Fear is something I’ve battled my entire life. One of my biggest fears is the fear of people. I hate letting people down. As a perfectionist, I work hard to make sure that I keep all my plates spinning and everyone happy. However, living with the fear of people is honestly exhausting.
God has been dealing with me lately about the fear of people. I know that He wants freedom for me. Fear in any form is bondage. It keeps you from experiencing the good things that God has for you.
I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. – Psalm 34:4 (NLT)
So, if fear has bound you, do what today’s verse says. Pray to God. Ask Him for help in dealing with your fear. God wants to free you. He wants you to walk in His love and abundance. Don’t let fear hold you captive any longer. Walk free from fear today.
Fear is everywhere right now, isn’t it? It’s so easy to be afraid. We just turn on the news and the next thing we know, fear is gripping our hearts. With everything going on in the world, there are lots of good reasons to be afraid. But even if our fear is totally justified, we have to be on guard against it.
If we’re not careful, fear will chip away at our faith in God. If we focus totally on all the scary things in the world right now, they can begin to seem even bigger than God.
Our goal should be to not let ourselves focus on fear so much that it becomes magnified in our lives.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. – Psalm 23:4 (NLT)
We are walking through tough times right now. But we’ve got to choose to look to God in the midst of difficulty. We can’t magnify fear to the point that we forget God. God promises to be with us, to protect us and comfort us in the middle of our fear.
So today, choose to not magnify fear in your life. Instead, place your focus on God, on His promises, and know that He will be with you in trouble.
When you face trouble where do you turn? Do you run to your phone and Google solutions to the problem? Do you ask your friends?
If we’re honest, we often choose the advice of others and the internet and forget about seeking God. We forget that we know the one who made everything. Often we forget He has all the wisdom and all the help we could ever need.
In times of trouble, God wants to be your strength and refuge. He wants to shelter you from the storm when things get tough. So if you’re going through a storm, know God cares. He loves you and wants to walk with you through your trouble.
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. – Psalm 46:1 (NLT)
Today, don’t forget to go to God. Seek His help, His strength in everything you do. He is the one who will help you out during the difficult times in your life.
Right now, it’s easy to let fear rule your life. There are a lot of reasons to be upset and afraid. It’s easy to hear all the bad things happening in our world and allow yourself to panic and be afraid.
The truth is, fear is not God’s best for us. God wants us to be at peace. When we fear, we aren’t placing our trust fully in Jesus. But let’s be honest, it’s easy to take our eyes off Him and place them onto the bad things happening in the world.
Today’s Truth: God doesn’t want us bound by fear
And while it’s true that bad things are going on in the world around us, God doesn’t want us to be bound by fear. God’s best for us is living free and at peace.
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. – Matthew 24:6 (NLT)
Like this verse says, you’re going to hear bad things happening. You’ll hear about wars, disease, and problems, but our goal as Christians is not to panic. We’re to put our hope and trust in Jesus. Through Jesus, we can face any scary situation that happens in the world and come out on top because we’ve put our trust in Him.
Do you ever go through difficult seasons in your life, and really wish that you could get out of them? I remember hating the drama in my middle school so much. I wanted nothing more than to escape all of it and be done with school.
However, the drama and difficulties I experienced in middle school help me in life now. Because I was left out many times, I try to find people that not everyone notices and include them. The exclusion I experienced in middle school helps me in life now.
Joesph had a similar attitude in Genesis 50.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. – Genesis 50:20 (NLT)
Joseph went through some pretty bad situations. However, he didn’t allow himself to get bitter about things or even to give up and begin to dislike people. Instead, he realized that those tough times he went through helped him in the future.
Right now, you might be facing difficulty. Don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. God will see you through. When you come out on the other side of this season, you’ll be stronger and will have learned something that will help you later in life.
Stay close to God and know that He will always see you through the difficult seasons because He loves you.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. – 1 John 3:2
It is easy to begin feeling bad about yourself. You start to look at what other people have, or the things they say and wonder, what is wrong with me? Why can’t I look like that, or say those funny things that make everyone laugh. If you’re not careful, you can begin to really get down on yourself.
So on those days when you really feel like you’re just not likable, or when you feel like you’ve really messed up again, begin thinking about today’s Bible verse. This verse shows us a powerful truth, that we are children of God. It doesn’t tell us that we’re trying to become God’s children, or that one day we will be God’s children. No, it tells us that we are God’s children now. That means we don’t have to do anything or change anything to become God’s child. Its something you already have.
