1. Facing Fear and Finding Freedom by Joyce Meyer If you don't
remember anything else from this article, remember that fear is not
from God but from Satan. See Second Timothy 1:7. Every time you
feel fear in your life, it's a manifestation of the kingdom of
darkness. I often say in my teachings that fear is the "master
spirit." It's the spirit Satan uses to try to rule God's people and
keep them from coming under the leadership of the true Master,
Jesus Christ.What Are You Afraid Of? Multitudes of people never
fulfill the call of God on their lives simply because every time
they try to go forward, the devil uses fear to stop them. Is he
using fear to stop you? Satan uses fear to keep people from
enjoying life. Fear brings torment, according to 1 John 4:18, and
you surely can't enjoy life and be tormented at the same time. I
want to encourage you to take an inventory in the fear department.
What are you afraid of? Are there any areas in your life that are
being stifled because of fear? Satan is always going to bring fear
against us at various times. It's one of his major weaponsnot a cap
gun, but a cannon.Stepping Out in Spite of Fear All of us must
learn how not to "fear the fear." The devil brings fear, but you
can choose not to bow your knee to it. David said, "What time I am
afraid, I willtrustin You" (Psalm 56:3). I believe we can say that
when God leads you to step out in an area to do something new, or
leads you to make a bigger commitment, you may (or probably will)
feel fear. However, if you're sure God told you to do it, put your
trust in Him and go forward. I have to apply this same principle to
my life all the time. Years ago, we realized that we really needed
more office space. At the same time, we needed more employees,
which would require more desks, computers, phones, etc. We had a
choice. We had prayed for growth so we could help more people. And
everything did increaseresource orders, speaking engagements,
incoming phone calls, mail, etc. It was God's timing, and He was
moving. We had to make a decision to either stand still in fear or
move with God. If we had not been willing to rent more space and
hire more people, we couldn't have kept up with the growth. I can
tell you for sure that fear tried to stop me. I heard things like,
"Joyce, you're getting in over your head." "That's too much money
to spend." "What if the increase doesn't continue?" I'm sure you
know the recording; you've probably heard it also. We certainly
don't want to move in the flesh or out of God's timing, but when
God is moving, you can't be afraid to move with Him. In my
situation, I had a choice to be led by my head or follow the
leading of the Holy Spirit.How Fear Works Some common fears are
fear of lack, death, loneliness, people, authority, commitment,
heights, germs, closed-in spaces, airplanes, dogs, cats, failure,
rejection, being laughed at, and even fear of being attractive. We
went to the library and got a typed list of known phobiasit was
four pages long. It even included phobaphobia, which is the fear of
being afraid. It seems that the list is endless. It convinced me
even more of how extensive Satan's work is in this area.
2. Face Fear and Move Forward Isaiah 41:10 says, Fear not, for
I am with you. I believe God works gently with us to bring us out
of bondage and into liberty. If you've been afraid of something and
desire to be free, the time will eventually come when you'll have
to face your fear and not run away from it. Just take Jesus' hand,
acknowledge that He is with you, and do it. If you're afraid of
people with authority, the time will come when you'll have to
confront an authority figure and not cower in fear. God will have
arranged the time. He'll be there, but you'll have to choose
whether to go through or run away. If you're at one of these
crossroads in your life, let me encourage you to go forward. Don't
stand still in terror, but take His hand and go forward. Remember,
fear torments and God wants to deliver you from all of your
fears.Do It Afraid! by Joyce Meyer Fear! Has it ever been a problem
for you, holding you back from moving into areas that could enrich
your own life and the lives of others? There is a solution. One of
the many benefits available to Christians is freedom from fear.
When we avoid making changes or confronting issues in our lives
because of fear or dread, we need to remember that God has promised
to go before us and bring us through victoriously as we obey
Him.How to Be Prepared When were facing a job interview, for
example, instead of being afraid that well make a bad impression
and fail to get the position, we need to ask God to prepare the
heart and mind of the interviewer and help us present ourselves in
the very best light. When God "prepares the way," we can trust that
whatever happens will turn out for our good according to His
perfect plan for us. The Bible tells of a man named Abram who
trusted God in spite of his own personal fear. Now...the Lord said
to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your
country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land
that I will show you (Genesis 12:1).How to Be Unstoppable How would
you feel if God told you to leave your home, your family and
everything that is familiar and comfortable and head out to an
unknown destination? Full of fear? Thats precisely the challenge
Abram facedand it frightened him. But God's words to him were,
"Fear not." Its the same message He gave to Joshua when He called
him to lead the children of Israel to take the land He had promised
to give them as their inheritance (see Joshua 1:6-9). And to all
who set out to follow God's plan today, He says, "Fear not."
Elisabeth Elliot, whose husband was killed along with four other
missionaries in Ecuador, says that her life was completely
controlled by fear. Every time she started to step out to minister,
fear stopped her. Then a friend told her something that set her
free. Her friend said, "Why don't you do it afraid?" Elisabeth
listened and took that advice. Together with Rachel Saint, the
sister of one of the murdered missionaries, they went on to
evangelize the Indian tribes of Ecuador, including the very people
who had killed their loved ones. Many times we think we should wait
to do something until we are no longer afraid, but if we did that,
wed probably accomplish very little for God, for others, or even
for ourselves. Both Abram and Joshua had to step out in faith and
obedience to God and do what He had commanded them to
3. doeven though they were afraid.Don't Run I believe the words
fear not simply mean don't run. So the solution to fear is simple:
Rather than bowing our knee and giving in to it, we must stand firm
against it, knowing that God has gone before us and prepared the
way. This is precisely what God wants us to do. Even if our mouth
is dry and our knees are shaking, we need to keep asking God to
strengthen us. We need to determine that our lives are not going to
be ruled by fear but by the Word of God. As we saw before in
Genesis, God gave Abram a tall order. He said, "Pack up and leave
everyone you know and everything youre comfortable with and go to a
place I will show you." If Abram had bowed his knee to fear, he
never wouldve fulfilled his destiny to become all God created him
to be the father of many nations. In the same way, if Joshua hadnt
overcome his fear and been obedient to God's command to lead His
people into the Promised Land, they never wouldve enjoyed all that
God had prepared for them. Giving in to fear alters God's best plan
for your life. So use the power of God's Word to do what He wants
you to do...even if you have to do it afraid! The rewards are
great.Kiss Fear Goodbye and Enjoy Life's Journey by Joyce Meyer I
define hope as "the happy anticipation of good things." Are you
aggressively hoping for something good to happen to you? Do you
wake up in the morning excited and expectant about life? You can do
that by learning how to celebrate and enjoy this journey called
life. Everything in life is a process in motion. Without movement,
advancement and progression, there is no life. Once a thing has
ceased to progress, it is dead. In other words, as long as we live,
you and I are always going to be heading somewhere, and we should
be enjoying ourselves on the way. God created us to be
goal-oriented visionaries. Without a vision, we become bored and
hopeless. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, according to Proverbs
13:12, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
There's something about hope that makes people lighthearted and
happy. You're not going to be happy if you don't have hope. The
more hope you have in God, the happier you become. Biblical hope is
a close relative to faith. I don't see how you can have faith
without hope because hope is the foundation on which faith stands.
Hope believes everything is going to turn out all righthope is
positive! To enjoy life you must maintain a good, positive
attitude. God is positive, and He wants positive things to happen
to each of us, but that isn't likely to happen if we're not filled
with hope and faith. Some people are afraid to hope because they
have experienced so much hurt and disappointment that they don't
think they can face any more pain. They refuse to hope so they
won't be disappointed. Disappointment is painful! Rather than being
hurt again, they simply refuse to hope that anything good will ever
happen to them. This type of behavior sets up a negative lifestyle.
Everything becomes negative because their thoughts are negative.
Proverbs 23:7 says, For as he [a person] thinks in his heart, so is
he....
4. Your Future Has No Room For Your Past! Many years ago I was
extremely negative because of the devastating abuse that had taken
place in my past. The result was that I expected people to hurt me,
and they did. I expected people to be dishonest, and they were. I
was afraid to believe that anything good might happen. I thought I
was protecting myself from being hurt by not expecting anything
good to happen. When I really began to study the Word and trust God
to restore me, I began to realize that all of my negativism had to
go. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus says that it will be done for us as we
have believed. I believed everything was negative, so naturally
many negative things happened to me. I needed to let go of the past
and move into the future with hope, faith and trust in God. I had
to get rid of the heaviness of despair, depression and
discouragement. And I did, once I dug into the truth of God's Word!
