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“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Your heart is the well-spring of all of your life. It is the place from which you’re reactions, your attitudes, your actions all bubble up from. All that you are as you walk through this day, with whatever it holds, will spring from your heart. That’s why God tells us specifically to guard that well-spring.
We are wise to check what is residing in that well-spring. Among the many things we find in our hearts there will always be one of two very specific things in the lead.
Faith or Fear. One will always be on the top of the heap. They cannot both occupy the same place. If faith resides there your well-spring will pour out peace and confidence in God’s care for you, even in the midst of uncertain times.
If fear resides there anxiety and depression will be the natural outward flow.
Faith or Fear. Every day we choose. Many times a day we choose.
When the evening news brings signs of foreboding unemployment, financial crisis and uncertainty tomorrow, fear is the natural response. That well-spring will pour forth worry and stress. When relationships are on edge and illness or hardship looms, anxiety churns within us creating its own downward cycle.
Faith over-rides Fear. Fear over-rides Faith.
God tells us exactly what to do when fear grips our hearts and takes over our minds. Left unchecked it will scatter our faith like confetti in the wind and leave us anchorless in the storms of life.
Listen to God’s very specific instruction from Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV).
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
What a simple formula! Not easy – but simple. Worry is a call to prayer. The moment you become aware of that churning anxiety over ANYTHING, go immediately to your Heavenly Father. Present your requests to Him. Then turn your thoughts and prayers to thanksgiving.
Thank Him for His promise to never forsake you. Thank Him for the power of His name and for His intimate knowledge of every detail. Thank Him for His track record in your life when He has been there for you in the past. Thank Him that He works all things together for your good as you trust Him. Thank Him that He is at work establishing His kingdom in your life.
Your faith and trust in God will over-ride your fear and His peace will actually put a guard around your heart and mind so fear cannot over run you. It’s supernatural and it’s real.
Father God,
I confess that fear is often my first response to challenges that come my way. May I be conscious today of choosing to trust You with every detail of my life. Help me to have faith to leave the question marks in Your control and to trust You to carry me and sustain me with your peace that is beyond understanding. Today I choose to put my trust in You. Fill my heart with child like faith today I ask in the strong name of Jesus, amen.
Questions: Describe the difference in ones life when either faith or fear is in control. What is the formula for keeping our minds free from worry and anxiety?
About the Author Gail Rodgers
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Thank you Gail, once again for a very awesome devotion. In the midst of a separation and divorce, life can certainly bring fear. But I am certain that God will bring me through this tough time. Even through my fears. Fear often is my first response but I am going to try each day to make trusting God the fore front.
I was tested yesterday regarding my choice of FAITH or FEAR and unfortunately I let FEAR have its place. Yesterday my father experienced another major surgery and it seemed like I had to “prepare” myself that this was all the beginning of the end. Very emotional day in which I took it out on the person the closest to me.
I wake up this morning convicted in which I chose to let me feelings and thoughts run wild and not stand and trust in God. On top of that, the surgery went well and as planned and my dad looked so GOOD coming from a surgery and is doing pretty good…that’s God showing His faithfullness even in our disbelief.
Thank you Lord for your blessings! I must choose to TRUST YOU LORD and have FAITH inspite of the circumstances.
Thank you Gail for an on time devotion.
This is so true, I have been going through testing for my back. Recently I had a MRI and today I have to go for my results and my faith have been tested because I get electric shocks down my spine and I fall, I haven’t been able to work and our finances are suffering. I have been calling out to God and His promises because He is the only one that can keep us sane in situations as these. Thank you Lord for being my Rock and my Jehovah-Rapha, You are the only one who sustains me.
Thank you for this devotion.
I opened my computer to find the devotional today was my own. Words God spoke to my heart some time ago are just the words I needed to hear again myself this morning.
Yesterday I travelled to my parents to help out with my terminally ill Dad. This morning as I sit by his bedside, listening to his uneven breathing, I am so aware of the love and care this dear man has given me all the years of my life. I am grateful to God for the heritage He has entrusted to me through my parents.
