Day 91: Ezekiel 2:6

"And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people." ~Ezekiel 2:6, NIV

Ezekiel was a prophet living in captivity with the rest of Israel. The Babylonians had sacked Jerusalem, and most people were living in Babylon. God had told Ezekiel to tell the elders and the people some discouraging news. Ezekiel probably wasn't too pleased about that, because the Israelites tended to get a little uptight about anything that wasn't smooth talking.

But God told Ezekiel not to be afraid of them. Not only that, but twice God reminds Ezekiel not to be afraid of their words (what they say.) God encouraged him that no matter the circumstances (briers and thorns... scorpions), to not be afraid.

We are living in a world filled with rebellious people. But if God is with you, it He called you to something, don't be afraid! Don't be afraid of that rebellious people, don't be afraid of what they're saying - it's all just comparatively empty threats. Remember, you have got life eternal and a Father who loves you.

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Day 90: Matthew 10:31

"So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows." ~Matthew 10:31, NLT

Matthew 10:26-31 is one of the most quoted sections in the Bible when it comes to dealing with fear. Essentially, Jesus is telling his disciples how much they mean to God. v29 He says, "What is the human price for two sparrows - a penny? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing." (paraphrased)


God values every piece of his creation. Even if we don't appreciate something as small as a sparrow, God sees it and He cares about it. We as humans are the pinnacle of His creation; how much more does He care about us? With a love so deep and wide that we can't comprehend! (Ephesians 3:18) So don't be afraid!

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Day 89: Psalm 116:8

"He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling." ~Psalm 116:8, NLT

An easy way to move past present fear is to remember past rescues - when has God come through for you or your family before? And if you can't think of any, look no further than your Bible!

David probably wrote this psalm, and God certainly saved him from death many times! Let's see, there's lions and bears while he tended the sheep, Goliath when that time came, Saul when that time came, Philistines and other enemies of Israel, and that's just David! Jonah got saved from certain doom aboard a ship, Jeremiah got saved from dying in a sieged Jerusalem, Elijah got saved from starving during the famine...

God rescues His people. Are you not one of His sheep? Then what are you afraid of?

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Day 88: Isaiah 7:4

"Tell Ahaz, 'Be careful. Be calm and don't worry. Don't let those two men, Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah, scare you. Don't be afraid of their anger or Aram's anger, because they are like two barely burning sticks that are ready to go out.'" ~Isaiah 7:4, NCV

These are the words of the Lord given to king Ahaz of Judah through the prophet Isaiah. Samaria and Ephraim had just made an alliance, and Judah became very afraid for their safety. In light of this, God said, "Be calm and don't worry. Don't let them scare you. Don't be afraid."

Yes, God does also say, "Be careful." I often have to remind myself to use my brain and let common sense guide my steps. I'd like to believe that God will guide all of my steps - every single movement, from sending the thought to lift my foot to shifting the muscles to make the next footprint. God didn't give us rocks to think with! He teaches us how to move, and then expects us to follow Him. Don't let fear freeze you in your tracks, obey Him, take an account of all of the things He's done for you and keep going!

Day 87: Psalm 111:10

"Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!" ~Psalm 111:10, NLT

This verse connects very well to yesterday's verse. Fear of the Lord - respect and an understanding of who He is - is the foundation of the wisdom that gives peace and no fear of harm. Obeying God's commandments results in growth of this peace-giving confidence-inspiring wisdom. And here we even have one such command: praise Him forever!

Praise, lift your eyes past your problems, grow in wisdom which will give you peace to handle your fears, and grow in friendship with God - the most essential thing in life anyways.

Day 86: Proverbs 1:33

"But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm." ~Proverbs 1:33, NLT

It bears saying that in this section of Proverbs chapter 1, Wisdom is speaking through the king. Wisdom who was with God as He made the Heavens and the Earth. Wisdom that God gives as a gift. Essentially, one could say that wisdom is another aspect of who God is. (Although that's not doctrinally correct, as far as I know...)

But pulling on the string that wisdom is a gift from God, we're going to say that the "me" in the verse above is God. So all who listen to God will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm. I will emphasize yet again that this peace doesn't mean that everything's going to go right for you. Serving and listening to God doesn't mean that you're never going to fail, it doesn't mean that people won't be able to take advantage of you and it doesn't mean that you should walk alone through a dark alley at night. God's peace - His confidence - will be with you, and you won't need to fear harm. It doesn't mean you intentionally walk into dark alleys. Your brain (which God made for you!) should tell you that's a bad idea.