I found out that God is ...a shield for me, my glory, and the
lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3). I began to turn my negative thoughts
and words into positive ones! Now, I am not saying that you and I
can get whatever we want by just thinking about it. God has a
perfect plan for each of us, and we can't control Him with our
thoughts and words. But we can think and speak in agreement with
His will and plan for us. We can practice being positive in every
situation that arises. Even if what is taking place in your life at
the moment seems negative, expect God to bring good out of it as He
has promised in His Word. You must understand that before your life
can change, your attitude must change. Hope is a powerful,
spiritual force that is activated through our positive attitude. We
are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all
things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and
for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and
purpose (Romans 8:28). What Satan means for harm, God intends for
good. All things work together for good for those who love God.
Satan wants to hurt you and have you spend your life distrusting
everyone because somebody hurt you when you were a child, while you
were in school, in your marriage, on your job, etc. The list of
who, what, where and how you can be hurt is endless. You have to
say, "No! That is subject to change! I am a child of the living
God! Something good is going to happen to me!" [After all] the
kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one
likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a
person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit (Romans 14:17). What this means is that after all the
painful things that have happened in your past have come and gone,
God still wants you to enjoy every single day of your life. This
won't happen, however, until you make up your mind to take hold of
the abundant life that Jesus' death and resurrection purchased for
you. Until then, the devil will always try to take it away. Jesus
said, The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance
(to the full, till it overflows) (John 10:10). You are a new
creation. You don't have to allow the old things that happened to
you continue to affect your new life in Christ. As a new creature
in Christ Jesus, you can have your mind renewed according to the
Word of God: And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind
[having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new
nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in
true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24). Things will
change for the better when you keep your thoughts filled with
hope.Rejoice In Hope The Bible is full of hope-filled promises for
you and me.Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance,
introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in
which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in
our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God (Romans
5:2). Good things begin to happen to you when you rejoice in the
hope of
5. experiencing God's favor on a regular basis. Luke 2:52 tells
us that ...Jesus increased in...favor with God and man. You and I
are introduced to the favor of God by faith. All of God's promises
are activated by faith. We shortchange ourselves when we believe in
Jesus but don't believe in His blessings. Believe that you walk in
holiness and righteousness (see Ephesians 4:24), believe that you
are anointed (see 2 Corinthians 1:21), and believe that you are
blessed with every spiritual blessing as promised in Ephesians 1:3.
Believe Romans 8:37 when it says you are more than a conqueror!
Everything that is promised in the Bible is for us to rejoice
innow. Be glad! Raise your expectancy level. Rejoice in the hope of
experiencing God's glory right now. My husband and I believe for
many things, but beyond them all, we believe in SomeoneJesus. We
don't always know what is going to happen. We just know that it
will always work out for our good! The more positive and hopeful we
are, the more we will be in the flow of God. In Ephesians 1:17-18,
the apostle Paul prayed, [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit
of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in
the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of
your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand
the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious
inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones). This glorious
inheritance is for you and me! Second Peter 1:3 says, For His
divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite
and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal]
knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and
excellence (virtue).You Can Become Bold and Fearless by Joyce Meyer
Bold: to be brave, daring, courageous, intrepid, valiant. God is
calling us to be bold. If you have the tendency to not take chances
in life because you're afraid of making mistakes, God wants you to
know He's pleased with you when you try. It doesn't matter if you
don't do everything exactly right. What matters is that you step
out in faith, believing God will help you! Second Timothy 1:7 says
that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of powerand He wants
us to use it! It doesn't take courage to do what we already know we
can do. True courage is displayed when you're afraid to do
something but you go ahead and do it anyway. The truth is, we don't
ever have to fear because we can ask God for His help anytime we
need it.Taking the Focus Off of Performance There are so many
people who are so afraid of making a mistake that they don't do
anything. Instead, they sit around saying, "What if I'm wrong?"
Well, we're human. We're going to make mistakes and look silly from
time to time. We can be so afraid of being judged or criticized or
getting laughed at. But the only thing fear does in our lives is
stop our progress. What matters to God is relationshipnot
performance. God knows we aren't perfect, and He's totally okay
with it. The problem is, the devil knows it too, and he does his
best to tell us every step of the way! We can be going along,
serving God, doing good, stepping out in faith and then all of a
sudden, without there being any justification for it, we'll have a
day or week when we have an attack on our mind about fear. That's
when we need to say what God's Word tells us:
6. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against
the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIVHonesty Outweighs
Perfection We can care too much about what people think of us to
the point where it totally immobilizes us and we are petrified
about looking wrong. But do you know what? I think if we are more
truthful, we will actually get more respect than we do by trying to
hide everything, pretending we're perfect. I believe one of the
main reasons people like to listen to me is that I tell all my
junk. It helps them to relax, to relate to me, and offers them hope
that if I can do some of the things I've done and make it, so can
they. We need to stop living in fear of making mistakes, because we
will make mistakesperiod. God is not asking us to not make any
mistakes. He's calling us to be boldfearless in approaching Him, in
stepping out in faith, and in trusting Him to lead us.Kiss Fear
Goodbye and Enjoy Life's Journey by Joyce Meyer I define hope as
"the happy anticipation of good things." Are you aggressively
hoping for something good to happen to you? Do you wake up in the
morning excited and expectant about life? You can do that by
learning how to celebrate and enjoy this journey called life.
Everything in life is a process in motion. Without movement,
advancement and progression, there is no life. Once a thing has
ceased to progress, it is dead. In other words, as long as we live,
you and I are always going to be heading somewhere, and we should
be enjoying ourselves on the way. God created us to be
goal-oriented visionaries. Without a vision, we become bored and
hopeless. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, according to Proverbs
13:12, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
There's something about hope that makes people lighthearted and
happy. You're not going to be happy if you don't have hope. The
more hope you have in God, the happier you become. Biblical hope is
a close relative to faith. I don't see how you can have faith
without hope because hope is the foundation on which faith stands.
Hope believes everything is going to turn out all righthope is
positive! To enjoy life you must maintain a good, positive
attitude. God is positive, and He wants positive things to happen
to each of us, but that isn't likely to happen if we're not filled
with hope and faith. Some people are afraid to hope because they
have experienced so much hurt and disappointment that they don't
think they can face any more pain. They refuse to hope so they
won't be disappointed. Disappointment is painful! Rather than being
hurt again, they simply refuse to hope that anything good will ever
happen to them. This type of behavior sets up a negative lifestyle.
Everything becomes negative because their thoughts are negative.
Proverbs 23:7 says, For as he [a person] thinks in his heart, so is
he....Your Future Has No Room For Your Past! Many years ago I was
extremely negative because of the devastating abuse that had taken
place in my past. The result was that I expected people to hurt me,
and they did. I expected people to be dishonest, and they were. I
was afraid to believe that anything good might happen. I thought I
was
7. protecting myself from being hurt by not expecting anything
good to happen. When I really began to study the Word and trust God
to restore me, I began to realize that all of my negativism had to
go. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus says that it will be done for us as we
have believed. I believed everything was negative, so naturally
many negative things happened to me. I needed to let go of the past
and move into the future with hope, faith and trust in God. I had
to get rid of the heaviness of despair, depression and
discouragement. And I did, once I dug into the truth of God's Word!
I found out that God is ...a shield for me, my glory, and the
lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3). I began to turn my negative thoughts
and words into positive ones! Now, I am not saying that you and I
can get whatever we want by just thinking about it. God has a
perfect plan for each of us, and we can't control Him with our
thoughts and words. But we can think and speak in agreement with
His will and plan for us. We can practice being positive in every
situation that arises. Even if what is taking place in your life at
the moment seems negative, expect God to bring good out of it as He
has promised in His Word. You must understand that before your life
can change, your attitude must change. Hope is a powerful,
spiritual force that is activated through our positive attitude. We
are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all
things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and
for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and
purpose (Romans 8:28). What Satan means for harm, God intends for
good. All things work together for good for those who love God.
