Life Plan Devotion #96 [God's Armor--Helmet of Salvation, Part XIV]
Hi, Everyone.
Please pray for my daughter and grandson who will be flying to the Dominican Republic today, to visit the Dominicans and Americans for whom and with whom they ministered for several years. The journey (with several airlines, airports, and layovers) will take about 12 hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m., CST). They're very excited for this 2-week vacation, lovingly provided by the Lord.
Thank you for praying for my precious loves, and may you have a wonderful day. As always, I enjoy hearing from you. It blesses and encourages me.
Life Plan Devotion #96 [God's Armor--Helmet of Salvation, Part XIV]
The enemy doesn't have to do much more than whisper, "You're going to die!" and pair it with a potentially-serious situation, and, chances are, you will give in to the fear of death/dying. I know that has been true in my life.
I was chloroformed and raped, at the age of 15. When the memories came back, so did the fear of death. Even though the repressed memories had caused me to suffer from depression and panic attacks for more than 3 decades, I never had another panic attack after my memory was restored. While I definitely had issues to work on, to work out, to work through, I no longer feared death/dying. The reason was twofold--I realized that I had not been alone for that dark time in my life, and the enemy had not won!
King David understood danger and fear of death, as he experienced it many times. He prayed, "My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest'" (Psalm 55:4-6). Even David, the one who, as a boy, killed a giant with a slingshot and a stone, felt overwhelmed with fear of death, but he prayed through until he could testify to others to "Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22).
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, wrote about what he and his companions had suffered. He said, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered... We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death." Paul gives some perspective, though, to those difficult times, as he goes on to say, "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us" (II Corinthians 1:8-10).
When you know and trust the One with Resurrection Power, fear of death/dying will no longer have a hold on you.
Psalm 56:13
"You have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life."
What this has to do with weight loss: Our soul encompasses our mind, will, and emotions. When weighed down with many pounds of pain, death encompasses our soul, to the point where we think about it, we do the things that will bring it on prematurely, and we experience all the emotions attached with fearing a death at the hands of gluttony (our own hands). We made many attempts at fighting the fear, at making the changes necessary to turn the situation around, yet we stumbled over and over. Then God delivered us, through weight-loss surgery, and now He is helping us to keep from stumbling. The reason is so that we will live and walk before Him in the light of LIFE.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, no matter how the enemy will try to place fear of death/dying upon me, I thank You that I am never alone--You are with me always--and THE ENEMY WILL NOT WIN. You are my Deliverer, and may I walk before You in the light of life. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen."
Go forth today, trusting in the One who gave you the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) to remind you that He can and will deliver you from the fear of death/dying.
Blessings,
Mary
Please pray for my daughter and grandson who will be flying to the Dominican Republic today, to visit the Dominicans and Americans for whom and with whom they ministered for several years. The journey (with several airlines, airports, and layovers) will take about 12 hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m., CST). They're very excited for this 2-week vacation, lovingly provided by the Lord.
Thank you for praying for my precious loves, and may you have a wonderful day. As always, I enjoy hearing from you. It blesses and encourages me.
Life Plan Devotion #96 [God's Armor--Helmet of Salvation, Part XIV]
The enemy doesn't have to do much more than whisper, "You're going to die!" and pair it with a potentially-serious situation, and, chances are, you will give in to the fear of death/dying. I know that has been true in my life.
I was chloroformed and raped, at the age of 15. When the memories came back, so did the fear of death. Even though the repressed memories had caused me to suffer from depression and panic attacks for more than 3 decades, I never had another panic attack after my memory was restored. While I definitely had issues to work on, to work out, to work through, I no longer feared death/dying. The reason was twofold--I realized that I had not been alone for that dark time in my life, and the enemy had not won!
King David understood danger and fear of death, as he experienced it many times. He prayed, "My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest'" (Psalm 55:4-6). Even David, the one who, as a boy, killed a giant with a slingshot and a stone, felt overwhelmed with fear of death, but he prayed through until he could testify to others to "Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22).
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, wrote about what he and his companions had suffered. He said, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered... We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death." Paul gives some perspective, though, to those difficult times, as he goes on to say, "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us" (II Corinthians 1:8-10).
When you know and trust the One with Resurrection Power, fear of death/dying will no longer have a hold on you.
Psalm 56:13
"You have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life."
What this has to do with weight loss: Our soul encompasses our mind, will, and emotions. When weighed down with many pounds of pain, death encompasses our soul, to the point where we think about it, we do the things that will bring it on prematurely, and we experience all the emotions attached with fearing a death at the hands of gluttony (our own hands). We made many attempts at fighting the fear, at making the changes necessary to turn the situation around, yet we stumbled over and over. Then God delivered us, through weight-loss surgery, and now He is helping us to keep from stumbling. The reason is so that we will live and walk before Him in the light of LIFE.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, no matter how the enemy will try to place fear of death/dying upon me, I thank You that I am never alone--You are with me always--and THE ENEMY WILL NOT WIN. You are my Deliverer, and may I walk before You in the light of life. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen."
Go forth today, trusting in the One who gave you the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) to remind you that He can and will deliver you from the fear of death/dying.
Blessings,
Mary
"Don't tell God how big your storm is; tell your storm how BIG your God is!"
ObesityHelp Support Group Leader and Support Group Coach
ObesityHelp Support Group Leader and Support Group Coach
I have to tell you that this morning I only read the first couple of sentences than came to work to print it out and then read the rest. God is so good for being able to take you out of such a horrible situation. How victorious you must feel about being able to give this to God and saying it is yours and with you who can be against me. I feel so empowered knowing that God can and will do all he can for us if we just ask. Thanks again Mary for sharing so much with us so we can grow in Christ along with you. God will bless you I know because you are such a good and faithful servant to Him
In Christ
Karyn
In Christ
Karyn
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