One thing we can remember is to listen to God, moment by moment. We might be surprised at the things He's longing to tell us, if we stopped for long enough to listen, to read His word and apply it to our life.

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Day 85: Deuteronomy 1:29

"Then I said to you 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.'" ~Deuteronomy 1:29, NIV

Here, Moses is recounting to the Israelites the events that caused the wandering in the desert. After having sent out the twelve spies to see what the Promised Land was like, the spies said a lot of things that terrified the people. But Moses knew what was up, and tried to remind Israel that God was on their side.

But the Israelites would not be comforted in the promise God had given them. They were terrified, and wouldn't go into the Promised Land as God commanded them. So He banished them to forty years wandering in the wilderness.

Will you listen to Moses' words? "Do not be terrified, do not be afraid of them." Whoever 'they' are in your life, 'they' are nothing in comparison with God. Even if 'they' are giants, even if 'they' could bat an eye and crush you without God - you aren't commanded to go without God. You are commanded to go forth in the name of Jesus and to proclaim His victory. In the name of Jesus. With Him by your side. Who exactly are 'they' to think they can separate you from God?

Don't be afraid!

Day 84: Hebrews 11:6

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." ~Hebrews 11:6, NIV

Do you believe in God's promises? Do you believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him? Do you believe that He exists?

Do you want to please Him?

Seeking Him - it can mean believing His promises. It can mean obeying His commands. If He commands you to lay every burden at His feet... (Psalm 55:22) If your burden happens to be fear, He wants to cleanse your heart of the fear and to make you strong and courageous. Yes, that can be a choice, but it's also something God wants for you.

In the end the choice to take courage comes from a choice to believe in God - or not. You can choose to believe, yes, today you can choose to follow Him! Today you can, you must make a conscious choice to believe that He is good, and that He won't let you slip, and that He does all things for your good.

Day 83: Psalm 64:10

"The godly will rejoice in the Lord and find shelter in him. And those who do what is right will praise him." ~Psalm 64:10, NLT

"Be glad, good people! Make praise your habit." ~Psalm 64:10 MSG, paraphrased

These verses - the same though they be - are telling me one thing, one simple tactic for battling fear.

Praise. It's been mentioned before, but it bears mentioning again, since it's obviously in the Bible more than once. When you're afraid, it means you've got to "get your praise on"! Remember, choosing to focus on God instead of our fear isn't a simple task. One of the ways we can remind ourselves that we're in God's hands is by praising Him. When you're looking up and glorifying God for how good He is, and how much He loves you, it's a lot easier to look past whatever it is that's scaring you. In light of the God you're praising, that fear should be pretty insignificant.

I mean, praise doesn't have to be singing or playing music before God. God made people versatile for a reason. Singing, playing instruments, these are modern standards for the worship of God. Dancing, writing, drawing, taking pictures, running, playing in the snow; these can worship God with just as much passion as singing or playing an instrument. As long as it puts emphasis on who God is and gives Him glory, it is worship, and it pleases Him and will give you a new perspective.

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Day 82: Isaiah 26:4

"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal." ~Isaiah 26:4, NIV

There are a lot of recurring images in the Bible, and most of them have to do with God. Because He is impossible to truly comprehend, the prophets and kings and God Himself use pictures to describe different aspects of who He is. In today's verse, He is the Rock eternal. In the times that this was written, one thought of a rock as an unchanging, immovable, solid foundation or building material. An eternal rock then does not change to erosion, does not crumble under pressure, and cannot be moved.

These are attributes of the God we choose to trust. Since He was loving yesterday, He is loving today. Since He was merciful yesterday, He is merciful today. None of your problems, none of your faults faze Him. He made you and He loves you, and He wants to help you move past whatever's in your way. And He can, if you let Him.

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Day 81: Psalm 143:9

"Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me." ~Psalm 143:9, NLT

In choosing to trust God, we can always remember one truth - God is with us everywhere and we can talk to Him when and wherever. We can ALWAYS take comfort in Him, and no matter what's going on we can run to Him to hide us. We can - we must ask Him for help.

