Have you ever had an experience when Gods Word just jumps out at you and seems to slap you in the face? Today was one of those days for me! Before I tell you what it was, I want to give you a little piece of information about me. Although almost everyone knows me as Lorri, my real name is Lorraine. When I was younger my parents felt it important to give us the Biblical meaning of our names. Now, my name means, "Woman of Courage". I always thought that God got my name wrong or that it was some kind of joke because I had a lot of fear in my life! I was extremely afraid of heights (could not even look over the glass wall on the second story of the mall!), I was extremely afraid of failure, I was afraid of the dentist, having my children, speaking in front of people on stage or in a small group.......and the list goes on and on! Why did God give me a name that was worthy of its meaning? As a matter of fact..........that scared me too!!!! What was God going to do to me that I would have to live up to my name??????
You know, I serve a mighty God! Over the years I have seen God work deeply in my heart. I have seen Him deliver me from many of my fears, almost all of them. I was not always happy about how He did it, but I am ever so grateful that He did! My biggest fear has always been a fear of heights. When Chelsea was going through the battle with anorexia, God took us to a place called Remuda Ranch. We had a week called family week in which Chris and I had to go and have intensive therapy for the family. They took us one day to a ropes course....my biggest nightmare! I did ok until we got to the giant 40 foot pole that we had to climb......and then jump off of. Tears were immediate! If I did not climb it and face my fears, how could I expect Chelsea to face hers? Were my fears more important to hold on to than hers? Mine were justified but hers were not? As I started to climb the pole I started to hyperventilate. I would inch up the pole crying and not breathing very well. Chris thought it was because I was out of shape.......although I was, it was pure, unadulterated, FEAR! Chelsea was ahead of me on the pole talking to me to help me up. I am sure I still some sort of record for taking the longest time to get up there. Once up there we had to sit or stand on this tiny platform......and jump off down a zip line........REALLY!!!!!!! You could not just slip off of the platform and slide down, noooooooo........you had to jump off and fall about 10 feet before the line would catch you to then slide down! I think I set another record for longest time sitting on the edge crying before you jumped! I think I sat up there for at least 10 minutes before I jumped.......and when I did, I cried all the way down.......and for two days!!!!!! This is not even beginning to be an exaggeration! But let me tell you what God did that day. That day, although it ripped me from my frame.....it also ripped me from my extreme fear. I am not saying that I don't still have some fear of heights, but guess what I can do.......I can look over the glass wall at the mall and not have to walk 5 feet in from it! I can enjoy a view from the edge of a mountain, I can climb a ladder without crawling up it! God has taken away soooooo many of my fears! I can now speak in front of crowds of people without crying! I get up in front of sometimes hundreds of people and give my testimony of our battle with anorexia (I say our battle because it is a battle with everyone who loves the person who is anorexic, especially the families), or I can speak to a small group of people with NO FEAR at all! I can go to a foreign Country to spread the love of God with NO FEAR! I can sit with beautiful Hospice patients who are dying and love on them.......with NO FEAR! I may be the only one who knows how HUGE this is.........and I am soooooo thankful!!!!!
Now on to this Revelation that God has given me! As I was reading a devotion that I get about the Daniel Fast, I got the answer to what God is doing and how He is doing it! I encourage all of you to go and read Psalms 112, but right now I am going to focus on two verses:
"He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; he will not be afraid..." Psalm 112:7, 8
HUGE!!!!!! I am also going to share what was written about this: (Susan Gregory Speaking)
I want my heart to be established in the Lord so that I don't experience fear, doubt or worry.
The word "established" is "camak" in Hebrew. It means to lean upon, lay upon, rest upon, lean against, to support, uphold, sustain, to support or brace oneself, to refresh, and revive.
Those are all words I want to describe my relationship with my Lord and His Word. I want to be so deeply rooted in God that nothing will shake me. Just like the man who built his house on the rock of the Living Word . . . I want a life that is unshakable.