Satan wants to hurt you and have you spend your life distrusting
everyone because somebody hurt you when you were a child, while you
were in school, in your marriage, on your job, etc. The list of
who, what, where and how you can be hurt is endless. You have to
say, "No! That is subject to change! I am a child of the living
God! Something good is going to happen to me!" [After all] the
kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one
likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a
person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit (Romans 14:17). What this means is that after all the
painful things that have happened in your past have come and gone,
God still wants you to enjoy every single day of your life. This
won't happen, however, until you make up your mind to take hold of
the abundant life that Jesus' death and resurrection purchased for
you. Until then, the devil will always try to take it away. Jesus
said, The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance
(to the full, till it overflows) (John 10:10). You are a new
creation. You don't have to allow the old things that happened to
you continue to affect your new life in Christ. As a new creature
in Christ Jesus, you can have your mind renewed according to the
Word of God: And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind
[having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new
nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in
true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24). Things will
change for the better when you keep your thoughts filled with
hope.How to Find Freedom From Insecurity by Joyce Meyer We have an
epidemic of insecure people in our society today. Many people have
an identity crisis because they dont really know who they are and
they base their worth and value on all the wrong things what they
do, what they look like, who they know, what they know or what they
own. What do you think of yourself? How do you feel about yourself?
Do you ever compare yourself with other people and feel belittled
if you cant do what they can do or be like them? Have you ever said
I wish I looked like her or I wish I had what they have or I wish I
could do what you do?
8. Everyone experiences insecurity at times. I know whats its
like to feel inferior to others and insecure about myself. I grew
up in a very unstable, volatile home environment and never really
felt safe and secure throughout my childhood. Thats why its very
important to me to feel safe and secure in my life now. The good
news is, we dont have to live insecure lives because its Gods will
for us to be very secure and not to live in fear. We were created
to feel safe, secure, confident and bold; its part of our spiritual
DNA as born-again believers in Christ. But the key to living a
secure life in Christ is knowing who you are in Christ, really
receiving Gods love for you, and basing your worth and value on who
God says you are, not what you do. One thing that really helped me
get a revelation about this is Isaiah 54:17: But no weapon that is
formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise
against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This
[peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the
heritage of the servants of the Lord. This scripture clearly states
that as servants and children of God, its part of our inherited,
bloodbought right through our relationship with Jesus Christ to be
secure. We are joint heirs with Jesus and whatever He has, we get.
But we have to take it by faith, which means we believe it before
we see it. And since we believe what we say about ourselves more
than what others say, we each need to speak what the Bible says
about us as children of God to overcome the negative, defeating
opposition in the world that wants us to see ourselves compared to
others, not who we are in Christ. Another thing I needed revelation
about was the love of God for me. The first message I preached in
my public ministry was about Gods love for us. I didnt really want
to do it because I felt like it wasnt a powerful, new message and
people already knew God loves them. But the Lord impressed on my
heart that many people dont understand His love for them, and if
they did, they would act a whole lot different than they do. They
wouldnt get caught up in competition, compare themselves to others,
be afraid of their mistakes or afraid of admitting weaknesses if
they were secure in Gods love. First John 4:18 says, There is no
fear in lovebut full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out
of doors and expels every trace of terror! This opened my eyes to
the fact that I was one of those people. So for the next year, I
focused my Bible study on the love of God, and during that time, I
received my own personal revelation of Gods unconditional love for
me and acceptance of me. Getting a revelation of Gods unconditional
love helped me understand that my worth and value are based on the
fact that Im a child of God, not on what I do. This is so important
because if we believe God loves us based on what we do or how well
we perform, we will never be truly secure and stable in our
relationship with Him. Ive had to remind myself at times that I am
not Joyce Meyer Ministries. I am more than this ministry. And if a
time comes when God asks me not to do this ministry anymore, I will
be just as important and valuable to Him then as I am right now.
The same thing is true for you. No matter what you do for a living,
whether youre single or married, have children or not, youre well
educated, rich or poor, you are just as important to God as
everyone else. We are all equally valuable to God. God is love. And
He really loves you! I pray that you will experience Gods love for
yourself every day of your life. Then you can have the life of
peace, joy and true security that Hes planned for you.
9. The Key to Overcoming Every Fear You Face by Joyce Meyer
Everyone experiences fear in their life. There are big fears we are
very aware of and little ones we may not even realize we have. I've
learned that it's very important to understand what fear is and how
it works against us because if we don't, it can keep us from
becoming what God created us to be, which means we won't fulfill
our purpose in life.Fear's Evil Scheme Fear is a tool the devil
uses against us to make us miserable and destroy our lives. It
begins as a thought and then creates emotions that can rule us. It
often becomes a strong, intense feeling that tries to move us to
make a foolish action or tries to prevent us from doing something
that would be good for us. Because it's such a common way that
Satan attacks people's lives, I think of it as the master spirit he
uses to manipulate people and keep them out of God's will. Simply
put, fear is the opposite of faith. God wants us to walk by faith,
and Satan wants us to walk by fear. When we learn to live by faith
and not let fear rule our life, we can live a fulfilling,
satisfying, peaceful and joyful life in Christ. Like I said before,
fear begins with a thought. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that "as [a man]
thinks in his heart, so is he" (NKJV). I like to say it like this:
Where the mind goes, the man follows.Finding Freedom This is why
the Bible talks about meditating on the Word of God and having our
minds renewed (see Romans 12:2) so we can know what God's will is.
Meditating means you roll the Scripture over and over in your mind
until it becomes part of you. Meditation takes information and
turns it into revelation. When you get revelation about something,
then you know that you know that you know it, and the truth of it
sets you free from the lie that was holding you back from something
God had for you.Is Fear Holding You Back? I wonder how many people
actually have gifts and talents from God but they aren't using them
because they tried and failed? So many people are frustrated
because they know they're not doing what they are meant to do and
are letting fear rule them. I want you to get a revelation about
this because you're not going to ever be really happy if you don't
fulfill your potential and be who God created you to be. The key is
to learn who you are in Christ and see yourself in Him. When we
become born again through a relationship with Jesus Christ, we
actually become "recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may
do good works which God predestinedfor us[living the good life
which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]" (Ephesians
2:10 AMP). So whatever Jesus is, we are too. He is strong, and in
Him, we are strong. He is courageous; in Him, we are courageous. He
is a conqueror, so we can be too. He has peace and joy, so we have
peace
10. and joy. He's capable and bold. In Christ, we can do
whatever we need to do with His boldness. As you read the Bible and
meditate on what God says about you, you will be able to recognize
the fears in your life that are holding you back and overcome them
by seeing yourself in Christ. Then you will find you have whatever
you need to do what you are created to do.The Cause and Cure for
Worry by Joyce Meyer Worry, feeling uneasy or troubled, seems to
plague multitudes of people in our world today. It's human nature
to be concerned about the bad situations in our world and in our
personal lives, but if we're not careful, the devil will cause us
to worry beyond what's reasonable. Worry is like a rocking
chairit's always in motion but it never gets you anywhere. So why
do we struggle with it? And what good does it do? Worry is the
opposite of faith, and it steals our peace, physically wears us
out, and can even make us sick. When we worry, we torment
ourselveswe're doing the devil's job for him! Worry is caused by
not trusting God to take care of the various situations in our
lives. Too often we trust our own abilities, believing that we can
figure out how to take care of our own problems. Yet sometimes,
after all our worry and effort to go it alone, we come up short,
unable to bring about suitable solutions. At a young age, I
discovered firsthand that people hurt people, so I didn't trust
others. I tried to take care of myself, deciding not to depend on
anyone who would hurt or disappoint me. Too often our experiences
in the world teach us this, and even after we become Christians, it
takes a long time to overcome it. It's difficult to learn how to
trust God, but we eventually must learn that trying to take care of
everything ourselves is too big a task.Cast Your Cares on the One
Who Cares for You First Peter 5:6-7 says, Therefore humble
yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under
the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, casting
the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all
your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you
affectionately and cares about you watchfully. Since Jesus invites
us to cast all of our care and worry on Him, why do so many of us
refuse to let go? Apparently, we're not yet fed up with being
miserable. Worry is like a rocking chairit's always in motion but
it never gets you anywhere. The only way to have victory in our
lives is to play by God's rules, and He says we must quit worrying
if we want to have peace. So when things come our way that cause us
to be concerned, we need God's help. How do we get it? First Peter
5:6-7 lists two important steps: 1) humble yourselves, and 2) cast
your care on Him. That seems pretty clear and simple, yet some
continue struggling because they're too bullheaded to ask for help.
But the humble get the help. So if your way isn't working, why not
try God's way? All of us would be better off if we'd learn to lean
on God and ask for His help. But as long as we try to do everything
ourselves, God will let us. He won't take care of our problems and
worriesour cares until we turn loose of them and give them to Him.