He loves us, remember? He wants what's good for us! And He will rescue us, in one way or another. He's already died for us, He wants to know us and for us to know Him. And if there's anything we can take from the history books (aka the Bible) it's that He can do anything, and consequently we can do all things through Him. (Philippians 4:13)

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Day 80: Hebrews 9:15

"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." ~Hebrews 9:15, NIV

As Christians, we are under the new covenant. Christ died and paid the price of our wickedness, and since we have accepted Him as our personal Lord and Savior we have been called to serve Him. Now according to the verse above, "those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance".

No matter what happens to you, as long as you have Christ, you're a part of the eternal inheritance - life everlasting as you reign with Jesus. He set us free from the old way and brought us into the new. If David could trust God under the old way how much more can we trust Jesus under the new? God's love never fails, and any fear you have is ultimately irrelevant (even if you can't see it now) when compared with the love He has for you.

There is always hope because there is always Jesus.

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Day 79: Proverbs 28:1

"The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one's after them; Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions." ~Proverbs 28:1, MSG

Honest people. Also known in other Bible versions as "righteous" people. They are marked by a relaxed, confident manner, as opposed to wicked people who are ready to run off at even the slightest provocation.

See, in today's verse I see something I desire. I desire to be the type of person who walks around as bold as a lion. We've already had the discussion about lions in Daniel, so remind yourself what a lion is and how majestic they are. Now remember that's who you can be - if you want to. If you live with God, if you trust in His promises, YOU can be a lion! Relaxed and confident in who God is and how much He loves you, you can stand up to any and everything.

And that's exactly what God calls us to do.

Even when we fail sometimes, even when other people or other things tell us otherwise, we can choose to walk around with confidence and faith in a God who can take us beyond our best. It really comes down to whether or not you believe what God says about you. And oh the things He says! Oh how good He is!

Go through the Psalms - how about starting with Psalm 23, or Psalm 145? Find your own favorites. Read them. Believe them. Talk to God about them. Ask Him to help you, and start walking around in the confidence of His love. It's the most powerful thing you've ever seen.

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Day 78: Psalm 32:7

"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." ~Psalm 32:7, NIV

We can go to God with any problem, any trouble, any fear, and He will protect us. When the world closes in, we can take sanctuary in the peace of who He is. We can sing songs of deliverance - because that's what God does to those who love Him. He delivers them.

The thing I find remarkable about the psalmists is the assurance they exude through their words. For example, look at the verbs in this verse. "You are my hiding place; you will protect me... and surround me with songs." To my untrained eye it would seem that despite the fact that they are describing true facts about God, they had to choose to believe that these facts were true and would apply to them in any and all situations. We can do the same!

Another thing I like is the direct approach in this verse towards God. It's "You are" as opposed to "He is." It makes things a little more direct and personal, which is a part of who God is. It's also in the present tense - "You are", at this very moment, my hiding place. Brilliant, isn't it?

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Day 77: Psalm 118:9

"[It is] far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities." ~Psalm 118:9, MSG

This verse is a statement of self-evident truth - trust God, and no one else, even if they're famous and well known for positive reasons. Even if they are rich and good, they aren't worth trusting in completely; you can't take refuge in their words like you can the Bible.

Only God knows where you are and where you're going. And He'll guide you there. We have to choose to trust in the One we can't see rather than they whom we can. And we can.

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Day 76: 1 Samuel 23:15-17

"While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 'Don't be afraid,' he said. 'My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.'" ~1 Samuel 23:15-17, NIV

Often times when we look to the Bible to find examples of friendship, we find ourselves coming time and time again to David and Jonathan. It's no wonder why: their friendship didn't get weaker when Jonny's dad, King Saul, decided to kill David; it grew stronger. And as we can see from the above verses, they are very good examples for how our friendships can be.

Put yourself in David's shoes. You've been working faithfully for your employer (king) for however many years, winning his battles and making his company (kingdom) prosperous. God has anointed you the next CEO of the company, but you don't mind waiting until your employer retires; after all, you feel like you can do a lot more for the company while you're out in the real world anyways. Thanks to you, the company is flourishing, growing, and becoming very much more than stable. And yet, despite all of the work you uncomplainingly do for your employer, he fires you. Not only that, but he decides he's going to kill you.

That was Saul: jealous and terrified of David. How different from Jonathan!

That's where we're coming from in these verses. David's hiding from Saul because he doesn't want to get killed. He's confused, and hurt that Saul wants to kill him. But look at what happens next: "Saul's son Jonathan went to David and helped him find strength in God." Ladies and Gents, that is friendship as God wants to see it! (In my opinion anyways, I'm not God.) It's Jonathan who reminds David of God's will for David's life, it's David's friend who reminded him that God was taking care of him. He didn't need to be afraid; God was his strength and God would see His plan through.