In Mark 11:23, Jesus teaches, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." To not doubt in one's heart requires that it be established in God and His Word. No doubt . . . no wavering . . . just unshakeable trust in the Lord.
James teaches us in James 10:7-8 - "For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." The writer of Hebrews instructs us to, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23.
So how do we become grounded, rooted, unshakeable, stable and established? By surrounding ourselves with the Word and truth of God. We put our spirit in charge, our soul on alert, and our body into action reading, meditating, and soaking in God's Word. We memorize it. We declare it. We study it. We listen to it. We get so immersed in God's Word and His Way of doing things that the carnal nature weakens and the lies of the world are replaced with the perfect Law of liberty.
When a doubt comes into our mind we replace is with God's truth. If someone makes a negative comment, we replace it with God's truth. If we hear a negative report, we replace it with God's truth.
Is this radical behavior? Yes! And that's okay with me. I want to be established with Christ. When the enemy tries to knock me off course, I want the battle to be short and the victory long. If I face a challenge,
I want complete assurance of the positive outcome. I want to be confident because I know my Redeemer lives and He lives in me. I'm digging down to the deep soil, tapping into the rich nutrients and revelations of God's Word. The effort is all joy and I am totally convinced the rewards are abundant.
This was written by Susan Gregory from the Daniel Fast Daily Devotional
Now can you see what I saw?! This was so encouraging to me because there is a direct correlation between the changes over the years I have made in my life to become more Christ like, and what God has done in my life because of it! IT WORKS!!!! GODS WORD WORKS!!!!! Now that may seem to be a very simplistic thought, but that is what I have needed! It has always been obvious that Gods Word works, but I had gotten into a great slump per say of mediocrity! I had allowed circumstances in my life to cloud or mask what was right before my face! The veil was lifted!!!!!! My name means Woman of Courage......FOR A REASON! God has a plan and I no longer have to fear my name! God tells us that perfect love casts out ALL fear........and guess what God has been working on me for so long with.......having perfect love! Have I perfected it......NO......but it is a process that has now hit turbo! I don't want to delve to deeply into this because I have so much more to write about, about Honduras! Changes are a comin in my life! Now that the veil has been lifted, I have no more excuses!!!! I am excited about this word from God to me! I hope I have not left you confused........but if I have, just ask me what you want to ask! I have such a long way to go, but in the words of Joyce Meyer.....I have made it UP one ring around the mountain! Today, I praise God for a new Revelation in my life!!!!
You know, I serve a mighty God! Over the years I have seen God work deeply in my heart. I have seen Him deliver me from many of my fears, almost all of them. I was not always happy about how He did it, but I am ever so grateful that He did! My biggest fear has always been a fear of heights. When Chelsea was going through the battle with anorexia, God took us to a place called Remuda Ranch. We had a week called family week in which Chris and I had to go and have intensive therapy for the family. They took us one day to a ropes course....my biggest nightmare! I did ok until we got to the giant 40 foot pole that we had to climb......and then jump off of. Tears were immediate! If I did not climb it and face my fears, how could I expect Chelsea to face hers? Were my fears more important to hold on to than hers? Mine were justified but hers were not? As I started to climb the pole I started to hyperventilate. I would inch up the pole crying and not breathing very well. Chris thought it was because I was out of shape.......although I was, it was pure, unadulterated, FEAR! Chelsea was ahead of me on the pole talking to me to help me up. I am sure I still some sort of record for taking the longest time to get up there. Once up there we had to sit or stand on this tiny platform......and jump off down a zip line........REALLY!!!!!!! You could not just slip off of the platform and slide down, noooooooo........you had to jump off and fall about 10 feet before the line would catch you to then slide down! I think I set another record for longest time sitting on the edge crying before you jumped! I think I sat up there for at least 10 minutes before I jumped.......and when I did, I cried all the way down.......and for two days!!!!!! This is not even beginning to be an exaggeration! But let me tell you what God did that day. That day, although it ripped me from my frame.....it also ripped me from my extreme fear. I am not saying that I don't still have some fear of heights, but guess what I can do.......I can look over the glass wall at the mall and not have to walk 5 feet in from it! I can enjoy a view from the edge of a mountain, I can climb a ladder without crawling up it! God has taken away soooooo many of my fears! I can now speak in front of crowds of people without crying! I get up in front of sometimes hundreds of people and give my testimony of our battle with anorexia (I say our battle because it is a battle with everyone who loves the person who is anorexic, especially the families), or I can speak to a small group of people with NO FEAR at all! I can go to a foreign Country to spread the love of God with NO FEAR! I can sit with beautiful Hospice patients who are dying and love on them.......with NO FEAR! I may be the only one who knows how HUGE this is.........and I am soooooo thankful!!!!!
