The Secret Weapon

I'm a big fan of Sally Lloyd Jones "Thoughts to Make your Heart Sing".  Although it's written for elementary age children I've been going through it personally over the last few months and have been enjoying it greatly.

Some of the devotions hit me deeper than others, but last night when I opened to the next devotion I felt like Sally wrote this one devotion for me on the exact day I needed it the most.  Isn't it funny how God works that way?

Secret Weapon
Did you know that God has armed all of his children with a secret weapon? The whole universe was made by it! It can turn darkness into light! What is it? A sharp sword - The Word of God

You can use it on your fears. Instead of listening to what your fears are saying, and believing them, you can pick up the sword of God's Word and go on the attack.  How do you do that?

You say these things that are true - the things that God has told you: "God has a good plan for my life!" "I will trust and not be afraid!" "Through Jesus I am more than a conquerer!"  

"But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
 1 Corinthians 15:57

Fear has been such a giant stronghold in my life lately.  It can so easily rule my my heart and weigh me down.  I've recently been doing some bible studies on fear and really seeking to get to the bottom of why I let this sin entangle me in the way that it does.  And as I've been reading, studying, and journaling I've been reminded in a new way what a mighty God I serve.  As I look through the bible in story after story I'm seeing how tangibly God takes care of his people.

I'm learning that just as easily as I can let fear grip my heart I can also so easily go to the word of God and Jesus himself and fight this fear with truth, truth that Sally mentions in this very simple devotional.  And the thing is as much as fear can be a feeling, the things that I fear are not truths.  And the truths that God gives me are so much more powerful than any fear that my mind can run to.  I'm learning that it is a discipline to turn my mind to what I know to be truth and to rest in the one who has conquered it all.

One of my favorite passages right now is from Exodus when the Isralites were becoming increasingly fearful of the Egyptions as they were crossing the Red Sea.  They looked to their leader Moses in their fear and he says this
"Fear not, Stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptions whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be still."  Exodus 14:13-14

The Lord will fight for you.....
The same God who fought for the Isralites is fighting for me. He wants to be the one who dwells in my heart and conquers any fear that grips me.  He is a perfect God and has a perfect plan for my life.