Today, I'll be a Jonathan reminding you, "Don't be afraid! God does have a plan for you and if you follow Him He will follow through on all of His promises. He promises to give you a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) He will guide you wherever you are. (Psalm 139:9-10) And He loves you. (John 3:16)"

If you're feeling down or scared, I recommend finding a Jonathan figure in your life - someone who knows and loves God, and who sees you much the same way God does. And when they're down be a Jonathan for them - remind them what it says in God's word, and what that means in their life. Jesus may be the most important friend we'll ever have, but He gives us many of said friends so that we can spread His love in a real way.

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Day 75: 2 Kings 25:24

"Then Gedaliah assured the officers and their men, giving them his word, 'Don't be afraid of the Babylonian officials. Go back to your farms and families and respect the king of Babylon. Trust me, everything is going to be all right.'" ~2 Kings 25:24, MSG

The context for this verse is a little more complicated than all of the verses to date. You can read 2 Kings 25 to get a basic understanding of what was going on in Israel (Babylonians had taken over Israel) but in order to understand who Gedaliah is - and whether or not he was lying when he proclaimed his reassurances - we need to go to Jeremiah 39 and 40.

After the Babylonians had crushed military resistance in Israel, they left the poorest of the poor in Judah and let them tend to the crops. Babylonian Army General Nebuzaradan had left Gedaliah and a Babylonian representative as governor of Israel. Jeremiah was placed in Gedaliah's care, and some people think Jeremiah may have even recommended him as a governor to the Babylonians. In any case, this is the clever guy who's telling Israelite military that they can relax. The war's over. Israel has lost for now.

All of the prophets of that time - Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc, were telling the Israelites to accept the Babylonian rule. For a time of course, because God's plan was to rescue his people again. God proclaimed that the Israelites would be in Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Thus, "respecting the king" would mean for the officers that they would be obeying God's orders. (See Jeremiah 25:11.)

Now that's all nice and dandy, but we're not in Babylonian captivity. And Gedaliah isn't God. But if we compare the "Babylonian officials" to someone else in our times - anyone or anything else, we can see that God has not called us to live in fear of those things. We can respect them, especially if they're people (God made them in His image too!) but the only Master of our lives should simply be God. And He is good. And with Him, we need never fear again. And we don't trust in Gedaliah's words that all will be well, because sometimes it won't. But we can and should trust that God will be with us through it all, and that He is our strength and even if we lose it all, He's still worthy to be praised.

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Day 74: Exodus 1:21

"Because the nurses feared God, He gave them families of their own." ~Exodus 1:21, NCV

Here at the beginning of Exodus, Israel has been in Egypt for a couple hundred years. Nobody really remembers what Joseph did to save Egypt, and the Israelites have become the Egyptian's slaves. Two Israelite nurses (aka "midwives") were helping Israelite women give birth.

Now the Egyptian Pharaoh was afraid of the Israelites, because there were so many of them. (Hence they were made slaves.) In order to curb the rise of the Israeli population, the Pharaoh told those midwives to watch when babies were being born, and to kill baby boys. The baby girls would get off fine, but Pharaoh didn't want any more strong men, because then a revolt would surely be successful. But because the two nurses feared God, they disobeyed the Pharaoh and let the boys live too.

Now wait a minute, I thought that it says in the Bible that people are to honor their rulers? Disobedience =/= honoring authority! But whether or not the authority is not honoring God, we must. We must read the Bible and seek for God's will in every situation to know what we are to do.

Back to the story, because it gets better. Pharaoh apparently hears about these two midwives letting the boys live, because he calls them in and asks them, "Why are you disobeying me and letting baby boys live!?" V19, The nurses said to him, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can get there.” Wow! They sure were adamant about following God's will!

And now we come to the above verse: because the two nurses obeyed God's will and honored Him over the Pharaoh, He gave them families of their own. And since it doesn't say in the Bible, it makes me wonder if any of them were boys. What can we take from this? First and foremost, obey God! When we die, it ain't the Police or the President who's going to be judging us at Heaven's gate, it's God. And it ain't your friends or your teachers or your parents who died for you, it was Jesus.