Now on to this Revelation that God has given me! As I was reading a devotion that I get about the Daniel Fast, I got the answer to what God is doing and how He is doing it! I encourage all of you to go and read Psalms 112, but right now I am going to focus on two verses:
"He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; he will not be afraid..." Psalm 112:7, 8
HUGE!!!!!! I am also going to share what was written about this: (Susan Gregory Speaking)
I want my heart to be established in the Lord so that I don't experience fear, doubt or worry.
The word "established" is "camak" in Hebrew. It means to lean upon, lay upon, rest upon, lean against, to support, uphold, sustain, to support or brace oneself, to refresh, and revive.
Those are all words I want to describe my relationship with my Lord and His Word. I want to be so deeply rooted in God that nothing will shake me. Just like the man who built his house on the rock of the Living Word . . . I want a life that is unshakable.
In Mark 11:23, Jesus teaches, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." To not doubt in one's heart requires that it be established in God and His Word. No doubt . . . no wavering . . . just unshakeable trust in the Lord.
James teaches us in James 10:7-8 - "For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." The writer of Hebrews instructs us to, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23.
So how do we become grounded, rooted, unshakeable, stable and established? By surrounding ourselves with the Word and truth of God. We put our spirit in charge, our soul on alert, and our body into action reading, meditating, and soaking in God's Word. We memorize it. We declare it. We study it. We listen to it. We get so immersed in God's Word and His Way of doing things that the carnal nature weakens and the lies of the world are replaced with the perfect Law of liberty.
When a doubt comes into our mind we replace is with God's truth. If someone makes a negative comment, we replace it with God's truth. If we hear a negative report, we replace it with God's truth.
Is this radical behavior? Yes! And that's okay with me. I want to be established with Christ. When the enemy tries to knock me off course, I want the battle to be short and the victory long. If I face a challenge,
I want complete assurance of the positive outcome. I want to be confident because I know my Redeemer lives and He lives in me. I'm digging down to the deep soil, tapping into the rich nutrients and revelations of God's Word. The effort is all joy and I am totally convinced the rewards are abundant.
This was written by Susan Gregory from the Daniel Fast Daily Devotional
Now can you see what I saw?! This was so encouraging to me because there is a direct correlation between the changes over the years I have made in my life to become more Christ like, and what God has done in my life because of it! IT WORKS!!!! GODS WORD WORKS!!!!! Now that may seem to be a very simplistic thought, but that is what I have needed! It has always been obvious that Gods Word works, but I had gotten into a great slump per say of mediocrity! I had allowed circumstances in my life to cloud or mask what was right before my face! The veil was lifted!!!!!! My name means Woman of Courage......FOR A REASON! God has a plan and I no longer have to fear my name! God tells us that perfect love casts out ALL fear........and guess what God has been working on me for so long with.......having perfect love! Have I perfected it......NO......but it is a process that has now hit turbo! I don't want to delve to deeply into this because I have so much more to write about, about Honduras! Changes are a comin in my life! Now that the veil has been lifted, I have no more excuses!!!! I am excited about this word from God to me! I hope I have not left you confused........but if I have, just ask me what you want to ask! I have such a long way to go, but in the words of Joyce Meyer.....I have made it UP one ring around the mountain! Today, I praise God for a new Revelation in my life!!!!
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