Episode 109

TODAY’S READING:

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:8

 

Thursday already! 

 

The last few verses and devotionals have been centered around this common theme. Do not be afraid. 

 

It’s so easy to say it but so hard to put it into action. We see this daily. We allow our fears to overcome us. 

 

Have you ever been paralyzed with fear that it affects your daily life? I have. When I operate in fear. My goals and plans cease. For example, I know that I want to buy a house in the coming years. But I know that I need a plan to save money, and rather than surrendering my finances to God and praying, he makes a way where I don’t see one. Instead of leaning into Him. I start to overthink absolutely everything, and the time passes. “What if I started this?” “What if I sold that” I find new things to distract my mind with, and before I know it, the very thing I was fearful of that time is flying, and I fear I won’t accomplish my financial goals, has happened, and I was the reason it happened. 

 

Maybe you have the same pattern of destruction. You know you need to become healthy, but your fear of failure keeps you exactly where you find yourself, and slowly but surely, you are creeping in the opposite direction of where you want to be. 

 

This verse also talks about discouragement. Fear and discouragement are two horns on the same bull. It is why these two words are found together verse after verse. 

 

When you become discouraged, it really takes a toll on your emotional health. It’s hard to see the light. Discouragement is essentially a loss of hope. When the enemy steals our hope, that is when he has us. 

 

This can be said in our personal lives, as well as in our nations and our globe. We cannot become discouraged by what we see happening around us. The same way God promises he goes before us and that he will be with us. He will do the same for our nations, for our globe. 

 

Do not fear; submit your worries, your discouragements, and your destructive habits to God. Let him fix it for you. Stop opening doors that were not intended for you. Instead, wait on Him. If He goes before us, it means we have to follow Him. 

 

PRAYER

Father God, we thank you for going before us. Today we submit our fears and our discouragements to you. We submit our plans and need of control. We ask that you guide us; we ask that you make it abundantly clear what our next steps should be. We are lost without you. We do not want to be afraid anymore. So bless this day, bless our lives. Thank you, we love you, and it is in your Holy name that we pray, Amen!