Either we're going to do it or God's going to do it, but both of us
aren't going to. Now, casting your care doesn't mean you can be
irresponsible. God won't do for you what you can do yourself. You
must do what you can do, and then trust God to do what you can't.
When we humble ourselves and ask for His help, then He's able to
release His power in our situations. It's only then that we can
really enjoy life. So the cure for worry is humbling ourselves
before God, casting our cares on Him, and trusting
11. Him. Instead of making ourselves miserable trying to figure
everything out on our own, God wants us to place our trust in Him
and enter into His rest, totally abandoning ourselves to His care.
I know that when we are able to believe and say, "God, I trust
You," it will literally change our lives. Psalm 37:3 says, Trustin
the Lord and do good.... God didn't create us to worry about
helping ourselves all the time. He wants us to sow good seed by
reaching out to help others. When we simply trust God and get busy
doing the good things we know to do, then He'll bring a harvest of
blessings into our lives and meet our needs.Develop an Attitude of
Faith and Prayer I've learned that my attitude has a lot to do with
living a worry-free life. There will always be situations that
cause us concern, but with God's help, we can live above all of it
and enjoy life. Cast your care on the Lord and say, "God, I trust
You, and I'm going to enjoy the life You have given me." When you
give your problems to God, you must also decide to be satisfied
with His answers. Trusting God to do what's best for us involves
dying to self. Paul said, ...it is no longer I who live, but Christ
(the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I
live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete
trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me
(Galatians 2:20). You can trust God to do what's best for you, so
you don't have to worry about it. When you have a positive attitude
and keep your faith in God, you can't be defeated. We must stop
trying to make things happen the way we want and get to the place
where we desire to please God more than ourselves. The Christ in us
has to supercede what we want. Faith and the Word of God will help
you overcome worry. Worrying involves negative thoughts, but
speaking positive things out of your mouth will interrupt those
negative thought patterns. When we are full of the Word of God, we
can speak it out of our mouths in faith. Faith is stronger than
doubt, negativism and unbelief. Faith has a positive attitude that
can overcome our past and lead us into a great future. Faith is a
powerful force that cannot be conquered. Another powerful force is
prayer. When you're under pressure, it's always best to pray about
it instead of talk about it. Prayer is the blueprint for a
successful life. During His time on earth, Jesus prayed. He
entrusted everything to Godeven His reputation and life. We can do
the same. We don't have to explain all the problems to Him; we can
just give them to Him and ask Him to take care of everything. Don't
complicate prayer. Just have confidence in simple, believing
prayer. Look at Paul's instructions in Philippians 4:6-7: Do not
fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance
and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with
thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God's
peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its
salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being
content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace]
which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard
over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. If you're a Christian
who goes around burdened or weighed down all the time, something is
wrong. You may have had faith in Christ for salvation, but you
haven't moved into walking in faith daily for the life that God has
given you. The Bible tells us that God is faithfulthat's one of His
major characteristics. He can be counted on to come through for us,
so we should trust Him totally and completely. When we do, we'll be
ready for anything that may come our way.Allow God to Give You
Peace and Rest In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, Come to Me, all you
who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause
you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Jesus wants to ease our burdens and give us rest. The Message Bible
says it this way: Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll
show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with
mewatch how I do it. Learn the
12. unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or
ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live
freely and lightly (Matthew 11:28-30). That sounds good, doesn't
it? I've had enough heavy stuff in my life, and I want to be free.
It's nice to know that we don't have to figure everything out. We
need to get comfortable with saying, "I don't have a clue, but I'm
not going to worry about it because God's in control. I'm going to
live free and light!" When we're overloaded with the cares of this
lifestruggling, laboring and worrying we need some help. Our minds
need to rest from worrying about how to take care of problems, our
emotions need to rest from being upset all the time, and our wills
need a rest from stubbornness and rebellion. So we need to be
humble enough to call out to God and say, "I need help!" Your
beginning doesn't have to dictate your ending. Get God involved in
every area of your life and allow Him to lead you into rest.Worry
or Worship? Worry and worship are exact opposites, and we'd all be
much happier if we learned to become worshippers instead of
worriers. Worry opens the door for the devil, but worship is
reverence and adoration for God that leads us into His presence.
God created us to worship Him, and I don't believe we can walk in
victory if we don't become worshippers. Sometimes when we don't
have what we need or want, the enemy tries to discourage us and
keep us from worshipping God. But when we know that God has our
best interests at heart, we can worship Him regardless of our
circumstances. Remember, God is good even when our circumstances
are not! God doesn't always give us our heart's desire right away.
He wants us to develop a deep, personal relationship with Him and
an outrageous love for Him so much so that we can't live without
it. This kind of relationship and love brings the worshipful
attitude that God wants us to have. To worship means "to
reverence," or "to defer to." We are to have reverential fear and
awe of God. We are to respect and honor Him, and defer to Him by
submitting to and obeying Him, and adapt ourselves to His will. We
must realize that Christ, living in us, has come to lead and guide
us into a special lifestyle of worship and victorious living. When
Satan throws worry on you, I challenge you to stop what you're
doing, get down on your knees before God, and begin praising Him.
Worship is a spiritual weapon, a warhead or bomb you can use
against the enemy. Your prayers and worship will get you heavenly
help, and you won't have to fight your own battles. God's grace and
power can make things happen with ease that you can't bring about
no matter how much you struggle. So stop worrying about everything,
give it to God, and live in grace. Grace isn't just divine favor
it's power! Don't waste another day of your life worrying.
Determine what your responsibility is and what it is not. Don't try
to take on God's responsibility. When we do what we can do, God
steps in and does what we can't. So give yourself and your worries
to God and begin enjoying the abundant life He has planned for you.
This article is taken from Joyce's DVD teaching, Freedom from Worry
and Anxiety.Finding a More Peaceful Way of Life by Joyce Meyer If
you are a follower of Jesus Christ and believe the words He spoke
to His disciples, then you can definitely find peace in your life.
Hes helped me find a lot more peace than I used to have, and He can
help you find peace too.What Jesus Said About Peace Peace is
important because Jesus talked about it many times, especially in
His final moments before
13. He ascended to heaven. In John 14:27 (AMP) He tells His
disciples, Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and
bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not
let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop
allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit
yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and
unsettled.] Jesus essentially said, Im leaving you My peace. Now
you need to do all you can to hold on to your peace and stop
letting yourself get upset. Jesus also gives His peace in John
20:19, 21. Now, you might be thinking: Okay, we can see that Jesus
likes peace and wants us to have it. But how can I have it today?
Here are seven practical ways you can immediately increase your
peace. 1. See the value of peace. Maybe you need to take peace a
little more seriously. If you dont think its a big deal to lose
your temper, worry all day or get stressed out, you may have
underappreciated the gift of peace more than you realize. See 1
Peter 3:11. Jesus designed us to be fruitful, not busy. 2. Take
inventory of where you spend your time. Do you have an
unsustainable life? Maybe you have way too much on your plate, but
you keep saying yes to things and filling up your calendar.
Remember that Jesus designed us to be fruitful, not busy. So cut
away the branches that are not bearing fruit. 3. Trust God.
Believers in Christ are supposed to believe, right? That means we
trust what He says in His Word and completely give everything over
to Him. When we do that, we enter His rest (peace). See Proverbs
3:5. 4. Decide not to be a people pleaser. Its impossible to keep
all the people in your life happy all the time. This doesnt mean
you should be rude to them. Just dont try to please someone at the
expense of displeasing or being disobedient to God. Live to please
Him first. 5. Mind your own business. Ive learned that usually, the
less I know about other people, the better off I am. Being nosy and
spending energy trying to learn what others are doing or saying
produces anything but peace in life. See 1 Thessalonians 4:11. 6.
Let peace be the umpire of your life. If you are thinking about
doing something, but you dont have peace about it, dont do
itbecause if its not peaceful, its not God. 7. Do whatever you can
to work toward simplicity. Ive learned that the busier you are, the
more important it is to have simplicity, which means sometimes its
best to let things go instead of starting a war over something
petty. Also, it might be simpler to not own so much stuff. Trying
to take care of too much can just overwhelm and frustrate you. If
you will put these suggestions into practice, a more peaceful life
is possible for you. Remember that Jesus is the Prince of Peace,
and He can provide the tranquility you long foreven in todays busy
world. Every one of us has problems, some worse than others. And we
all struggle to get victory over some issues or circumstances in
our lives. We need a miracle to get over them. So what do you do
when you need a miracle? You wiggle.
