21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 15: The Power of Community

21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 15: The Power of Community

 

21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 15: The Power of Community

James River Church

Nov 8, 2024
5 mins | Fasting & Prayer

We are living in an unprecedented time in history. Because of technology, within seconds, we can be on a video call and see the face of a friend or loved one, even though they may be halfway around the world. We have the ability to know what is going on in the lives of friends and family we have not personally seen in years through social media, and there are countless other wonderful benefits of living in the technological revolution.

However, despite all of this technology, we are becoming more socially disconnected and dissatisfied than ever before. In a report published this year titled, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, the U.S. Surgeon General said, “Across many measures, Americans appear to be becoming less socially connected over time… A fraying of the social fabric can also be seen more broadly in society. Trust in each other and major institutions is at near historic lows.”

Our need for community is not something new. We were designed for relationships from the very beginning. The first thing in all of creation which God said was “not good” was that man was alone (Gen. 2:18). This is a foundational statement about the way we were created. God made us to be social beings in community with one another.

That is why the writer of Hebrews wrote, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

There is an inherent power in being a part of the church, and not just in attendance, but engaged in meaningful relationships with one another. It’s hard to “motivate one another to acts of love and good works” when you aren’t connected to a life-giving body of believers.

This is why being in a life group or small group and volunteering on serve teams at church are so critical for us not only individually but also for the Church corporately. The Church is strong, but it is always stronger when we are all involved!

God has established that there is spiritual blessing when we live in community. The Psalmist wrote, “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony…And there the Lord has pronounced His blessing, even life everlasting” (Psalm 133:1,3).

We were made to be in relationship with one another, and there is blessing and power in the community of believers!

Scriptures

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

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21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 17: Empowered by the Spirit

21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 17: Empowered by the Spirit

 

21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 17: Empowered by the Spirit

James River Church

Nov 8, 2024
5 mins | Fasting & Prayer

At this point of the fast, you understand just how significant and powerful it is when you fast and pray. This fast has not only served as a means to draw closer to God and seek His guidance, but it has also created the space for us to be more sensitive and open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. So, today we will look at the spiritual discipline of fasting in relation to Acts 1:8 and how it can strengthen our spiritual journey as Christians.

Jesus tells His followers in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This verse emphasizes the transformative nature of the Holy Spirit, empowering believers to share the message of Christ’s love and salvation with the world.

But the question is: How does fasting relate to this promise of power?

Fasting involves abstaining from food and certain activities for a specific period, dedicating that time to prayer, meditation, and seeking God’s presence. It is a spiritual discipline that allows us to detach from worldly distractions and focus on deepening our relationship with God. In doing so, we position ourselves to become more aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit, leading us to a greater understanding of God’s will and empowering us to be effective witnesses for Christ. It helps us tune our hearts to God’s voice, heightening our sensitivity to His leading and guidance, and it opens our lives to the reality of His power at work through us.

The power promised in Acts 1:8 becomes more tangible in our lives as we yield to the Spirit’s leading, and fasting positions us to receive that power through a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit – empowering us to live out our faith boldly, to overcome spiritual obstacles, and to impact our world for Christ. And the exciting thing about this power from the Holy Spirit is that it isn’t temporary or confined just to this time of fasting. This power is to be available and can be at work throughout your life each and every day as you continue to be open and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Recognize the significance of where this fast has positioned you and the power that is available to you. By denying your physical cravings and dedicating time to prayer and reflection, you are continually positioning yourself to receive divine wisdom, discernment, and power to do what you never could on your own. So, let this fast become so much more than just a physical discipline. Allow it to be the catalyst that facilitates a continual spiritual posture where you are open and hungry to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to reach as many people as possible for the Kingdom.