As fear of what tomorrow might bring nibbles at my mind and heart I am reminded too to simply trust God with today and to rejoice and be thankful. What a great God we have as He holds our hand through the days of uncertainty, whispering, “Fear not, I am with you. Be not afraid for I am your God.”
Thank you Jesus!
As soon as I saw the word fear I knew I needed to read this.
I have fears of trust and being hurt again. Amazing how we cant let go sometimes of our fears, and we hold ourselves in bondage when we do.In those hard times I pray, I see God is the only answer, he is the one that I can trust.
THe Lord was faithful yesterday, and he will not be unfaithful today..but in those moments now I say thank you.Even if it doesnt seem natural to say thank you in hard circumstances, he is there for us always.
Our prayers are so powerful..Thank you for this devotion and the women that step up to say yes I have had fear..God is great and he will not forsake us.
Bless all of you in the name of Jesus
Gail, I am praying for you and for your family! Thank you SO much for allowing God to use you in such big ways! Every devotional I read speaks to my heart and this one surely does, as well!
Again, I will be praying for your and your family during this difficult time. May Jesus hold you all CLOSE! Amen!
Thanks Gail for your enjoying devotional that is right where I am now.
I need wisdom for some medical issues that must be sloved someway through
some doctor. My immune system seems to have crashed and all the allergy shots needed may not be the answer.
Thanks for your encouragement and reminder of your Scripture and thoughts.
my nick name,
Sally
Dear Gail, thanks for this devotional on Fear, as I have lately had lots of anxiety and fear about finances and children’s future plans. Thanks, too, for sharing that you also have fear about your DAD. My thoughts and prayers are with you that you can enjoy this precious time you have with your dad. He must be an incredible Father, because you are such a wonderful person and a gift to us all with your uplifting, teachabale devotions.
Faith over-rides fear. Or so it should. God is my Father, Jesus Christ is my Savior and the Holy Spirit guides me. These things I know to be true in my life. Anxiety I do experience because I fail to present my requests to God. The difference of which is in control, faith or fear, is as night is to day, dark to light. Inner tranquility is the key to the formula because our Father is in control of my life, present and future.
Thank you for such a sensitive and yet clear cut devotion. I too struggle with anxiety. Although I’m only 26, the past 6 years I have unknowingly allowed fear it make itself a home in my heart. Now I am basically a full blown hypochondriac. It’s a choice we MUST make every day, taking every thought captive as Paul said and deciding if we are going to give it to God and have faith that all things work together for good for those who love him, or allow fear to seep into hearts, minds and souls.
I can testify that either one can become a pattern of your mind. Either your mind is use to thinking of the worst case scenario for situations that arise, or you can train yourself to stay positive and put all your faith in the Father God. I’m in the process of reversing the damage I have done to my mind. :) And Jesus is giving me strength to overcome this problem of choosing fear over faith. Every time. Every situation. God is in control of it all and he promises us that all things work together for good to those that love him. Blessings!!
Maranatha!
Thank you, Gail, for these words, that literally jump into the middle of my battleground! At age 75, I’m wondering how many projects I’ll be able to complete here before selling our country home and moving into a smaller place. It sounds so easy “Let go of it, so that God can take a-hold of it!” If God wants me to do it, then there will be no problem. The plans of putting a green-house / root-cellar addition to this house will not only be practical but also add value to the place. 4 other projects come first, and my wife is not supporting me in this last one. Why does that seem to bother me? (I think I need to concentrate on one-at-a-time, and get each project done in turn.)
Thank you again, Gail, for saying that once we’ve asked Him, we need to turn our hearts to thanksgiving! We do not continue to ask, but in faith we see His answer already in progress. That makes sense.
Now, to start with the most recent entree:
Nicole, I take courage in your words that reveal your mind-set: When you say: “I’m in the process of reversing the damage I have done to my mind. :) And Jesus is giving me strength to overcome this problem……God is in control of it all…” then I am blessed, saying to myself, “HE can also do that for me”! Maranatha!