14. Remember the old donkey stuck in the pit. When his owner
tried to bury him, he persevered in wiggling to shake off the dirt
that was thrown on his back, stepped on it after each wiggle, and
eventually walked right out of his pit. The same can happen for us.
But we gotta wiggle! Wiggling simply means taking responsibility to
obey God. The bottom line is that whatever your problem is, the way
to fix it is to do whatever God tells you to do. The thing we have
to get is that while God wants to help us, theres a part only we
can do to get our breakthrough. God will give us the ability to do
our part, but we still have to make the decision to obey God. We
have to get up on the inside, take responsibility for our choices,
and have a good attitude while were doing what we are supposed to.
It may not be easy in fact, a lot of the time its just hard. But
every time we do whats right especially when its hard, we make
progress in our relationship with God and get closer to our
miracle. And we can do it. Remember that the promises of God are
for whosoever will. That means you!What to Do If You're Tired of
Toughing It Out by Joyce Meyer Have you ever noticed how so many
different thoughts run through our minds every day? Some are good,
some bad. Unfortunately, our natural temptation is to focus on the
bad; so accepting them doesn't take any effort. The effort comes
when we're determined to cast down the negative thoughts, and take
a firm grasp of the positive ones.The Battle for Your Thoughts
Positive minds full of faith and hope produce positive lives. The
opposite is also true: negative minds full of fear and doubt
produce negative lives, which can ultimately destroy your life.
Some people have been hurt so many times that they don't think they
can face the pain of another letdown. Therefore, they refuse to
hope so they won't be disappointed. Battles are fought in our minds
every day. When we begin to feel the battle is just too difficult
and want to give up, we must choose to resist negative thoughts and
be determined to rise above our problems. We must decide that we're
not going to quit. When we're bombarded with doubts and fears, we
must take a stand and say: "I'll never give up! God's on my side.
He loves me, and He's helping me! I'm going to make it!"Don't Give
Up! No matter how bad the battle rages in your mind, don't give up!
Step out and regain the territory that's been stolen from you. Even
if it's only an inch at a time, make sure you're leaning on God's
grace and not on your own ability. In Galatians 6:9 the apostle
Paul simply encourages us to keep on keeping on! Don't be a
quitter! Don't have that old "give up" spirit. God's looking for
people who will find the courage to rise above all the negative and
pursue the positive. Whatever you may be facing or experiencing in
your life right now, I want to encourage you to stay positive and
refuse to give up! God is with you. He'll help you make spiritual
progress
15. strengthening and encouraging you to keep on keeping on
during rough times. It's easy to quit, but it takes faith to press
on to victory. Reprogram Your Mind When the battle seems endless
and you think you'll never make it, remember that you're
reprogramming a "worldly" mind to think as God thinks. In the same
way that computers are programmed, our minds are also programmed.
From the time we're born, our minds are like computers that have
had a lifetime of garbage programmed into them. But Godthe best
"computer programmer" aroundis working on us every day to reprogram
our minds as we cooperate with Him (see Romans 12:2).When Progress
is Slow This process of reprogramming or renewing our minds will
take place little by little, so don't be discouraged if progress
seems slow. Don't get down when you have setbacks or bad days. Just
get back up, dust yourself off and start again. When a baby is
learning to walk, he falls many, many times before he develops the
ability to walk without falling; however, the baby is persistent.
He may cry for a while after he falls down, but he always gets
right back up and tries again. Learning to change our thinking
works the same way. There will be days when we don't do everything
rightdays when our thinking is negative. But never stop trying. God
is gradually bringing us around to His way of thinking. Just don't
give up! This article is taken from Joyce's book, Never Give Up.You
Can Become Bold and Fearless by Joyce Meyer Bold: to be brave,
daring, courageous, intrepid, valiant. God is calling us to be
bold. If you have the tendency to not take chances in life because
you're afraid of making mistakes, God wants you to know He's
pleased with you when you try. It doesn't matter if you don't do
everything exactly right. What matters is that you step out in
faith, believing God will help you! Second Timothy 1:7 says that
God has not given us a spirit of fear but of powerand He wants us
to use it! It doesn't take courage to do what we already know we
can do. True courage is displayed when you're afraid to do
something but you go ahead and do it anyway. The truth is, we don't
ever have to fear because we can ask God for His help anytime we
need it.Taking the Focus Off of Performance There are so many
people who are so afraid of making a mistake that they don't do
anything. Instead, they sit around saying, "What if I'm wrong?"
Well, we're human. We're going to make mistakes and look silly from
time to time. We can be so afraid of being judged or criticized or
getting laughed at. But the only thing fear does in our lives is
stop our progress. What matters to God is relationshipnot
performance. God knows we aren't perfect, and He's totally okay
with it. The problem is, the devil knows it too, and he does his
best to tell us every step
16. of the way! We can be going along, serving God, doing good,
stepping out in faith and then all of a sudden, without there being
any justification for it, we'll have a day or week when we have an
attack on our mind about fear. That's when we need to say what
God's Word tells us: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons
of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets
itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
NIVHonesty Outweighs Perfection We can care too much about what
people think of us to the point where it totally immobilizes us and
we are petrified about looking wrong. But do you know what? I think
if we are more truthful, we will actually get more respect than we
do by trying to hide everything, pretending we're perfect. I
believe one of the main reasons people like to listen to me is that
I tell all my junk. It helps them to relax, to relate to me, and
offers them hope that if I can do some of the things I've done and
make it, so can they. We need to stop living in fear of making
mistakes, because we will make mistakesperiod. God is not asking us
to not make any mistakes. He's calling us to be boldfearless in
approaching Him, in stepping out in faith, and in trusting Him to
lead us.You Can Win the Battle in Your Mind by Joyce Meyer Thoughts
are powerful, and according to the writer of the book of Proverbs,
they have creative ability. See Proverbs 23:7. In fact, you cannot
have a positive, exciting life and a negative mind. See I spent a
lot of years unhappy because the minute I woke up in the morning I
started thinking negative, sad, depressing things. Now I can truly
say I am fully satisfied since the Holy Spirit has helped me
operate out of the mind of Christ (the mind of the Spirit) that is
within me. Maybe you've spent years thinking wrong thoughts based
on a warped, dysfunctional past, but that can change today.A
Powerful Force If you struggle with negative thinking, it's
important for you to come to grips with the fact that your life
won't change until your thinking does. Renewed, God-like thinking
is vital for change. The Bible says that God loves us, but have you
ever struggled to believe this? I have learned that if we never
meditate on God's Word, we will never experience the depth of His
love for us. The love of God is meant to be a powerful force in our
lives, one that will take us through even the most difficult trials
into victory.Think About What You're Thinking About
17. The Bible presents a lot of detailed instruction on what
kinds of things we should think about. Philippians 4:8 alone tells
us to think about things that build us up, not tear us down. If
you're a believer, you probably think some Scripture-based thoughts
throughout each day, but think about this. Are you mixing them with
negative thoughts or just any random thoughts that come into your
mind? For most of my life, I simply thought whatever fell into my
head. Much of what was in my head was either lies Satan was telling
me or just plain nonsense. The devil was controlling my life
because he was controlling my thoughts. Read Mark 4:24. It tells us
the more time we spend thinking about the Word, the more power and
ability we will have to walk in it. It also says the more we read
and listen to the Word, the more revelation we will receive to
understand it. In the flesh we are lazy and want to receive from
God without any effort on our own part, but that's not the way it
works. You will only get out of the Word what you are willing to
put into it. I encourage you to make a decision to meditate on
God's Word every day because every moment you spend absorbing it,
the more virtue and knowledge you will receive from God.How to
Overcome Negative Thinking and Live with Hope by Joyce Meyer Do you
have hope for your future? Or do you generally expect negative or
disappointing things to happen? I was taught to be negative when I
was growing up. I lived in an abusive atmosphere with negative
people, alcoholism, fear, ranting and raving As a result, I
developed an attitude that it was better to expect nothing good
than to expect it and be disappointed when it didnt happen. I often
wondered, Whats going to go wrong next? It wasnt until I was an
adult that I realized I was living with evil forebodings, which
created a vague feeling around me all the time that something bad
was going to happen. Then one day, God spoke to my heart about
this. He showed me that I was dreading that something bad was going
to happen, but He wanted me to expect good things to happen.
Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP) tells us that Gods thoughts and plans for us
are for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in
your final outcome. God wanted me to say, Something good is going
to happen! The truth is, God doesnt work in us through negative
attitudes full of self-pity, laziness, passivity or an everybody
owes me perspective. God works through faith! But before we can
have faith, we have to have hope.I Became a Prisoner of Hope! Hope
is favorable and confident expectation; its an expectant attitude
that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no
matter what situation were facing. Zechariah 9:12 (AMP) says,
Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you
prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore
double your former prosperity to you.
18. I like the phrase prisoners of hope. Think about it If
youre a prisoner, you have no choice about it you cant be negative.
And when times are tough or youre dealing with disappointment, hope
will cause you to rise up in faith and say, God, I praise You and I
believe Youre working on this situation and working in me. My
faith, trust and hope are in You! Hope is determined and doesnt
give up. God wants us to be locked up in hope, trusting that He can
change what needs to be changed, that we can do what He wants us to
do, and that all things are possible with God. If we will be
steadfast in our hope, we cant lose we have to be winners in life.
When God called me to ministry, it didnt happen overnight. There
were many years of preparation and building up what is now a
worldwide ministry. During those years, I wanted to quit many
times. But my testimony is, Im still here! And if you wont give up,
youll have victory too. Human nature is impatient, selfish and
wants things quickly. Why is it that although it takes us years to
get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few
days? In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we are going to have
tribulation, trials, distress and frustration in this world, but in
spite of that, we can be of good cheer and take heart. Why? Because
He has overcome the world. And when we live in Him, we become
overcomers too! Thats why Jesus died for us. He came to save us
from sin and death and to give us abundant life now. And Im
determined to have everything Jesus died to give me. Make a
decision to have everything Jesus died to give you. You have to do
it on purpose. Be determined to do what God wants you to do and
refuse to live with negative expectations. Ask God to help you live
in hope and declare by faith, Something good is going to happen to
me!Do It Afraid! by Joyce Meyer Fear! Has it ever been a problem
for you, holding you back from moving into areas that could enrich
your own life and the lives of others? There is a solution. One of
the many benefits available to Christians is freedom from fear.
When we avoid making changes or confronting issues in our lives
because of fear or dread, we need to remember that God has promised
to go before us and bring us through victoriously as we obey
Him.How to Be Prepared When were facing a job interview, for
example, instead of being afraid that well make a bad impression
and fail to get the position, we need to ask God to prepare the
heart and mind of the interviewer and help us present ourselves in
the very best light. When God "prepares the way," we can trust that
whatever happens will turn out for our good according to His
perfect plan for us. The Bible tells of a man named Abram who
trusted God in spite of his own personal fear. Now...the Lord said
to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your
country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land
that I will show you (Genesis 12:1).How to Be Unstoppable How would
you feel if God told you to leave your home, your family and
everything that is familiar and comfortable and head out to an
unknown destination? Full of fear? Thats precisely the challenge
Abram facedand it frightened him. But God's words to him were,
"Fear not." Its the same message He gave to Joshua when He called
him to lead the children of Israel to take the land
19. He had promised to give them as their inheritance (see
Joshua 1:6-9). And to all who set out to follow God's plan today,
He says, "Fear not." Elisabeth Elliot, whose husband was killed
along with four other missionaries in Ecuador, says that her life
was completely controlled by fear. Every time she started to step
out to minister, fear stopped her. Then a friend told her something
that set her free. Her friend said, "Why don't you do it afraid?"
Elisabeth listened and took that advice. Together with Rachel
Saint, the sister of one of the murdered missionaries, they went on
to evangelize the Indian tribes of Ecuador, including the very
people who had killed their loved ones. Many times we think we
should wait to do something until we are no longer afraid, but if
we did that, wed probably accomplish very little for God, for
others, or even for ourselves. Both Abram and Joshua had to step
out in faith and obedience to God and do what He had commanded them
to doeven though they were afraid.Don't Run I believe the words
fear not simply mean don't run. So the solution to fear is simple:
Rather than bowing our knee and giving in to it, we must stand firm
against it, knowing that God has gone before us and prepared the
way. This is precisely what God wants us to do. Even if our mouth
is dry and our knees are shaking, we need to keep asking God to
strengthen us. We need to determine that our lives are not going to
be ruled by fear but by the Word of God. As we saw before in
Genesis, God gave Abram a tall order. He said, "Pack up and leave
everyone you know and everything youre comfortable with and go to a
place I will show you." If Abram had bowed his knee to fear, he
never wouldve fulfilled his destiny to become all God created him
to be the father of many nations. In the same way, if Joshua hadnt
overcome his fear and been obedient to God's command to lead His
people into the Promised Land, they never wouldve enjoyed all that
God had prepared for them. Giving in to fear alters God's best plan
for your life. So use the power of God's Word to do what He wants
you to do...even if you have to do it afraid! The rewards are
great.God's Prescription for a Sound Mind by Joyce Meyer For God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of
a sound mind! (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJ)Prepare for Battle As you begin to
reclaim your mind and thought life from the enemy, know that he
won't easily give up the place that he's had. You will have to do
battle against his lies and confusion. You must declare out loud
that you will not allow any outside force to do your thinkingman or
spirit. There are spiritual laws that demons must obey. They can't
stay when you've commanded them to leave. Your power and authority
come from the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and the Word of
God. Ask God to give you discernment about the lies of the
devil.Think About What You're Thinking About
20. As you recognize a thought that is a lie, always defend
yourself out loud. This means speaking to Satan and the evil forces
out loud, binding them in the name of Jesus, and forbidding them to
lie to you and use your mind as their playground. As you continue
to use this prescription regularly, you'll regain your peace, your
memory, restful nights, and the ability to concentrate and
comprehend.Stand FirmYou're Not Alone You are in a battle that all
of God's children fight (see Ephesians 6:12). Make up your mind not
to give up! According to Colossians 3:2, set your mind on things
above and keep it set! As you begin this battle, things may seem to
get worse before they get better. This is because the demonic
powers are fighting to keep their place. Call upon God's grace in
the name of Jesus, and He will give you the power of the Holy
Spirit to completely overcome every evil tendency.Don't Give Up!
Remember, regaining your mind is a process. We all fail at one time
or another. God knows our weaknesses; that's why He gave us 1 John
1:9. Just ask for forgiveness and envision the blood of Jesus
washing away your sin. Continue claiming that your mind belongs to
you, and with Jesus' help you will be victorious.When you hear a
lie going through your mind, say out loud: "Satan, you are a liar.
I will not receive (or believe) your lie in the name of Jesus" (see
2 Corinthians 10:5). "I remind you that it is written, He who lives
in [me] is greater (mightier)than he who is in the world. I command
you to bow your knee to the name of Jesus and leave me." (see 1
John 4:4). You have now pulled the lie outjust as you pull a weed
out of the ground. But an empty hole remains where the weed once
was. You must fill that space with Scripture. Begin to meditate on
God's Word or sing a praise song to God. Whatever it is you choose
to do, make a conscious effort to fill your mind with good, pure,
wholesome and lovely thoughts (see Philippians 4:8).The Cause and
Cure for Worry by Joyce Meyer Worry, feeling uneasy or troubled,
seems to plague multitudes of people in our world today. It's human
nature to be concerned about the bad situations in our world and in
our personal lives, but if we're not careful, the devil will cause
us to worry beyond what's reasonable. Worry is like a rocking
chairit's always in motion but it never gets you anywhere. So why
do we struggle with it? And what good does it do? Worry is the
opposite of faith, and it steals our peace, physically wears us
out, and can even make us sick. When we worry, we torment
ourselveswe're doing the devil's job for him! Worry is caused by
not trusting God to take care of the various situations in our
lives. Too often we trust our own abilities, believing that we can
figure out how to take care of our own problems. Yet sometimes,
after all our worry and effort to go it alone, we come up short,
unable to bring about suitable solutions. At a young age, I
discovered firsthand that people hurt people, so I didn't trust
others. I tried to take care of myself, deciding not to depend on
anyone who would hurt or disappoint me. Too often our experiences
in the world teach us this, and even after we become Christians, it
takes a long time to overcome it. It's difficult to learn how to
trust God, but we eventually must learn that trying to take care of
everything ourselves is too big a task.