Scriptures

Acts 1:8 (NIV)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

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Raise the Roof: A Call to Enthusiastic Worship

Raise the Roof: A Call to Enthusiastic Worship

 

Raise the Roof: A Call to Enthusiastic Worship

Nicole Lister

Nov 8, 2024
12 mins | Worship

I’m a reserved person by nature, so when I began grasping what the Bible says about worship, I will admit, it made me very uneasy. When hearing passages such as Psalm 95:1-2 (MSG), “Come, let’s shout praises to God, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!” I thought: “Oh that must just be for all the extroverts, the out-there people who don’t mind the attention. If I’m not feeling that way, then it can’t be what God wants me to do. After all, God created me this way, so He knows what I am capable of bringing.”

Fortunately, I had a pastor who not only taught me about biblical worship but also called it out of me, helping me understand that worship is not about how I feel. Rather it is about passionately praising the Creator of the Universe the way He prescribes in His Word. Worship is an act of obedience. It is not about me and what makes me feel comfortable but rather about Him and the praise He deserves.

Worship is not about how we feel

In his book entitled, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson writes:

Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship. Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshipped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship.”

Worship is about passionately praising the Creator of the Universe the way He prescribes in His Word.

No matter what your personality type, no matter what you are feeling in a particular moment, enthusiastic worship is biblical. It pleases God when His children praise Him with ALL that is within them. And the reality is that God responds to His people when they worship Him by releasing power and freedom in their lives. Passionate, full-on, out-there kind of praise is a powerful tool against Satan. Not only that, but there is freedom as we let go of our thoughts towards ourselves and set our hearts on who God is and all He has done. Out of this mindset, joyful celebration erupts, and there is freedom as we “RAISE THE ROOF!”

Worship is acknowledging who God is

 Ps 100:1-2 (ESV) – Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness. Come into his presence with singing!

 Ps 66:1- 2 (ESV) – Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!

 Ps 149:3 (NIV) – Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

 Psalm 150 (ESV) – Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

God supernaturally responds to the praise of His people, and in fact, worship prepares the way for Him to move here on earth.

These are just a few of the hundreds of passages in the Psalms that call us to passionate, enthusiastic worship. The feel and tone of these verses are one of excitement not one of somberness or quietness. Words like “joyful noise” (Ps. 100), “shout for joy,” “glorious praise” (Psalm 66) or “with dancing” (Ps 149) set the tone of our call to worship.

The Psalmist goes on to say in chapter 150 that we are to praise God with basically everything we can find that makes noise. For example, “loud clashing cymbals!”, “tambourine and dance,” and “praise Him with strings and pipe!” He drives the point home further, lest you think this be a passage just for musicians, to include this call to praise for “everyone that has breath.” If you are breathing oxygen on earth right now, God’s desire for you is to praise Him enthusiastically with every fiber of your being.

Why?

God deserves it – our worship is a recognition that our God is awesome, powerful, majestic, holy, loving, Good, and worthy of all praise! We worship because of our understanding of who God is.

Worship opens the door for the miraculous to happen

In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, faced a hopeless battle against his enemies. Before the battle, he put the people appointed to sing in front of the army. When they begin to praise, God set an ambush on their enemies, and Judah won the victory.

We see this principle again in Acts 16, as Paul and Silas are imprisoned in a Philippian jail. The Bible tells us that after they were praying and singing hymns to God, there was an earthquake and the prison doors were opened, setting them free.

Note in both of these circumstances, the victory did not come until after they started worshiping. God supernaturally responds to the praise of His people, and in fact, worship prepares the way for Him to move here on earth. As God’s people step out in obedience of joyful praise in spite of their circumstance, heaven touches earth and miracles happen.

Worship draws us closer to God

The fact of the matter is a high price was paid so that we can worship God uninhibited by the law of sacrifice of the Old Covenant. That price was the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s one, and only Son, on the cross. Through His death and resurrection, we now able to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.” (Hebrews 4:16 NASB)

As God’s people step out in obedience of joyful praise in spite of their circumstance, heaven touches earth and miracles happen.