Now I'm not advocating outright rebellion - I'm telling you to use the lovely brain that God gave you, talk with the Holy Spirit, and determine God's will for yourself. If the authorities of the world are telling you to do something against the Bible, don't do it! But how can you know what the Bible says? You gotta read it, memorize it, and keep it on your heart. That's one way that we can know God's will; through what He says in the Bible. Since it says, "Thou shalt not steal," then you'd best not pocket that iPod from the store, despite what your friends say. Since it says, "Thou shalt not cheat," then even if your teacher can't catch you, you'd best not peek over at the test next to you.

God will bless you for obeying Him first, and He's not going to let the world get the best of you for it. Don't be afraid to stand up for what's right!

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Day 73: Proverbs 16:3

"Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." ~Proverbs 16:3, NLT

I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who fears failure more than almost anything else. As cowardly as it sounds, all too often I find myself backing out of an event or course of action if there's a possibility of failure. (Hmm, I think I need to fail more often.)

But say you're starting a business, where failure equates to no dinner on the table. If your plans fall through, the losses could be crushing. Not to mention you'd miss dinner for a short while.

All right, all right, maybe not. But for ME at least - the one with a fear of failure - this verse is a comfort. It tells me that if I've got my eyes set on the Lord and I'm following through His plan that I will succeed. And seeing as this is a Proverb (of Solomon, I believe,) it was written as a piece of wisdom for a young child stepping into adulthood. And since the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10) this particular piece of advice comes straight from a desire to please God.

Committing something to the Lord means two things - one, you stop trying to control it, and two, you follow God's plan for the procedure instead of yours. Letting go of control is especially difficult, mostly because it means we have to trust God completely with the plan, whatever it is. This isn't such a big deal because God is a good God and takes care of us when we trust Him, but the trusting is the hard part when you're sitting at the table and the plates are empty.

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Day 72: Deuteronomy 1:21

"Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don't be afraid! Don't be discouraged!" ~Deuteronomy 1:21, NLT

"Look!* God has placed His plan for your life right under your nose. Don't shirk from it, don't be afraid of the fact that it's a little bit (or a lot) out of your comfort zone - God promises that if you take the first step He'll fill in and do what you can't.

Don't let this plan intimidate you! Don't let giants and the exaggerations of ten spies get you down! Listen to the two little voices of Joshua and Caleb that say you can occupy this land. It's your birthright, it's your destiny, whatever you want to compare it to - it's God's purpose for you. Don't be afraid. Take courage in the fact that God is gonna stick up for you, because like we said yesterday - God's plan for you might not be an easy one, but it is good."

*ultimate paraphrase of above verse. Not to be taken as the Bible, but as a supplement to what's already there. I'm only human, everything written might not be right.

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Day 71: Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28, NIV

This is one of those beautiful self-explanatory verses. It promises that those who love God and are following His purpose for them will be under God's wing. Even if you're undergoing a really rough patch, "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him." He's working overtime to craft you into the very best person I can become, using circumstances that you might wish to avoid. (Moving far out of your comfort zone, anyone?)

But if we really love God, we've got to trust that even in the blackest situation, He's doing something good to/for us. It's a good thing to serve our God. Keep on keeping on!

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Day 70: Exodus 15:11-13

"Who is like you among the gods, o Lord - glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies. With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home." ~ Exodus 15:11-13, NLT

This is the God I serve. A God "glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders," one who has "unfailing love" for "the people [He has] redeemed." This is the God taking care of me. This is the God who protects me. This is the God who loves me. This is the God I trust.

This is not a complete picture of my God, but it is an encouraging one, is it not?

Day 69: Deuteronomy 31:8

"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you." ~Deuteronomy 31:8, NLT

I like this verse. In fact, I really like all the verses where Moses tells Joshua to be "strong and courageous," even though this isn't exactly one of them. But it is Moe talking to Josh, and it is a promise that God made to Joshua, and makes to His people. He won't just send an angel ahead, He "personally" with see to it that what needs to happen, happens if we obey Him. He says "do not be afraid or discouraged" by anything that the world and/or the Devil can throw in your face.

We have to choose to not be afraid or discouraged by the things that happen in life. We have to choose to believe that God is personally going ahead of us. We have to choose to believe that He will be with us, that He will never fail us or abandon us - even if all of the human evidence says otherwise. We say "I have to choose" because these things won't "just happen" by accident. They'd probably never happen on their own, because these are the things that the Devil doesn't want anybody to believe. If I lived my life in the full confidence and knowledge that God is ahead of me, that He's with me, and that He'll never really fail or leave me (even though it may feel like it) would the Devil stand a chance? No! His lies wouldn't even register in my mind. Alas that I am human.