21. Cast Your Cares on the One Who Cares for You First Peter
5:6-7 says, Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves
in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due
time He may exalt you, casting the whole of your care [all your
anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all]
on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you
watchfully. Since Jesus invites us to cast all of our care and
worry on Him, why do so many of us refuse to let go? Apparently,
we're not yet fed up with being miserable. Worry is like a rocking
chairit's always in motion but it never gets you anywhere. The only
way to have victory in our lives is to play by God's rules, and He
says we must quit worrying if we want to have peace. So when things
come our way that cause us to be concerned, we need God's help. How
do we get it? First Peter 5:6-7 lists two important steps: 1)
humble yourselves, and 2) cast your care on Him. That seems pretty
clear and simple, yet some continue struggling because they're too
bullheaded to ask for help. But the humble get the help. So if your
way isn't working, why not try God's way? All of us would be better
off if we'd learn to lean on God and ask for His help. But as long
as we try to do everything ourselves, God will let us. He won't
take care of our problems and worriesour cares until we turn loose
of them and give them to Him. Either we're going to do it or God's
going to do it, but both of us aren't going to. Now, casting your
care doesn't mean you can be irresponsible. God won't do for you
what you can do yourself. You must do what you can do, and then
trust God to do what you can't. When we humble ourselves and ask
for His help, then He's able to release His power in our
situations. It's only then that we can really enjoy life. So the
cure for worry is humbling ourselves before God, casting our cares
on Him, and trusting Him. Instead of making ourselves miserable
trying to figure everything out on our own, God wants us to place
our trust in Him and enter into His rest, totally abandoning
ourselves to His care. I know that when we are able to believe and
say, "God, I trust You," it will literally change our lives. Psalm
37:3 says, Trustin the Lord and do good.... God didn't create us to
worry about helping ourselves all the time. He wants us to sow good
seed by reaching out to help others. When we simply trust God and
get busy doing the good things we know to do, then He'll bring a
harvest of blessings into our lives and meet our needs.Develop an
Attitude of Faith and Prayer I've learned that my attitude has a
lot to do with living a worry-free life. There will always be
situations that cause us concern, but with God's help, we can live
above all of it and enjoy life. Cast your care on the Lord and say,
"God, I trust You, and I'm going to enjoy the life You have given
me." When you give your problems to God, you must also decide to be
satisfied with His answers. Trusting God to do what's best for us
involves dying to self. Paul said, ...it is no longer I who live,
but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in
the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and
complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up
for me (Galatians 2:20). You can trust God to do what's best for
you, so you don't have to worry about it. When you have a positive
attitude and keep your faith in God, you can't be defeated. We must
stop trying to make things happen the way we want and get to the
place where we desire to please God more than ourselves. The Christ
in us has to supercede what we want. Faith and the Word of God will
help you overcome worry. Worrying involves negative thoughts, but
speaking positive things out of your mouth will interrupt those
negative thought patterns. When we are full of the Word of God, we
can speak it out of our mouths in faith. Faith is stronger than
doubt,
22. negativism and unbelief. Faith has a positive attitude that
can overcome our past and lead us into a great future. Faith is a
powerful force that cannot be conquered. Another powerful force is
prayer. When you're under pressure, it's always best to pray about
it instead of talk about it. Prayer is the blueprint for a
successful life. During His time on earth, Jesus prayed. He
entrusted everything to Godeven His reputation and life. We can do
the same. We don't have to explain all the problems to Him; we can
just give them to Him and ask Him to take care of everything. Don't
complicate prayer. Just have confidence in simple, believing
prayer. Look at Paul's instructions in Philippians 4:6-7: Do not
fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance
and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with
thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God's
peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its
salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being
content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace]
which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard
over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. If you're a Christian
who goes around burdened or weighed down all the time, something is
wrong. You may have had faith in Christ for salvation, but you
haven't moved into walking in faith daily for the life that God has
given you. The Bible tells us that God is faithfulthat's one of His
major characteristics. He can be counted on to come through for us,
so we should trust Him totally and completely. When we do, we'll be
ready for anything that may come our way.Allow God to Give You
Peace and Rest In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, Come to Me, all you
who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause
you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Jesus wants to ease our burdens and give us rest. The Message Bible
says it this way: Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll
show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with
mewatch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't
lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and
you'll learn to live freely and lightly (Matthew 11:28-30). That
sounds good, doesn't it? I've had enough heavy stuff in my life,
and I want to be free. It's nice to know that we don't have to
figure everything out. We need to get comfortable with saying, "I
don't have a clue, but I'm not going to worry about it because
God's in control. I'm going to live free and light!" When we're
overloaded with the cares of this lifestruggling, laboring and
worrying we need some help. Our minds need to rest from worrying
about how to take care of problems, our emotions need to rest from
being upset all the time, and our wills need a rest from
stubbornness and rebellion. So we need to be humble enough to call
out to God and say, "I need help!" Your beginning doesn't have to
dictate your ending. Get God involved in every area of your life
and allow Him to lead you into rest.Worry or Worship? Worry and
worship are exact opposites, and we'd all be much happier if we
learned to become worshippers instead of worriers. Worry opens the
door for the devil, but worship is reverence and adoration for God
that leads us into His presence. God created us to worship Him, and
I don't believe we can walk in victory if we don't become
worshippers. Sometimes when we don't have what we need or want, the
enemy tries to discourage us and keep us from worshipping God. But
when we know that God has our best interests at heart, we can
worship Him regardless of our circumstances. Remember, God is good
even when our circumstances are not! God doesn't always give us our
heart's desire right away. He wants us to develop a deep, personal
relationship with Him and an outrageous love for Him so much so
that we can't live without it. This kind of relationship and love
brings the worshipful attitude that God wants us to have.
23. To worship means "to reverence," or "to defer to." We are
to have reverential fear and awe of God. We are to respect and
honor Him, and defer to Him by submitting to and obeying Him, and
adapt ourselves to His will. We must realize that Christ, living in
us, has come to lead and guide us into a special lifestyle of
worship and victorious living. When Satan throws worry on you, I
challenge you to stop what you're doing, get down on your knees
before God, and begin praising Him. Worship is a spiritual weapon,
a warhead or bomb you can use against the enemy. Your prayers and
worship will get you heavenly help, and you won't have to fight
your own battles. God's grace and power can make things happen with
ease that you can't bring about no matter how much you struggle. So
stop worrying about everything, give it to God, and live in grace.
Grace isn't just divine favor it's power! Don't waste another day
of your life worrying. Determine what your responsibility is and
what it is not. Don't try to take on God's responsibility. When we
do what we can do, God steps in and does what we can't. So give
yourself and your worries to God and begin enjoying the abundant
life He has planned for you.Facing Fear and Finding Freedom by
Joyce Meyer If you don't remember anything else from this article,
remember that fear is not from God but from Satan. See Second
Timothy 1:7. Every time you feel fear in your life, it's a
manifestation of the kingdom of darkness. I often say in my
teachings that fear is the "master spirit." It's the spirit Satan
uses to try to rule God's people and keep them from coming under
the leadership of the true Master, Jesus Christ.What Are You Afraid
Of? Multitudes of people never fulfill the call of God on their
lives simply because every time they try to go forward, the devil
uses fear to stop them. Is he using fear to stop you? Satan uses
fear to keep people from enjoying life. Fear brings torment,
according to 1 John 4:18, and you surely can't enjoy life and be
tormented at the same time. I want to encourage you to take an
inventory in the fear department. What are you afraid of? Are there
any areas in your life that are being stifled because of fear?
Satan is always going to bring fear against us at various times.
