sometimes we don’t see the little things in our day that can bring us joy. We tend to only appreciate the exciting occurrence that has captured our attention—the new car, the job promotion, or the summer vacation. But God has filled our world with His beauty, and if we look for it each day and take a moment to appreciate it, then we won’t allow the simple pleasures in life to become ordinary.

When I walked into Joel’s office not long after our day in the park, I noticed that leaf sitting on his desk. He had placed it there as a reminder to not overlook the small things in life that refresh and inspire him each day.

Maybe you never caught leaves from the air when you were a kid, but do you ever stop in the busyness of the day just to consider God’s creation and your place within it? To hear the birds sing, or to pause what you’re doing to listen to your children laughing in the next room, or to take in a still, quiet moment? Throughout the day there are many things that we can take for granted or allow to pass us by without even a second thought. If we are not careful, we will miss the simple but pleasurable moments that come with each day. Each day is His, and there is so much to celebrate and enjoy about it if we look for it.

When we are aware of God’s beauty in the world around us, and when we take time to enjoy simple pleasures that brighten our day, we experience a joy and delight that feeds our soul. We add value to our day and enrich our life. Life has a way of keeping us consumed with tasks and the pressure to accomplish, but God never intended us to lose the awe and wonder of the blessings all around us. It is time to slow down and breathe in the ordinary pleasures of life, which can bring extraordinary joy and freedom to each day.

Recently, I was talking to a friend who was feeling discouraged. She was going through a divorce and it was really taking a toll on her. I hated to see my friend struggling, and so I encouraged her to find some joy through the hardship. I couldn’t change the situation, but if I could help her genuinely smile, I knew it would change the atmosphere of her thoughts.

Science has shown that the mere act of smiling can lift your mood and lower stress. In other words, smiling can trick your brain into feeling happy. When you smile, your body chemistry changes; it signals joy and causes you to feel elated.

I wanted to encourage my friend to find her joy, so I began to joke around and ask her about her teeth. I said, “I haven’t seen your teeth in a while.” I pulled out two pencils and put one in my mouth, lengthwise between my teeth. When I did that, it made the corner of my mouth turn up and put a smile on my face. I began to act silly and mumbled for her to try it. She was gracious enough to do it, too, and as we stood there looking at one another with pencils in our mouths, we began to laugh.

In Greek the word for rejoice means “to brighten.” That simple exercise of changing facial expression changed my friend’s emotions and brightened not only her face but also her outlook. By smiling, it adjusted her mind-set and opened her to the peace God wanted to give. A lightness came into her eyes and she thanked me for the encouragement. Before we parted, she said to me, “I know God will see me through.” As she released the joy within, she opened herself to the power of God’s promises.

Many times in life we face complications and difficulties. But Jesus gave us insight on how we should fight back. He said, “In this world you’re going to face trials of various kinds but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” He was saying that it’s not what goes on around you that gives you joy, but what He has done for you and within you. When the angels announced the arrival of Jesus, they proclaimed “the good news of great joy.” That’s when joy entered the world. There are hundreds of scriptures that contain the words happiness, cheer, delight. God wants us to use these emotions to push up the joy and signal victory over our difficulties.

There is a light of joy inside you. All you have to do is turn it on. We all need to brighten our spirits with the joy Jesus gave us. When God brought the Israelites out from their oppressive captivity in Babylon He said, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace” (Isaiah 55:12). He was showing us that if we’re going to come out of a dark place, like my friend, we must use joy to deliver us from anxious thoughts, feelings of defeat, and discouragement. Joy is the key—and it’s inside us. It never leaves us. In times of fear and tribulations, we need to remind ourselves that we have the strength to draw that joy out. Start simple by putting a smile on your face. Let your mind and body in on the secret. You can cheer up because you know the One who overcame. And because He overcame, you will too. Strengthen your life through joy. Practice it every day no matter what you face; don’t let life steal your joy. Turn on your joy, and it will help lead you out of the difficulties of life.

We all have what seems like a million things to do each day. Jobs, family chores, and commitments of all kinds. There are so many activities that fill our time. If we are going to see our dreams come to pass, we need to make room for the most important things in our life. We can’t spread ourselves so thin that we can’t see the goal God put in our heart or how to make it happen.

There is a difference between activity and productivity. I used to think my multitasking was a gift. I was proud that I could keep so many balls in the air, until I realized I was simply burning energy. I was being more active than productive. Sometimes we can allow the less important demands on our time hold us back from doing what matters most. There are so many things these days that can consume our time. We need to make good decisions about how we spend our time and energy. This is going to take discipline and focus. We must take inventory of our life and identify the things that are wasting our precious time. Doing so is really about prioritizing our day and not allowing the clutter of life to crowd out the important things—the things that move us forward.

To illustrate his point about setting life priorities, a professor stood in front of his students, held up a large glass jar, and carefully put three big rocks in it. The rocks filled the jar to the very top of the glass, and he asked his students, “Is the jar full?” They all said, “Yes”; it looked full. Then he took a plastic bucket of gravel and began to pour gravel into the jar, stopping to shake the jar to work the gravel down into the cracks. Then he asked his students, “Is the jar full?” One student said, “Maybe not.” Then the professor took a container of sand and poured the sand in, filling in all the empty spaces between the rocks and gravel.

What was his point? It wasn’t that no matter how full your life is, you can always fit more into your schedule. He was demonstrating to his students the principle of productivity. His point was that if you put the big rocks in first, all the smaller things will fill in around them. But if you put the gravel and sand in first, you will never have room for the big rocks.

My question is, what are the big rocks, the most important priorities, in your life? Your family, your career, your volunteer work, or your finances? You have to put the big rocks in your life first if you’re going to be successful. And one of the big rocks that would benefit all of us is spending time with God. Our “God Rock” should be the first rock.