When Fear Casts It's Shadow Long

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Several days ago I woke up in a panic.  Worries that I took to bed with me the night before played over in my mind taking the form of anxious dreams as I slept.  Worries, that still lingered as I awoke, and made my heart pound heavy.  

How do those worries take over and make me forget that I am loved, that I'm going to be ok?  It's like amnesia that comes and causes me to forget that I am in God's hands.  It's fear and it's ugly and, once in, it casts it's foreboding shadow on all that stands in it's presence.   Ever notice how fear enters in and it greedily tries to get it's hands on everything?  A fleeting thought becomes something that you just can't shake.  

Fear festers and grows so that it becomes the lens through which all else is seen.

Fear, it casts it's shadow long.

Last week I shared with you here about my word for 2012,

And all this year, each Friday, I will be sharing how that one word is changing my life.  So today, on this first

 Freedom Friday

freedom confronts fear.

Fear.

  All is covered by it's foreboding shade, if allowed.

  Allowed?  Why would I allow fear and dark thoughts?  Well, any fearful thought I don't deal with, I'm allowing to run wild through my life if I don't do something to stop it.  How do I stop it?  I'm learning to pray and find out what the Word of God says, and to replace those thoughts one by one with the truth.  

Take a look...

  Does the word of God say that you're forgotten?

No, it says in Isaiah 41:10,

 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes I will help you...

That you won't have what you need?

No, 2 Corinthians 9:8 says,

 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

  That you have no hope because you've screwed up far beyond repair?

  No, Jeremiah 29:11 says,

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Or, that you're not loved?

No, in Romans 8:38-39 it says,

neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I'm finding there's a truth in the Bible that confronts every one of my fearful thoughts.  And, I'm learning to confront fear by countering it with one of those truths.  

So, my freedom today comes in words.

  Words can cut deep like a knife. 

Words can break a spirit.

Words can crush dreams.

 Words can haunt for years to come.

  But today, everyone of those words can be replaced with the healing Word of God and set you free.

  I know because that's what it's doing in me.

And tonight, as I lie down to sleep, if worry tries to command it's agenda, I'll simply focus on this promise from Proverbs 3:24,

 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
   when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday? 
We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.

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