Hello everyone!

I was listening to Part 3 of the “Crazy Faith” series last night from Pastor Michael Todd. He talked about how faith is moving and allowing God to direct your steps. And how it is so much easier to move something that is in motion than something that is standing still.

Confession: I have suffered from fear paralysis, meaning, I’ve not always gone after the things that I wanted to because I was uncertain of the outcome. I’ll think of something I want to do (like move to New York) and come up with whole scenarios that may or may not even happen if I act upon that decision. This is how it looks with the New York decision: If I move to New York, how will that affect my (non-existent) relationship? Would he move to New York or would we have a long-distance relationship? And how long would that work before it got too hard? How long would I stay in New York? because I want my children to grow up with a back yard. So this is something that I need to work on with God’s help.

Then I started looking over my notes from the sermon “I Caught a Thought” Pastor Steven Furtick preached last month. For one part, he said that when we catch a thought that is counter to the Word of God, that we have to trace where it came from. So I got to thinking about the thoughts I’ve been catching lately: fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, and the fear of inadequacy.

Then God asked, “what if I shifted my perspective about my life?” Instead of seeing rejection as a negative experience, I should see it as me moving in one direction and God saying it’s not the right direction (either right now or at all). Then I could assess the situation, pray about it, and continue to move in another direction. Instead of me being afraid of the future, I should remember that God created the world and myself. So while I may not know what the future holds, I know who holds the future. If I make a mistake, God will redeem it and change the outcome for my good. And instead of fearing that I am not enough for a man/friends/a job/etc., I should remember that God did not create me to live independent of Him. I will not know everything and that’s okay because where I fall short, God will meet me there.

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Scriptures

Psalm 24:1 “The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world and all it’s people belong to Him.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘they are plans to prosper you and to give you a hope and a future.”‘

Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s plans will prevail.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

2 Corinthians 4:18 “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things that we can see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Psalm 103:4 “[Praise the Lord] who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”

Romans 8:28 “For all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”

Philippians 4:11-13 “ Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have…I have learned the secret of living in every situation…For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

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I pray this has been helpful for you, especially if you deal with fear paralysis. I keep being reminded that my perspective on a particular situation can either encourage or discourage me. And the same is true for you. I challenge you to change your perspective in one area of your life for the rest of your week. If you’ve been pessimistic about something lately, try seeing it from another perspective and see how it changes things. Thanks for reading! Please like, comment, subscribe, and follow me on IG:@MyAttemptAtAdulting.

Love,

Britt ♥