I'd like to tell you today, "don't worry, don't let life get you down. You don't belong here on this Earth, Jesus has gone ahead and prepared a home for you in Heaven. He will be with you because He loves you, and even if He doesn't do things the way you wished He would, hold on to the undeniable fact that He will never leave you alone to fend for yourself, and that He will never ever let you down in the long run. Whatever trials you face today, rest assured that you will be able to look back someday (maybe even tomorrow) and marvel at how God took care of you."

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Day 68: Zephaniah 3:12

"Those who are left will be lowly and humble, for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord." ~Zephaniah 3:12, NLT

In the verses leading up to this one, God is talking about how corrupted Jerusalem has become. He (or Zephaniah) describes how even after God has poured out the fiery cup of His justice, the people still get up "early to do their wicked deeds" v7. So God says that "all the earth will be devoured by the fire of my jealousy" v8, He will "purify the speech" v9 of His people, and He will "remove all proud and arrogant people." Cue the verse above.

Who's gonna make it through God's wrath? The lowly and humble. But that's not the point for today, the point is that those who trust in the name of the Lord are gonna make it through. Again, the opposite of fear is trust. When life sucks, when it's all crashing down, when you feel alone, then there's only one thing to do: believe that God is good and that He's got a plan to make the best of your impossible situation.

He will get you through, and in the end you'll be in God's city, with those who also had the guts to trust Him. Later, in v15, it says "the Lord himself will live among you." This is probably referring to Jesus, and the point is that God Himself will be the one taking care of you. He's gonna get rid of the baddies in your life, and He will protect you, and He will comfort you. The other thing I will extract from this verse is that you won't be alone - there will be others who can help you; you're not the only one in this city, God's people have to stand up for and with one another.

One of the Devil's strongest tactics is to isolate God's children and to attack them in the silence of their loneliness. When I say isolate, I mean that he separates you from God, he separates you from other Christians, and in the darkness of your own soul he tries to destroy you. Don't let him win! Believe!

He'll save you, if you let Him. He loves you.

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Day 67: Proverbs 8:13

"If you respect the Lord, you will also hate evil. I hate pride and bragging, evil and lies." ~Proverbs 8:13, NCV

Our lives as Christians need to revolve around one thing: our relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the Lord. In other versions, this verse says "fear the Lord" instead of "respect." Part of our relationship with Christ (and subsequent courage given from Him in trying situations) says that we need to obey His commandments - if we respect Him and what He stands for, we will hate evil. What is evil? According to this verse directly, there's three specific things:

- pride

An emotion or state of being where a person thinks so highly of him/herself that God takes second place.

- bragging

A direct descendant of pride, bragging takes the extra step of vocalizing the strongest parts of your pride.

- lies

Satan is the father of lies - so if we're gonna hate lies, we gotta hate him. Or at least what he's done...

Now this is stretching the verse a bit, but I'm going to do opposites - if I am to HATE EVIL, then I must LOVE GOOD.

The opposite of pride is humility, the state where a person is modest and respectful of others, and does not pass judgement on them. It also involves being content with oneself.

The opposite of bragging is, uh, complimenting. (I guess?) Seeing the strongest positive qualities in others and vocalizing your appreciation of those qualities.

The opposite of lies *drumroll please* is truth! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light. He gave the Bible and His own example to follow.

Living in a relationship with Jesus is one practical way to eliminate your fear in real time, because He gives us all we need. Maintaining our relationship is vital!

Image: Fotopedia

Day 66: 1 Chronicles 28:20

"Then David continued, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly.'" ~1 Chronicles 28:20 NLT

Sometimes when I'm afraid to do something, it's because of a fear of failure. What it I don't do it up to everyone's expectations? What if I ruin someone's day? What if people laugh at me? What if, what if, what if I fail? This is probably the situation Solomon may have fallen in.

But Solomon's dad had the right idea. He split up the task into three simple-sounding things.

DO

- be strong

- be courageous

- the work

DON'T

- be afraid

- get discouraged

BECAUSE GOD

- is with you

- will not fail you

- will not forsake you

- will see to it that everything is finished correctly

I think there are two most important things to take from this. #1, grit your teeth, and DO the work. Even if you're afraid, even if you get discouraged, just DO it. #2, if God told you to do something, and you just DO it, He'll make sure that everything is finished correctly. He won't let it fail. Even if you thought it failed, take something, learn, and move on. God uses human failure for the furthering of His kingdom too. Believe that you did the right thing by obeying, let God handle the rest, and keep on keeping on!

