3 Ways to Be Fearless This Year
- Kelly Balarie PurposefulFaith.com
- Published Jan 19, 2017
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So here I am thinking about the rest of this new year. The problem is I've never had a resolution I've kept, nor one I like.
2013, I wanted to start up my own company, only I never followed through. 2015, I began the no-carb diet, only to dive into a bag of Reeses a couple weeks later. 2016, I was dead set on only speaking love. I blasted my kids with angry words, shortly thereafter. 2017, well, I am trying to figure out where to go from here...
All these years of try and fail leave me wondering... what makes this year different from all the other years? This is my issue.
And, maybe, it's this very issue that kicks the new year off with anxiety!
There’s no worse way to start a new year, is there?
I don’t want this. I don’t want the stress of worrying what I won’t do or belaboring what I should do. Frankly, by doing more, I am often trusting God less.
This is not to say every good goal is bad. That's certainly not true. But, for those Martha types, like me, perhaps the best goal is not to do more, but to do less. To sit down, rather than to step up. To delight in God, rather than impress new demands upon life.
This year, I don't think I need goals, I simply need to rely on my good God more. He'll set the goals, day-by-day. He'll do the leading moment-by-moment. He'll open the path, as I wait on him.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. Prov. 16:9
God charts every single course, whether we try to steal the map away from Him – or not. Either way, he still directs our paths. Go against him? You’ll likely bang into a dead end. Let him become your spiritual GPS? You’ll get somewhere.
Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1
Change built from God’s strength endures. Change built upon the construct of hard-and-fast law, will fall, if not reliant on grace. Change made absent of God, might sometimes produce results, but it will turns up joy and peace.
Are you so busy trying to fix your life that you’re missing the One who actually can?
Where are you this year? With God or with man-made demands?
Much about our answer will determine our levels of joy or fear. I know we all don’t want the latter. So, with this in mind, let’s consider how we can set resolutions that work.
3 Fear-less Resolutions
- Know that God knows. God knows what you don't know. He always sees - and is planning - your way. Why? Because he has a view unlike yours - He sees the beginning from the end and the elephant-sized issues from miles away. In this, you can rest because what you can’t figure out – He can.
- Walk through your day with God. If you let God go with you, He'll take you to peace. This means, if you are washing dishes and experience worry, you invite him in. If you are entering a social situation that makes you want to hide in the bathroom, you ask him to help calm your soul. You talk to God. You listen to him. You welcome Him in. He guides you.
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Rest in the fact that God is for you.
If God is for us, who can be against us? (Ro. 8:31)
Doubts may surface and uncertainties may arise, but the calm in the storm is that God is for you. He will never be against you. He will never abandon you. He will never have enough of you. The God who is for you, reaches his arm out to lift you above the tossing waves. He will not let you go. He will deliver you to your best outcome.
Will we always do these things perfectly? No. But will God always remain the same, full of unwavering love? Yes. And, so we return to numbers 1, 2 and 3 and continue the process of making progress with God. There is no perfect resolution. But, Jesus is perfect – and if we keep our eyes on Him, he won’t lead us wrong.
With this focus there is no telling where God will take you, in this year or any other.
Interested in conquering fear in 2017? Buy Kelly Balarie’s new book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears. Learn how to stop shaking in worry and anxiety so you can start walking into God’s greatest callings. Discover stress-reducing prayers to usher in new peace. Stand armed with daily bravery decrees so you can win the battle against fear. Order today!
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Image courtesy: Pexels.com
Publication date: January 19, 2017