True worship is the moment when every thought transfixed on your Creator says with the songwriter, “the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” It’s the moment when you realize every care or concern you have of self is worthless in comparison with His great light and love.

I remember back when I was a shy, self-conscious teenager and I raised my hand in worship for the first time. It was hard. I thought everyone around me would think I was strange and that they would stare at me. But it was a first tiny step of obedience in worship, and I was never the same. At that moment, there was freedom as I realized worship is not about me. It’s all about God.

The funny thing is that God in his providence saw fit that one day I would lead people in worship, that I would get to be like the Psalmist declares in Psalm 42:4 (MSG) “at the head of the worshiping crowd, right out in front, leading them all, eager to arrive and worship, shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—celebrating, all of us, God’s feast!”

Let me tell you; there is great joy to worship God unashamed and to watch as God’s church experiences the fullness of His presence. Maybe you are naturally reserved in personality like me, and the thought of passionate worship makes you very nervous. It’s okay. Take that first step. Take God at His Word – raise the roof, and watch what He does!

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The Power of Praise

The Power of Praise

 

The Power of Praise

Savannah Gibson

Nov 8, 2024
10 mins | Worship

Have you ever ended up somewhere that you had no intention of being and you thought to yourself, “How did I get here? This was not what I had planned. This was not how my night, my week, my month, my year was supposed to turn out.” And yet, you found yourself in a situation that you had no control of.

Immediately, I knew something was wrong and found myself in the emergency room with a severely fractured tibia bone.

I have been there. Not long ago, I found myself in that spot. I was playing laser tag, a seemingly harmless game, or so I thought, with our church leadership team, when boom! I collided with one of my teammates and fell hard to the ground. Immediately, I knew something was wrong and found myself in the emergency room with a severely fractured tibia bone.

It was not exactly how I had envisioned my night going. No, I had pictured my team, The Yellow Lightning, taking home first place. I did not picture spending the evening in the emergency room. And on top of that, finding out that my life and mobility would be extremely disrupted for the next several months.

Responding to Trials and Difficult Times

Trials and difficult times are a part of life. We all walk through circumstances when we think, “Where did this come from? How did I get here? This was not what I had planned.” During the difficult parts of life, the primary issue is not diagnosing how you got where you are, but rather how you are going to respond to what you are facing.

There is a story in the book of Acts centered around two guys named Paul and Silas who faced a very unexpected trial. Their response is a great example for you and I to follow.

We find their story in Acts 16

20“The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21“They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” 22A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them to be stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

They were on a mission to spread the gospel when they were suddenly and wrongly accused…

Paul and Silas had recently made their way to Philippi, the leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. They were on a mission to spread the gospel when they were suddenly and wrongly accused by an angry slave owner who was irate that Paul and Silas had taken away his income by delivering his slave girl from an evil spirit.

The slave owner stirred up a mob against Paul and Silas, saying they were creating mass confusion in the city. They persuaded the chief magistrates (the Roman authorities of Philippi) to sentence Paul and Silas to severe punishment, forgoing a proper hearing, and giving Paul and Silas no opportunity to defend themselves.

Choose to Respond with Praise Even When It Doesn’t Make Sense

After being severely beaten, they were thrown into the inner most part of a prison – most likely a damp, dark, smelly, prison cell with no possible way of escape. They had no idea what the morning would bring. They had no idea how long their stay in that prison would be. This sounds like an incredibly horrible situation to me.

So how did Paul and Silas respond? With fear? Discouragement? Frustration? Anger? No, it was quite the opposite. Acts 16:25 tells us, “Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.”

Was this kind of response due to them being delirious, or was it a commitment Paul made long ago? It is the latter. Paul had determined to let prayer and praise be his response no matter what he was facing.

And we see this in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a (NIV): “Rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances;

The Apostle Paul, one of the most foundational leaders of the early church, who wrote over half of the New Testament, walked through some very difficult trials but yet in all of them, he chose to praise and pray his way through anything he faced in life. What? That’s incredible!