I also thank the rest of you who expressed feelings on this subject; — God is at work in our lives!
Hi Sally, I’m praying for you and for the healing of your immune system.
Peace and Joy, Alfred.
Thank you for this free devotional. I am 26, recently engaged and recently come back to Christ. Since coming back to God I have suddenly become full of fear that I do not want to marry my fiancé. I don’t understand it because he is such a supportive, loving, beautiful man. He says he believes in God but I see no proof of that. He is confused of my new changes but says he’ll do anything to keep me and therefore will adjust and trust me when I say I love him and we ll work through this. On top of all this uncertainty I am beginning my final and hardest semester of grad school and he is deploying in two weeks for four months. I feel such unspeakable fear for this coming few months. I’m racked with grief and anxiety several times a day. I know I love him and I don’t want anyone else, but I feel that my contentment and happiness with him has been taken from me. I am fearful that I will end it with him and that I will have to give up our entire plan as well as never see him again. Please pray that The Lord is working in this situation and that he will give us both peace as we enter this long period of uncertainty. I feel such guilt for doing this to him right before he deploys but I don’t understand Gods timing. Please pray that I will remember to give my fears to God and that he is building my faith and endurance.
Thank you for sharing your fears so honestly, Emily. First of all I want to say how glad I am that you have recently made the decision to return to Christ. That is the most important and valuable choice you can ever make! Secondly, I want to say that there could be several reasons why you are experiencing such fear and anxiety at this time. One of them is that marriage is such a huge step in anyone’s life, and it is not unusual to question whether or not you are ready and if you are making the right decision – especially in a world in which marriage has such a dramatic rate of failure. Is saying that, I want to assure you that, when you enter a marriage with Christ as your foundation, your success is much more likely, as long as both of you are willing to keep Jesus at the Center of the relationship and maintain your focus on Him as your Anchor.
Emily, the enemy of your soul, Satan, can also place fearful thoughts in your mind, leading you to question yourself and your relationship. I encourage you to draw near to your Lord Jesus Christ and to seek His will for your future. When you seek Him with all of your heart, reading His Word daily and asking Him to reveal His will for you, the Lord will respond to your faith in Him. If there is a problem in your relationship that needs to be revealed, ask the Lord Jesus to show you what that problem is and how the two of you can work it out together, if that is God’s will for your life.
Emily, you share that your fiance is willing to do anything to keep you and that he is a believer in God, so I encourage you both to begin attending a strong, Bible-believing church together as soon as he returns from his deployment, and to seek pastoral counselling for your relationship and upcoming marriage in the church that you choose. Whereas you are the one in the relationship who has returned to Christ, Emily, perhaps you could seek out a church while your fiance is away and that will help with the fear and anxiety you are experiencing at this time, as you find other believers to come alongside you and to pray with you and to help you study God’s Word together. Many churches have wonderful study groups and small home groups where they study God’s Word together and support one another in faith and prayer. In addition, if you would like help with any of these things, please feel free to write to us at the following link, and one of our online mentors will be happy to contact you privately and securely to walk with you through this difficult season of your life:
http://powertochange.com/experience/talk-to-a-mentor/
Lord Jesus, thank You for drawing Emily back to Your heart. Please help her to clearly hear Your voice as she seeks Your will for her life day-by-day, and protect her fiance as he is deployed in the service of his country. O God, I ask that You would guard Emily’s heart and mind with Your all-surpassing peace in Christ Jesus, and that You would lead her fiance to full faith in You. May You be the Anchor in their relationship, and may Your will be their first priority in their lives at all times. Please comfort both Emily and her fiance as they go through this difficult season in their lives, O Lord, and help Emily as she faces her exams, that she may find serenity in knowing You and in placing her trust in You. I ask these things in Your holy and mighty Name, Lord Jesus. Amen.