Be Strong - Take Courage

Deuteronomy 31:6 (The Message)

 6 "Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you."

2 Timothy 1:7 (Amplified Bible)
  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and
 discipline and self-control.

W

hat are you afraid of?  Being alone or feeling rejected?  Authority, truth, exposure, competition or confrontation?  What makes you, back up, turn around, or bow down?

Everyone experiences fear.  Actually, fear is not all bad.  Some of the emotions attached to fear are meant to serve as a “warning” when you are embarking on dangerous territory.  But what I am addressing now, is that fear that causes us to quit, or to be quiet when we should speak out, even the fear of success.

 If you do not put fear in “check” with the truth of the word of God, it becomes an immobilizing force, stopping you dead in your tracks, causing you to take unnecessary detours.  You must examine your fears. I found that many of my greatest fears were imagined.  It’s like the story of the ferocious barking dog that scared a young schoolgirl every day, causing her to detour from the shortest route home.  One day, she got tired of going around that dog, and decided to meet it face to face. Well, upon approaching the dog, looking it dead in its face,  she discovered the dog had no teeth. 

Except you take hold of the truths of God, your mind is a playground for the devil.  Don’t allow any fear, real or imagined, to keep you from experiencing the life that God has promised you. There is nothing like the feeling of having accomplished something you did not think you could do, or that others told you, you would never do.  Take it from me, a schoolgirl at heart!

Copyright 2011 - Victoria L. Burse    Visit me online at www.victoriaburse.com or on facebook at facebook.com/victoria.burse