It's one of his major weaponsnot a cap gun, but a cannon.Stepping
Out in Spite of Fear All of us must learn how not to "fear the
fear." The devil brings fear, but you can choose not to bow your
knee to it. David said, "What time I am afraid, I willtrustin You"
(Psalm 56:3). I believe we can say that when God leads you to step
out in an area to do something new, or leads you to make a bigger
commitment, you may (or probably will) feel fear. However, if
you're sure God told you to do it, put your trust in Him and go
forward. I have to apply this same principle to my life all the
time. Years ago, we realized that we really needed more office
space. At the same time, we needed more employees, which would
require more desks, computers, phones, etc. We had a choice. We had
prayed for growth so we could help more people. And everything did
increaseresource orders, speaking engagements, incoming phone
calls, mail, etc. It was God's timing, and He was moving. We had to
make a decision to either stand still in fear or move with God. If
we had not been willing to rent more space and hire more people, we
couldn't have kept up with the growth. I can tell you for sure that
fear tried to stop me. I heard things like, "Joyce, you're getting
in over your head." "That's too much money to spend." "What if the
increase doesn't continue?" I'm sure you know the
24. recording; you've probably heard it also. We certainly
don't want to move in the flesh or out of God's timing, but when
God is moving, you can't be afraid to move with Him. In my
situation, I had a choice to be led by my head or follow the
leading of the Holy Spirit.How Fear Works Some common fears are
fear of lack, death, loneliness, people, authority, commitment,
heights, germs, closed-in spaces, airplanes, dogs, cats, failure,
rejection, being laughed at, and even fear of being attractive. We
went to the library and got a typed list of known phobiasit was
four pages long. It even included phobaphobia, which is the fear of
being afraid. It seems that the list is endless. It convinced me
even more of how extensive Satan's work is in this area.Face Fear
and Move Forward Isaiah 41:10 says, Fear not, for I am with you. I
believe God works gently with us to bring us out of bondage and
into liberty. If you've been afraid of something and desire to be
free, the time will eventually come when you'll have to face your
fear and not run away from it. Just take Jesus' hand, acknowledge
that He is with you, and do it. If you're afraid of people with
authority, the time will come when you'll have to confront an
authority figure and not cower in fear. God will have arranged the
time. He'll be there, but you'll have to choose whether to go
through or run away. If you're at one of these crossroads in your
life, let me encourage you to go forward. Don't stand still in
terror, but take His hand and go forward. Remember, fear torments
and God wants to deliver you from all of your fears.Perfect Love
Casts Out Fear by Joyce Meyer Do you suffer from fear or
insecurity? What about the fear of lack? Are you worried that God
won't come through for you? I have been there too. I have been
literally worried sick about so many things, including my past, my
future, my finances, what people thought about me. And because I
couldn't get my mind off of my problems, I found myself in a place
of utter torment. But we do not have to fear that God doesn't love
us or that He won't come through for us in our time of need. We
need to learn to accept the reality of His love for us, so that our
fears do not control us. First John 4:18 says that perfect love
casts out fear. If you're afraid of facing a person or a situation
in your life, God's love can help you put your fears to rest.The
Cure for Insecurity Because I had been abused in my childhood and
was fearful of being hurt or taken advantage of, I became very
insecure. And I spent many years trying to control everything and
everyone in my life. Instead of trying to control and manipulate
people, I needed to learn to trust God, pray, and believe that He
would do what was best for me at the right time. Most of all, I
needed to abide in His love.
25. First John 4:16 points out that we should be conscious of
God's love. It needs to be more than just a biblical fact for uswe
need to experience it daily. Several years ago I was so desperate
for a revelation of God's love that I began to keep a journal of
the things He did in my life that I believed displayed His love. No
matter how small they were, I recorded them. When people gave me
things, I recorded it. When I was shown favor in situations, I
recorded it. When God answered prayers and did things for me that I
had requested, I recorded it This process helped me become
conscious of His love, and I began to heal. I found out that the
love of God is the cure for the insecure.Overcoming the Fear of
Lack Another major fear people face is the fear of lack. The fear
that your needs won't be metthat God won't come through for you in
time. You may be in a situation that you've never been in before,
facing all kinds of new responsibilities. You may have needs that
are beyond your resources and the spirit of fear is attacking you,
telling you that you aren't going to make it. You may feel like
nobody else cares. But God cares. In fact, Hebrews 13:5-6 says you
can trust God to come to your rescue. Even when it seems that
absolutely nothing is happening in your life, He is working.
Beloved, God has a good plan for you, and He'll manifest it right
on time. If you need financial support, He'll provide. If it's
physical support you need, He'll sustain you. If you need emotional
support, He'll comfort you. He'll nourish you and bring you back to
a place of strength. God is for you. He is not against you. Satan
is against you, but the greater One lives in you!Let Nothing
Separate You from God's Love During hard times and moments of
insecurity, Satan works overtime trying to convince us that God
doesn't love usthat if He did, either we wouldn't be in this
situation, or He would've delivered us by now. I confess with my
own mouth the truth that God does love me during these attacks of
fear. And I encourage you to say several times a day with
confidence, "God loves me!" Don't allow the devil to steal this
truth from you. Romans 8:38-39, which I pray will comfort you right
now, says: For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither
death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending
and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. As long
as you refuse to let anything separate you from God's love, you
will have the victory.Kiss Fear Goodbye and Enjoy Life's Journey by
Joyce Meyer I define hope as "the happy anticipation of good
things." Are you aggressively hoping for
26. something good to happen to you? Do you wake up in the
morning excited and expectant about life? You can do that by
learning how to celebrate and enjoy this journey called life.
Everything in life is a process in motion. Without movement,
advancement and progression, there is no life. Once a thing has
ceased to progress, it is dead. In other words, as long as we live,
you and I are always going to be heading somewhere, and we should
be enjoying ourselves on the way. God created us to be
goal-oriented visionaries. Without a vision, we become bored and
hopeless. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, according to Proverbs
13:12, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
There's something about hope that makes people lighthearted and
happy. You're not going to be happy if you don't have hope. The
more hope you have in God, the happier you become. Biblical hope is
a close relative to faith. I don't see how you can have faith
without hope because hope is the foundation on which faith stands.
Hope believes everything is going to turn out all righthope is
positive! To enjoy life you must maintain a good, positive
attitude. God is positive, and He wants positive things to happen
to each of us, but that isn't likely to happen if we're not filled
with hope and faith. Some people are afraid to hope because they
have experienced so much hurt and disappointment that they don't
think they can face any more pain. They refuse to hope so they
won't be disappointed. Disappointment is painful! Rather than being
hurt again, they simply refuse to hope that anything good will ever
happen to them. This type of behavior sets up a negative lifestyle.
Everything becomes negative because their thoughts are negative.
Proverbs 23:7 says, For as he [a person] thinks in his heart, so is
he....Your Future Has No Room For Your Past! Many years ago I was
extremely negative because of the devastating abuse that had taken
place in my past. The result was that I expected people to hurt me,
and they did. I expected people to be dishonest, and they were. I
was afraid to believe that anything good might happen. I thought I
was protecting myself from being hurt by not expecting anything
good to happen. When I really began to study the Word and trust God
to restore me, I began to realize that all of my negativism had to
go. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus says that it will be done for us as we
have believed. I believed everything was negative, so naturally
many negative things happened to me. I needed to let go of the past
and move into the future with hope, faith and trust in God. I had
to get rid of the heaviness of despair, depression and
discouragement. And I did, once I dug into the truth of God's Word!
I found out that God is ...a shield for me, my glory, and the
lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3). I began to turn my negative thoughts
and words into positive ones! Now, I am not saying that you and I
can get whatever we want by just thinking about it. God has a
perfect plan for each of us, and we can't control Him with our
thoughts and words. But we can think and speak in agreement with
His will and plan for us. We can practice being positive in every
situation that arises. Even if what is taking place in your life at
the moment seems negative, expect God to bring good out of it as He
has promised in His Word. You must understand that before your life
can change, your attitude must change. Hope is a powerful,
spiritual force that is activated through our positive attitude. We
are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all
things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and
for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and
purpose (Romans 8:28). What Satan means for harm, God intends for
good. All things work together for good for those who love God.
Satan wants to hurt you and have you spend your life distrusting
everyone because somebody hurt you when you were a child, while you
were in school, in your marriage, on your job, etc. The list of
who, what, where and how you can be hurt is endless. You have to
say, "No! That is subject to change! I am a child of the living
God! Something good is
27. going to happen to me!" [After all] the kingdom of God is
not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but
instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person
acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
(Romans 14:17). What this means is that after all the painful
things that have happened in your past have come and gone, God
still wants you to enjoy every single day of your life. This won't
happen, however, until you make up your mind to take hold of the
abundant life that Jesus' death and resurrection purchased for you.
Until then, the devil will always try to take it away. Jesus said,
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came
that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the
full, till it overflows) (John 10:10). You are a new creation. You
don't have to allow the old things that happened to you continue to
affect your new life in Christ. As a new creature in Christ Jesus,
you can have your mind renewed according to the Word of God: And be
constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh
mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature (the
regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true
righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24). Things will change
for the better when you keep your thoughts filled with hope.Rejoice
In Hope The Bible is full of hope-filled promises for you and
me.Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction)
by faith into this grace