God’s Presence Breaks Off Fear and Worry

There is fear all around us — fear of disease, fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of ____________. We tend to imagine the worst possible scenario. We worry about our work, finances, health, family members, friends, government, leadership and more. Even the media incites worry about anything and everything. Fear and worry is all around us and if we’re not careful, it will engulf us and dictate how we live.

Worry is the world’s way of dealing with trouble. The problem with worry is that it doesn’t fix anything, it wastes time and it focuses on the problem, rather than the One who is able to provide the answers. In order to change how we deal with trouble in our lives, we need to see fear and worry as it is — worry is sin, and it is used as a tool of the enemy of our souls.

In Matthew 6:32-34, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount indicates that worries dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, our heavenly Father already knows all our needs and our job is to seek God’s ways of right living and God will give us everything we need, so don’t worry. Earlier in Matthew 6:25-27, Jesus taught that worry is a waste of time and it’s ineffective. Jesus points us to the reality that our heavenly Father cares for, values and provides for his creation — whether it is birds, flowers or humans!

I Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” We are not meant to carry the burden of worries and cares, as it can negatively affect our health. Carrying these burdens can result in anxiety, muscle tension, and other disease process. When we choose to let go of the weight of our worries and cares, we let go of the false sense of control that we think we possess, because in reality, we have little if any control over circumstances. That sounds scary, but this truth can be liberating, as it releases you from the burdens, and makes room for another use of your mind — to set your mind on God, our burden-bearer, the One who is capable of handling our worries.

In my journey to renewed hope, I experienced profound care and love from my heavenly Father, as I actively gave my worries and cares to God through prayer. I learned how to use my imagination for good, rather than for worry, as over the years, I had become an expert worrier. Worry was a tool that Satan used to try to consume me and stop me from living an abundant life. Perhaps you too can relate, and if so, be assured, that you can change this bad habit/sin response as you trust God to enable you to let go of worry and fear.

In one of my Holy Spirit adventures, I encountered Jesus in such a tender and loving way, as I used my imagination to “see” Jesus caring for me and my concern. When my focus shifted from my worry and fear of losing my beloved cat, to seeing Jesus as the carrier of my burden, the fear lost its grip on me, and the very presence of Jesus filled me with such peace that has stayed with me. The truth of God’s Word and the experience of God’s presence breaks off fear, anxiety and worry, as you trust and believe Him.

Six Simple Yet Powerful Words

My pastor leads people to Christ, whether for the first time or the hundredth time, with a simple prayer, “Jesus, I give you my life.” I have repeated this prayer dozens of times as part of corporate and private worship.

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lent season, the six-week period of prayer and fasting leading up to Easter. As I reflect on this season, this simple prayer echos in my mind.

“Jesus, I give you my life,” is a prayer of acknowledgement and recognizing Jesus as Savior. Jesus is God’s love gift to the world. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is recognizing we need a Savior, because “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23). The penalty of sin is death, but Jesus took all sin (past, present and future) upon him, so we could have eternal life.

“Jesus, I give you my life,” is a prayer of surrender and submission. It is giving up our rights to holding onto whatever action, thought, word or attitude that might be holding us captive or in bondage to the world’s way. It is opening our hands, minds and hearts to God’s way of living. We let go and release it to Jesus. We let go of trying to control our lives and ask him to take the lead in our lives. We obey his Word and His leading, even when it is inconvenient or contrary to what we prefer. We surrender our will for His will.

“Jesus, I give you my life,” is a prayer of dedication. We recognize Jesus as our Lord, because we give him permission to lead, and guide our lives as he resides within us. Our lives become a reflection of the character of Christ — his love, his forgiveness, his grace, his way, not our way.

“Jesus, I give you my life,” is a prayer of dependence as we see our need for him to save, rescue, deliver, heal, provide, lead and guide. We lean on and trust God’s Holy Spirit to fill and empower us to live a life that reflects him, as we know we cannot do this without His Spirit.

“Jesus, I give you my life,” is a prayer of devotion as we love Jesus and express our love to him in prayer, connecting to him through reading and chewing on Scripture, worshiping him as a lifestyle, not just a weekend event. We do what he says and take him at his word, believing him to be trustworthy.

Jesus gave his life for you and me. Our response is to give our lives back to him. As followers of Christ, we have been marked by his amazing love, forgiveness and grace. May our lives reflect this truth as we choose Christ each and every day.

Whether you have prayed, “Jesus, I give you my life,” one time or dozens of times, I pray it will be a prayer of acknowledgement, surrender, dedication, dependence and devotion, as you reflect on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and what he means for your eternity and destiny.

God’s Presence Comforts

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your Presence!” Psalm 139:7

I know God and experience His Presence as I pray and meditate on Him, and His Word. When I focus my attention upon His Presence and His love, fear goes away. His love washes over me, cleanses me and sets me free. His Presence satisfies my hunger and thirst for relationship and connection with God. Emmanuel means “God with us.” He doesn’t leave. He is constant and abides within me.

When loneliness or fear attempts to dominate, all I need to do is to fix my eyes on Jesus and visualize Him in a rocking chair and I imagine myself as a youngster crawling into His lap. I fix my eyes onto His loving face — all fear melts away — there is such love. I John 4:18 says, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.”

God’s love is perfect. It meets every need. Experiencing God’s Presence makes me alright — it refreshes, renews, comforts and gives hope. I breathe in His Presence and thank Him for His amazing love that comforts me.