Develop A Narrative That Keeps God Near … And Fear Far From Us
As passionate lovers of God, we are tasked with positioning ourselves near to Him and to progressively establish a place in Him, where we can abide.
This is a faith decision that begins with God demonstrating His love for us and continues with us devoting our hearts and minds to Him … in complete surrender.
His great love provides a complete and perfect work in our hearts and then it becomes our duty to train our minds to bring our will into full obedience, so that we can walk in all of His ways.
The scriptures teach us that our minds must be renewed and transformed. This is the message of Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
When these things become a reality in our lives, we can begin to think and act in a way that is consistent with the desired rhythms of our hearts.
In order for this to happen, we will need to take on this reality …
Develop A Narrative That Keeps God Near … And Fear Far From Us
In training our minds to align with our hearts we will be enabled to walk in all of His ways … but we will need to craft a narrative that our minds can follow.
Perhaps the greatest words for us to know are these … the words of Paul to the church at Philippi. He likely wrote this letter from prison and yet joy was his theme … and clearly, fear and anxiety were far from his mind.
The whole context of the letter is amazing and it confirms the core message of all that I want you to see …
Develop A Narrative That Keeps God Near … And Fear Far From Us
You will know these words from Paul. Most of us would have several favorite passages from this letter to the Philippians.
According to data released by Amazon on the most highlighted passage in Kindle ebooks, the most popular passage from the Bible is one focused on reducing fear and finding trust in God. (HuffPost, 11/17/2014)
Hear these words, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
This is the prescribed narrative for a healthy mind … one that can speak to the heart, keep us in alignment and allow us to abide in our proper position.
The fact is that we can provide a healthy narrative for our minds by shifting our focus. Focusing on the right things in all situations strengthens all that is needed to keep God near and fear/anxiety far from us.
Conversely, when we focus on the wrong things it weakens our faith, causes us to dwell on all that is not true .. and that not only erodes our faith, it actually will increase fear in our lives.
A life lived in bondage to fear is a life that will be broken.
There is a better way … and it is ours to embrace.
Develop A Narrative That Keeps God Near … And Fear Far From Us
I am all in … and you!
– Terry –