Ironically, fear has barely had a hold of me regarding how I feel for this adventure next year (s/o to the Prince of Peace). I haven’t been afraid of fundraising because my conviction is deeply rooted in the fact that I have never once been in lack regarding financial provision, no matter how insanely tough & difficult financial situations have been in my life; God has always provided, especially with & through community. I’m not afraid of leaving AUS for 11 months because I know Abba will always be with me no matter where I am in the world, & I know part of my heart is still in a continent where it feels home, which isn’t in AUS.
If anything, the fear I have been struggling with is the fact that I will be leaving my church family & my powerhouse youth girls (& youth fam!) for almost a year. & honestly, that hurts my heart. When spiritual family impacts you, accepts you, & loves you with open arms more than others in your life, knowing you are ‘leaving’ them hurts.
Fear is stupid & I hate it. & lately, even though fear has barely been impacting me regarding next year, there are a whole bunch of scenarios in my life at present where fear is trying to thrive. It’s actually so exhausting. Through discussing this with a close friend, I’ve been re-reminded of verses & revelations regarding fear, rooting Kingdom truth’s ever more deeply in my heart, impacting & strengthening my identity.
How often do we let fear dictate how we live our life on a daily basis?
This question is relevant to everyone, because if you’re honest with yourself, fear dictates your behaviour regularly, whether it’s healthy or unhealthy fear. For most of us, because we are so comfortable to fear, we don’t even know the impact is has on our lives everyday, & because of this, we don’t associate our relevant emotions with the real root of them: fear.
To fear is to be afraid. Fear is an unpleasant emotion which is stimulated by danger, pain, harm, or holding an uncomfortable expectation for the outcome of something. In other words, in the right atmosphere, fear has the ability to distort your reality regarding an experience, past or present, causing uncertainty in your mind, distorting the truth in your heart.
We need to understand & be aware of the impact & influence fear can have in our lives, in order to slash the root of it out, & replace it through planting truth in its place.
Isaiah 54:14 states that ‘in righteousness you will be established; you will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; and from terror, for it will not come near you.’
When we partner with fear, we allow a door to be swung wide open, allowing the enemy to stroll his way in to destroy & distort our reality; to distort our perception of our identity of being established in righteousness. But the above verse from Isaiah states that when we don’t fear, we will be far from oppression. It’s not fearing that ultimately helps us not to face oppression.
In righteousness, we will be established. That’s the truth. & it’s the truth we need to plant in place of fear.
2 Corinthians 5:21 states ‘He made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’ It’s part of His purpose for us to be rooted & established in righteousness. When we establish ourselves, fully embrace & wrap ourselves in this truth, we strengthen our identity & our roots grow evermore deeply in this foundation & conviction of Truth.
When we root & focus our eyes onto the promise that we ought to become, ‘oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord’ (Isaiah 61:3, aka my absolute fave scripture), our focus will be locked into the glory of the Beautiful One, & we will not fear.
It’s similar to when Peter walked on water. As soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus & focused on the wind around him, fear entered his mind, he broke his gaze with Jesus, & he began to sink in the water. As soon as Peter grabbed onto Jesus’ hand in front of him & re-fixed his gaze onto the Prince of Peace, his fear left.
The only times in my life when fear does enter in is when I lose sight of Jesus in the midst of a situation. When I don’t allow myself to rest in his wells of Truth; his oasis & refreshment of promises in amongst the desert or in the midst of the storm.
1 John 4:18, perfect love casts out fear.
What would happen if we became so fixated on Perfect Love, that the truth of our identity & our inheritance of righteousness was established & rooted in place of fear? What would happen if we allowed the roots of our righteousness & identity in Christ to grow so deep that when fear does try to come & sway us, we won’t be shaken, for we’re solidly rooted in the foundation of the Prince of Peace.
For the longest time, one of my heart’s cries is to be known in heaven & hell as a daughter of the King: that when the winds of fear come & go, when the storms come & go, I never move. Instead, my faith, hope, & trust only grow deeper in Truth.
Let your conviction be greater than your fear. Because people who fundamentally live out their convictions, change the world.
Rest in the Beautiful One. Establish yourself in your identity in Him, in righteousness. Allow space for Perfect Love to dwell, rooting yourself evermore deeply into the realness of the Prince of Peace.
…
UPDATE!
I am 40% funded (US$7830) for next year! SO THANKFUUUL for everyone who has prayed, supported, encouraged! I only have just over US$11,000 left to fundraise!!
My adopt-a-box is still going! For all the details about it, check it out here: https://www.instagram.com/p/ByCiQR7lVi6/ if EVERY box gets filled I will reach my next deadline of $10,000!
For those of you journeying with me in prayer, here are some prayer points!
: God’s continued provision in finances. My goal is to be fully funded by December(:
: prayer for physical health & supernatural rest (!!)
: prayer for personal wisdom
: heart preparation & continued renewing of the mind in preparation of next year
: prayer for my team mates with their prep journey’s for next year too (THEY’RE THE BEST. CANNOT WAIT to meet them in 2 months! God’s so evident in my team already- so many testimonies!!)
: prayer for those we will be ministering to overseas; prayer for softening of hearts to receive the love of Jesus, prayer for open doors where the doors would usually be shut, & prayer for continued seeds to be sown
– em