Praise Prepares the Way for God to Work

Although it says they were praying and singing hymns, in the Greek, these two actions are connected. What does that mean? It means that their prayers were prayers of thanksgiving that turned into songs of praise.

Yet in their extreme discomfort and agony, they chose to praise their God.

Imagine Paul and Silas in their prison cell, singing at the the top of their lungs! Stop and think about this for a minute. We can breeze past this story so fast and not fully understand the gravity of what they were walking through.

Their circumstances caused them excruciating pain. Their backs were bloody and bruised from being harshly beaten. They were thrown into a dark and filthy cell. Their legs were in stocks, meant to invoke severe pain by spreading the legs as far as they could possibly go. Yet in their extreme discomfort and agony, they chose to praise their God. How is that possible? It’s possible because they both understood that praise prepares the way for God to work, and as a result, see powerful things happen.

God Loves to Show His Power in Response to Praise

As they began to praise something happened, something supernatural.

Acts 16:26 says, “Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!

Did you catch that? An earthquake happened out of nowhere. The prison began shaking to its foundation, all the prison doors immediately flew open, and all the chains fell off of every prisoner. Those types of things don’t just happen, they are a result of the supernatural power of God.

God wants to show up in the midst of your trial, your prison cell, and display his supernatural power to you.

I encourage you today to start praising your way through your trial. Replace your worry, your fear, your frustration with praise. I promise, as you do that, you will see God do what only he can do! He will turn your prison cell into a place of praise.

Psalm 34:1-3 NLT
I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.”

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21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 20: Ready for Awakening

21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 20: Ready for Awakening

 

21 Days of Fasting & Prayer Devotional – Day 20: Ready for Awakening

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Nov 8, 2024
6 mins | Christian Living

One of the greatest revivals we see in the early church is in the city of Ephesus. Ephesus was a pagan city full of evil, including rampant sorcery and witchcraft, sexual immorality, and the worship of false gods. Ephesus was ripe for a Great Awakening! Acts 19 describes the events that led the city of Ephesus to experience such a powerful move of God that it transformed the entire city.

When the Apostle Paul first arrives in Ephesus, he immediately finds some fellow believers, and his first question to them is if they’ve received the Holy Spirit. They responded that they’d not even heard of the Holy Spirit, so verse 6 tells us, “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” Paul understood that if the city of Ephesus were going to experience the spiritual awakening God desired, His people would need to be full of the Holy Spirit.

Paul then spends two years preaching powerfully in the synagogues and throughout the city. Verses 11-12 tell us that “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured, and the evil spirits left them.”

Miracles are taking place, evil spirits are leaving, and then we see a radical event demonstrating just how powerfully God was working in people’s lives. Verse 19 tells us, “A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.” A drachma was equivalent to a person’s daily wage, so based on the average salary in America today, fifty thousand drachmas would be between four and five million dollars!

People are being saved, baptized, healed, and filled with the Holy Spirit. They are parting ways with evil and turning to Jesus by the thousands. The city of Ephesus was experiencing a Great Awakening! This is what we are praying for our cities, our state, and our nation. We desperately need God to sweep across our land so that we might see millions turn to Jesus as their Savior!

Acts 19 provides great insights into what must happen if we are going to experience such a Great Awakening in our nation today. Believers must be full of the Holy Spirit, praying for people to be healed and sharing the message of Jesus with those who don’t know Him. These 21 days of prayer and fasting are preparing us for a season of increase in what we’ve seen God do over the past several years. God wants to do more through each and every one of us, but for that to happen, we must continue to get ready for awakening!

Scriptures

Acts 19:1-21 (NIV)
“While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”

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God’s Answer to Fear and Anxiety

God’s Answer to Fear and Anxiety

 

God’s Answer to Fear and Anxiety

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Nov 8, 2024
6 mins | Anxiety

“Daddy, don’t let go!” my daughter pleaded, terrified of what might happen if I did. I had been teaching her to ride her bike, running alongside her, holding onto the seat to help her balance. When the time came for me to let go, she would freak out every time.