Just sayin', Solomon worked on the temple. God made sure it was finished correctly. And it was amazing.

Day 65: Psalm 11:1

"I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, 'Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety?'" ~Psalm 11:1 NLT

"I trust in the Lord for protection." Kinda sounds like a mantra... repeat it until ya believe it! I can just hear the disbelief in David's voice as he says the second half of the verse. He trusts in the LORD! What safety does a mere mountain provide in comparison with the Lord's faithfulness? How about the Lord's unfailing love?

I believe there's a Jesus Culture song called "Our God Never Fails." I know that the things of the earth fail. My notes fail me during a test. The speed of my handwriting fails me in class. I fail myself and others all the time. My computer fails when I NEED that research paper. But God never fails. And that's why David scoffs the idea of fleeing to a mountain, when he's got God.

Sometimes though, I've noticed that God can use earthly things. My parents fail, sometimes. But God is still with them. I can trust in my parents to a certain degree, because God is in them, because God is using them to parent me. God sometimes can give earthly things to help us - health, money, a house, a plane-ticket. God will use all sorts of tools, but as long as we trust in Him and give Him the glory when it's all said and done, then we're on the right track.

Day 64: Proverbs 12:25

"Anxiety weighs the heart down, but a kind word cheers it up." ~ Proverbs 12:25 NIV

Sometimes when I read Proverbs, I get this feeling like "well that was obvious." Verse 17 says "an honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies" and it's, well, obvious. Honest = truth, false = lies. This verse feels kinda obvious, but I still really like it.

Why?

Because it gives me something I can do! I can find a kind word! And even better, I can give kind words to others when they're weighed down. Anxiety is a very inhibiting thing, it takes what I am capable of doing and lowers it down four or five or twenty notches. For example, I've been worrying about moving to the States. This worry has been inhibiting my ability to really enjoy the time I'm having now, because I'm so weighed down by my future! (I know, I'm a fool. Wasting my precious few moments in Poland worrying about something that hasn't happened yet, how absolutely foolish!)

I've done my homework though, and I've found kind words. A lot of them are in the Bible! (Yet another reason to read it.)

If YOU'RE reading this and feel like you could use an encouraging word, I'd like to remind you of a few things that just might help. (They've helped me.)

GOD MADE YOU SPECIAL

Oh no! I just quoted Veggie Tales... *headdesk* But it's true. I know I've heard the saying "You're unique, just like everybody else" a gazillion times at my school. It's a bit disheartening. But God chose, very specifically, to put you exactly in the place you are now. He didn't choose to put me there, He didn't choose to put Billy Graham there, He didn't choose to put Peter or Paul there, He chose you. You are the perfect fit for His plan. Yeah, it's not always going to be easy. But the passions and desires in your heart are perfect gifts from your perfect Father, from God. I like to play guitar, and I know there's like, several million guitarists out there in the world. But I was the only one of them (who didn't have a broken arm) who led worship for Youth from August 1st to August 12th in Budapest, Hungary 2011 at Impact:Now. God used my talent to reach people that none of the several million guitarists could reach. And if you let Him, He'll use you to influence the people around you. People truly underestimate their value; you are God's precious. His heart breaks if He loses you, and He'll spend your entire life trying to find you again. Which leads us to:

GOD LOVES YOU VERY MUCH!

I realize this is a really abstract statement. And well... it's always been kind of obvious to me, growing up as an MK and all. But think about what this means. If God is the guy who made the universe and everything in it, He's big. He has a lot of things to think about, and you might feel that you're probably not very high on His list. You're wrong. God sent His own son, for you. And God didn't just send Jesus so that He could tell you all sorts of encouraging things, He sent Jesus to suffer and to die for your sins, just so YOU could have a chance at choosing Heaven. He did this because He loves you, and I promise, He really wants to give you the best life possible! And no, the best life won't necessarily include $1 million dollars and the perfect spouse with perfect children. It will be filled with God and His love for you, though. HE is the one who will make it the most incredible, and He'll bless you with what you need. (Just to clarify, what you need and what you want are two completely different things.)

YOU CAN DO IT (with God's help)!

