So, when things happen in your life and you’re faced to make a decision — do you let fear overwhelm you, or do you choose faith to conquer?  Did you ever think about the consequences of your choices?  You’ve probably heard it said, that if you don’t make a decision, you really are making one.  Well, when we have to make decisions in life we can either allow fear to stagnate us, or faith to move us forward.  So, the end result is truly up to us.  Let’s look at a couple of examples.  The first one shows us what resulted from having faith and the second one shows us what resulted from allowing fear to take over and reign.

First would be when Joshua had to face giants to defeat Jericho.  In short, God told Joshua and his army to march around the city and play the trumpets and shout on the 7th day and the walls would come tumbling down.  Do you think Joshua thought “Wow God, that’s really not how I was thinking we should go in and defeat them, I really don’t see how that’s going to work”.  I know that’s how many of us today would feel.  But Joshua’s faith in God’s wisdom, love and power gave him the willingness to trust and obey God, and by doing so, Joshua defeated Jericho and won the battle!

The second example I’d like for you to consider is when Moses was leading the Israelites to take over the promise land, and he sent 12 spies to check things out.  Only two of the twelve spies had faith and believed they could take this land because they trusted in a Mighty God.  (By the way, one of the two spies was Joshua)  But the other ten, looking at it from a human standpoint, feared those people who looked like giants to them, and gave all the reasons in the world why they shouldn’t take over the promise land.  Because of their lack of faith, God told Moses they would wonder in the wilderness and would never see the promise land.  After I read this I thought, “WOAH!!!!  God, please help me to have faith in you so that what you promise will come true in my life.  I don’t want to be one who just wonders in the wilderness all my life because I was afraid and didn’t have faith in you to trust and obey Your will for me.”

So many times in our lives we have giants we face, whether it’s financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, Our God is greater than all of these giants we face, if we will just surrender our ways and thoughts and accept His ways which He provides in His word.

For those of you who know me well, know that when I battle the giants in my life, I seek God’s face and I let Him know that I believe He is the Living God who can do the impossible, and is able to do all things.  When satan puts things in my mind, or others try to discourage me and tell me, “look it just doesn’t make sense, there’s no way….”.   I claim that God does things that may not make sense in our human eyes, but He who closed the mouth of the lions for Daniel, saved the three hebrew boys from a fiery furnace (they didn’t even smell like smoke – AMAZING), and the God who helped Joshua win the battle of Jericho, is still the same God I trust in today.

Then I hear, “that was God then, but He doesn’t do those things now.”  Well, I beg to differ with those who say that.  For instance, it’s been said that Psalm 91 is called the Soldiers’ Psalm.  We are told that in World War I, the soldiers of the 91st Brigade recited the 91 Psalm daily.  This brigade engaged in three of the war’s bloodiest battles.  Other units suffered up to 90% casualties, but the 91st Brigade did not suffer a single combat-related death.  AMAZING, and guess what?  This happened in today’s time.  God is still at work if we will surrender ourselves, pray to Him, claim His word and trust and obey Him.

I may not have to face a lions den, or a fiery furnace, or battle to take over Jericho, but I’ve fought the giants of this world.  I’ve battled codependency and perfectionism, fear, anxiety and depression, where I tried doing it my way, telling God to come with me and help me overcome it, but to no avail.  But once I surrendered it all to him on April 13, 2002, I released all of my anger, bitterness, resentment, fear and depression to Him and asked Him to fill me instead with His hope, peace, joy, contentment, mercy, kindness and to let His love ring through me — and He did!!

Not too long ago my husband and I fought a financial giant where the buyers of our home and business in another state defaulted, as we were carrying the papers.  We were facing the possibility of losing everything we had and worked hard for.  But we rebuked fear, and surrendered it to God, trusting and obeying His ways, and He redeemed the house by having the debt forgiven, and resold our business for even more.  I’ve fought physical giants of constant migraines since a young teen, arthritis since I was 16, and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue in 2002.  Even though I asked God to remove these physical ailments, I surrendered my will to His, and He has chosen to grow me in character through perseverence of these things.  You see before this, I was telling God the plans I had, and asked Him to come with me.  But through these ailments He has taught me to “Be Still, and Know He is God”, and to learn to “Wait upon the Lord”.   I have learned that I must surrender myself daily to Him, letting Him know I’m His and ask Him to use me each day as He sees fit.  What a difference surrendering to Him, and trusting and obeying Him has provided inside of me.  A peace, hope, joy and contentment, I could never get anywhere else.  You see, our God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He closed the mouths of the lions in biblical days, He protected the soldiers in World War I, and He’s still doing the impossible, if we will just rebuke the fear (caused by us viewing things from a human perspective and trying to do it on our own abilities), and putting our faith in Him, surrendering ourselves and trusting and obeying Him.  As humans we will be hurt and others will fail us, even those who love us dearly.  But I have found in my life that God is the one constant, firm foundation that I can depend on, who never fails me.  And as mighty and powerful as He is, He is so relational, that He desires a personal relationship with each one of us.  I’m so grateful for His love, wisdom, might and power that He provides each one of us every day, if we will just accept His gift of salvation, surrender ourselves to Him and trust and obey Him.  I challenge you, wherever you are, to do this, because you will see great things happen in your life.

Below are scriptures that you can claim for your own, and hold close to your heart.  And below that is a link you can click on, to listen to a powerful song by Chris Tomlin, called “Our God”.  Please feel free to read God’s promises, and enjoy the song.  I’m sure you’ll feel the power of our Almighty God.  May God bless you.

Joshua 1:5-9 “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life…so I will be with you.  I will never leave you nor forsake you….Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law…do not turn from it to the right or left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Do not let the book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful….Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given you the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Psalm 91      1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge- 10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.       11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.       14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

click on this link to listen to “Our God” by Chris Tomlin & Feel the Power — God bless!