Despite the helmet and all the safety precautions we had in place, fear and anxiety were overpowering her so much that she was too frightened to move forward. We stopped on the side of the road, and I knelt down and looked her in the eyes, trying to calm her nerves:

“Has your father ever let you fall? Don’t I always catch you?”
“I know…But what if I fall?! What if I crash?! I don’t want to get hurt!”
“Look, I am going to be running right beside you the whole time. I’ll be right here to catch you if you fall, but I need you to trust me.” Then I smiled at her and added, “You are going to love riding your bike, and I cannot wait until you and I can go on bike rides together. The first step is me letting go and you doing what I know you can do! You are strong enough to pedal and good enough to stay up. You can do this!”

We had that pep talk countless times until she finally believed me and started pedaling on her own. In time, she got the hang of riding and was soon zooming down our street! Now, a few years later, one of our favorite things to do when the weather is beautiful is go on bike rides together through our neighborhood.

The most common mental illness in the U.S. are anxiety disorders

While I’d like to think the fear and anxiety associated with the “what ifs” in life are just a childish phase that everyone eventually grows out of, that isn’t the case. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the most common mental illness in the U.S. are anxiety disorders, affecting nearly one in five adults every year. The New York Times cites that Americans are among the most anxious people in the world, causing us to spend over $2 billion on anti-anxiety medications every year.

As a culture, we are stuck biting our collective nails, and all we get for our anxiety is increased health problems! We all know that worry will not help us solve anything, and despite our medications and self-help books, every time something large or unknown comes up in our lives, the “what ifs” kidnap our minds, holding our thoughts and feelings hostage.

What is the answer to anxiety?

The Bible speaks a lot about fear and worry. One passage which has helped me personally is Romans 8:14-15: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, ‘Abba, Father’” (NLT).

Understand your identity

When we truly grasp what it means to be adopted into the family of God as His children, our fears begin to subside. When a person places faith in Jesus, they take on a new identity. As a Christian, you are no longer trapped in fear because you are a child of the King of kings! You are an heir of God’s glory along with Christ! Not only that, you are one of his favorite children!

He was thinking of you before you were even born! Scripture says, “Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son” Ephesians 1:4-6 (MSG).

Next time you worry about a bill you need to pay or a situation at work, ask yourself, “Would a favorite child of the most powerful King in all the universe, in all of history, have to worry about something like this?” I would imagine the answer is no.

Know who your Father is

You have a heavenly Father who made the universe by merely speaking the words! He made a dead man come back to life by simply calling his name! He controls the course of history; He sets up kings and rulers, He is above all rule, all power, and all authority in heaven and on earth!

If this powerful God is your Father and He loves you so genuinely that He was thinking about you before time began, who or what could ever stand against you? With a Father like that looking after us, what do we have to worry about?

Run to your Father

I would venture to say that most of the anxiety in my life comes when I get my eyes off my Father and onto my situation. I am not saying that we should be unaware of what is going on around us, but instead we must have a greater awareness of God’s immeasurable power and His great love for us than of the problems we face.

The image Romans 8:14-15 paints for us is that of a child crying out for their daddy. When a child cries for their father like that, merely being in the arms of their dad calms all fears. Anxiety no longer binds us because we can run to our Father.

The truth of the matter is our fears have done nothing but hold us back from the freedom offered in Christ. Jesus said it best in Luke 12:25-26, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?” (NLT).

When we know who we are in Christ, and who our heavenly Father is, we do not need to worry because we can take anything to Him.
So let me ask you, has your Father ever let you fall? Doesn’t He always catch you? He is running right beside you. Because of Him, you are strong enough to overcome and good enough to stand up! You can do this!

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