So as you go about doing all the things you do today, remember what today’s verse says. Remember that you are God’s child. That means a lot! That means that you’re important to God and that He’s got great plans for your life. So don’t get discouraged. Choose to dwell on the truths found in today’s Bible verse and begin seeings yourself like God sees you, as His child.
I remember a time when I wanted more than anything to have a date to homecoming. I wanted someone to ask me to go with them. Yet because I lived my life so much to please everyone and not offend, I was never my real self. As a result, even though I was trying to get others to like me, they really didn’t.
I was caught in a trap of pleasing people and yet not feeling fulfilled because of it. Pleasing people is a trap. And if we’re not careful, it will lead us down a path that isn’t emotionally healthy.
In the devotions this week, we’ve talked a lot about living to please God rather than living to please people. Today’s Bible verse talks about this.
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. – 2 Timothy 2:4 (NIV)
As soldiers in God’s army, we are to be concerned about pleasing God, rather than being tied up with the things of this world. And yet, it’s easy to get this backward. It’s often easy to think so much about other people and what they think of us rather than thinking of what God thinks.
When we chase popularity and pleasing people rather than a relationship with God, we will always be disappointed in the end. Popularity is fleeting, but a relationship with God is eternal. So challenge yourself to pursue things that are eternal. Determine to make knowing God your priority and living your life for Him. As you do, you’ll find the fulfillment that you desire.
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. – Romans 6:6 (NLT)
Jesus came to bring us freedom. That’s good news. Sin no longer has power in our lives.
Sin doesn’t have to hold us back. Our shame, mistakes, and shortcomings are no longer things that keep us from God. We can live in total freedom in every area of our lives.
It’s up to us then to live in that freedom every day. When thoughts come to us that tell us we’re not important or that we’re worthless, we’ve got to realize those thoughts aren’t the truth. God’s word is truth. And the truth found in God’s word is that you’re free from sin in every area.
Sin no longer has to hold you back. So walk in the freedom Jesus has provided for you. Determine to let the truth in God’s word be more real to you than any other thought, feeling, or idea that you might have. When you have those thoughts make them line up with what God’s word says. God’s word is truth, and when you believe it, it will cause you to have freedom in every area of your life.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. – Phil 4:6 (NLT)
Worry is such an easy habit to fall into. Its so easy to start looking at what is going on around you and begin to worry. You might worry that you won’t make it into the right college. Or that you’ll never meet the right person and you’ll end up alone. There are so many things that are uncertain in life, and its easy to fall into the trap of worry.
However, today’s Bible verse tells us what we should be doing when we’re tempted to worry. It says that we should not worry, but pray about everything. We should be giving those worries to God and telling Him what we need. When we begin doing this, it helps us because we don’t have to carry those worries and fears any longer.
A final thing this verse tells us to do is to thank God for what He has done. So instead of spending all your time getting worried and worked up over a problem, choose to spend some time thanking God for all He has done in your life. If you do this, worry doesn’t stand a chance in your life!
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
One of the hardest things to do is to be kind and forgiving to people. Especially when those people have done you wrong. When someone mistreats you, the normal response is to get back at them. To hurt them like they’ve hurt you, to give them the silent treatment, or just do something to teach them a lesson. That’s what is considered normal. That’s how most people live their lives.
The Bible stands that on its head and tells us as Christians to be different. We’re challenged to not get back at someone, but to forgive them, just like God forgave us. Doing this isn’t normal, and it isn’t easy, but its what’s right.
And we can do it because God forgave us. We didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness, yet He gave it to us anyway. That means that it’s not too hard for us to forgive those who have mistreated us too.
However, that doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends with someone that hurt you or was unkind to you. It means that instead of spreading rumors about that person, or trashing their locker at school, you choose to drop it and let it go. Forgiveness isn’t saying that what they did or how they treated you was right, it’s simply choosing to stop the cycle of unforgiveness and hurt.
Forgiveness is letting the love of Jesus shine through you even when it’s hard. So challenge yourself today to push past what’s easy and choose to be kind and forgive others.
Pray: God, today I determine to forgive those around me who have hurt me. I choose to not get back or get even with them but to simply love them with your love. With your help, I know I can do it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