In the New Testament, God promises that He'll never tempt you with more than you can flee from (with His help). In the Psalms, He promises that He'll never "leave nor forsake" you. In the New Testament, Paul writes that he can "do all things through Christ." What am I trying to say? You'll make it. We've already established it'll be hard, but you're not alone! Once you've accepted Jesus into your life, He's with you, and He's with you for good. (Unless you reject Him, but we're assuming that won't happen. Because YOU CAN PERSEVERE!) For me, this means that I can do it, when I move to America, I can make friends, I can get into a good college, I can still be moved and influenced by Jesus! I CAN! I won't be able to do it alone. But that's where Jesus comes in. That's how our relationship grows. And you know what? YOU CAN TOO! Because God believed in you enough to put you exactly where you are right now, He'll give you what you need to be able to do it, if you let Him! And if God believes in you, then for all it's worth, I believe in you too!

Here's a challenge: Give a kind word to someone around you. Let them know that God made them special, that He loves them very much, and that they can do it!

Day 63: Psalm 119:41-42

"May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise; then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word." ~Psalm 119:41-42 NIV

Psalm 119 is chock full of incredible verses. These are just two of them - I highly recommend reading the other hundred-or-so that make this Psalm the longest chapter in the Bible with a journal, a pen and a heart that's ready to listen.

Ready?

David did not have a very peaceful life. In fact, his life was so bloody that God wouldn't let him build the Temple. But he wrote Psalms, and in those Psalms he tells of God, and He talks to God. He tells God that sometimes it was hard, being king and all, being the youngest son of Jesse and all, being best friends with Jonathan and all, being a father and all, etc. He got taunted. His brothers probably jeered at him and told him he was a good-for-nothing shepherd. David's brothers might have intimidated him, just like our problems can intimidate us. David had a lot of brothers, we have a lot of problems.

David also knew that God was the answer to all of his problems. David knew that God was the only one who could save him from those problems. And David knew that God's unfailing love is the one thing to fall back on not only when all else fails, but all the time. So he did what God wants every child to do: he asked for help. Asking for something means we admit that we can't handle it on our own. It tells God that we are aware that He is all powerful. It means we have to trust God, we have to trust that He's bigger than our problems and that He can take rescue us.

It all starts with a choice to ask for help. And "according to His promise" His unfailing love will come. His confidence will come. He will take care of you.

Day 62: Proverbs 14:26

"Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge." ~Proverbs 14:26 NIV

Children pick up on a lot of adult emotions - especially stress and/or depression. If a parent is stressed, the child can also become stressed. If a parent is depressed, the child can also become depressed. But if the parent is confident in the love and faithfulness of God... the child can also tap into that trust, and won't be stressed or depressed. I suppose that the same is true of family and close friends. Human empathy causes us to pick up on other's emotions, and to mimic those emotions. We can be a positive influence on the people around us by choosing to believe that our God will protect us, and will use everything that happens to further His kingdom through us.

You can pray the words below, if you'd like!

Dear Jesus, I ask today that You would help me to choose to focus on You. Don't let my mind think about the things that paralyze me, but help me to stay aware that You have a perfect plan for me and that everything that happens, happens as a part of Your purpose. Remind me every moment that You can use the good, the bad, and the frightening events in my life to shape me into Your image.

God, if and when I start dwelling on things that scare me, please remind me that I can choose not to think about those things. Remind me that I can choose my thoughts, and that I can choose to believe that You are my secure fortress, that You will protect me and that I can do all things through You.

Thanks, and amen!

Day 61: Isaiah 51:5

"I will soon show that what I do is right. I will soon save you. I will use my power and judge all nations. All the faraway places are waiting for me; they wait for my power to help them." ~Isaiah 51:5 NCV

Wow... I can't believe it's March already. It's mind boggling!

*Ahem* the speed time flies by aside, this verse is written from God's perspective, to Israel. They were having a lot of problems because they didn't listen to God. They were sinning. They were disobeying. They couldn't hear Him anymore! They doubted His judgement.

But I am a Gentile. Even if I'm in a faraway place from the Israelites, hopefully I am listening and obeying God. I'm waiting for his power to help me. Because God always does the right thing. In fact, He's the one who decides whether or not anything is right. And He loves his people, and He wants to help them.

He wants to save us. He died to save us. He'll save us soon, from all of our fears. In the meantime, all we've gotta do is trust in the truth of that promise.