We are talking about Overcoming Fear this month. Fear was my guide nearly all my life and until I broke free from it, I didn’t realize how bound up I was until it broke loose.
Today let’s continue the conversation of fear and talk about the roles Sisters, Boundaries and Intimate Worship play.
Have you ever been driving in a new place and your GPS freezes? Oh my word it's a moment of total panic. This JUST happened to me!! I am in a Utah at a retreat with mountain highways and little detours everywhere. I have no idea how to get anywhere on my own!
We no longer live in a world of paper maps to refer back to. I am sure there is a gas station or a Cracker Barrel that has these treasure maps but for the most part, we are 100% reliant on our data downloads.
I remember holding the map in the back seat as our family set off to Family Vacations. My parents would ask us to follow along, announcing upcoming towns as they relayed to us what town we entered and then exited. We could easily track where we were and where we could go.
Today, my map is my cell phone. I don’t even have to know the exact address! I don’t even have to see where I am going in order to get there. I can blindly trust this little computer. All I need to do is ask it to simply “Take me to “here” and she plots out all the options for me in 3 seconds! And I don’t even need to think twice about it.
It’s all good until it freezes or travels into a no-signal zone, also know as SOS Mode. The connection is lost and the directions stop! Talk about panic!! There’s nothing you can do but keep moving and find that re-connection or ask someone local for help.
Have you ever entered an SOS Mode in your life?!? As a Christian, we have no need to panic. God doesn’t lead us in to a place He isn’t aware of or know precisely where you (and He) are headed.
So what do we do when we find ourselves in a SOS zone? We do not fear! We keep going in the direction we were being led and trust The Way as we go. For those of us who struggle with insecurity which leads itself into doubt and overwhelm, leading in to second guessing and mix in a layer of perfectionism aaaaand fear of failing….we freeze or turn back.
It’s okay to turn back and look where you have been, and not to should on you, but we should never return back to where we came from because we were being led from there in the first place!
Instead, we trust the place we are and what we know about the direction we were being led….and trust the knowing.
Let’s talk about our 3 helps:
Circle your fears with Sisterhood.
Sisters are your cheerleaders and your back up crew! They are the ones on the side of your race cheering you to keep moving forward and not get scared, or give up.
Sisters are also a second set of eyes on the path. I just got back from a drive through some countryside and let me tell you…it was sooooo nice to have that extra set of eyes on the road, helping me spot the deer and sheep who choose not to use the crosswalks, lol!
Circle your fears with Boundaries.
Boundaries here is all about mindset! Determining ahead of time to not give up, not quit, not shrink back into fear or old habits. Giving yourself all the grace to move in courage and faith, acknowledging yes, you’re gonna be scared or nervous, BUT GOD! It’s all bout Grace and Guts here!
Circle your fears with Intimate Worship.
When I am preparing to do something that feels scary or that I know that may trigger me to self doubt, anxiety, or fear, I surround myself in worship. In the moment, it can be declaring Scripture, putting on some worship music, praying, affirmations, anything that centers you in Hope, Faith, Love and Trust. It really is implementing the act of surrendering faith.
It comes down to trusting our Savior’s Connection as faithfully as we trust our Cellular Connection. Will you follow without knowing the exact location? The exact path? The moments when the connection feels lost? Will you still go?!?
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfareand not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
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