For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) God has prearranged paths for our lives, but following them is our choice. After all, today’s verse doesn’t say He forces us to walk out the paths He’s preplanned for us; it says we should.  Of course, you can do things your own way and find a level of success. But it won’t be as rich or fulfilling as pursuing God’s paths for your life. His plans are where you’ll discover your divine purpose.  That’s because He has created specific abilities and interests within you that come alive and thrive when you walk in His plans for you. Not only that, …

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:37 (NLT)  We’ve been talking over the past few days about the effects of fear. Today, let’s look at how it can cause us to hold a false self-image.  Judges chapter 6 provides a great example. Gideon was secretly threshing grain on the floor of his family’s winepress, hidden from his enemies. Suddenly, an angel appeared and announced, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” (Judges 6:12, NLT).  Shocked, Gideon countered the angel’s comment because he viewed himself as the bottom of the barrel. You see, fear causes us to believe lies. Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”  However, incredible change came over …

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  Luke 18:22 (ESV)  A spirit of fear leads us to pursue the wrong people and things.  For example, fear may cause you to avoid relationships with faith-filled, risk-taking people. They might be just the friends you need, but you feel more comfortable with people who share similar fears to yours.  Luke 18:18-23 provides an example of this. A rich young ruler approached Jesus and asked what he had to do to receive eternal life. Jesus responded by telling him to keep God’s commandments. The young man declared he had. Then Jesus addressed …

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.  Proverbs 13:12 (NLT)  God has placed specific goals and desires inside of you. If they seem consistently delayed, fear might be the root cause.  You see, our hearts grow what we put in them. If you drop one apple seed into soil, over time, it will produce thousands of apples and even more seeds. Just as soil produces greater amounts of whatever we put in it, our hearts do the same.  That’s why Proverbs 4:23 warns us to guard what we allow into our hearts. If you allow fear to creep in, you can become afraid to pursue your dreams, which defers your hopes of them ever happening.  After a few …

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 (NKJV)  Operating from a position of fear negatively affects our lives in many ways. For example, anxiety can cause us to pull away from the very blessings God wants to bring into our lives.  Numbers 14:1-10 illustrates this. After the spies Moses sent returned from Canaan, some of them spread scary stories about the people and cities they had seen there.  Instead of heading in to possess the land God had promised them, the Israelites let fear grab the reins. They panicked, then plotted to assassinate their leaders the following day and wondered if Egypt would consider accepting them back as slaves!  …