These final days of December are chipping away quickly. We are counting graces as a family, settling together in a rhythm of choosing joy and looking for more of His goodness. We should have been practicing this more consistently through the months and days before now, but life sort of gets in the way.
So many things are joy-stealing and peace-breaking moments in our days, friends. So many things that we allow to bust up the holy places He calls us to stand upon. I have been reading a book by a friend who has called me to stand a little closer to His strong shadow, a little nearer the real that He beckons to become so He can be more.
But when God calls you out onto holy ground, when He dares you to obey the abandonment of the world’s dust and stand with Him as you are, what will you do?
Dare to stand.
Dare to obey.
Live abandoned to the way of the world.
Let grace win.
Bare your heart.
Expose fear for what it is.
“Take off those shoes that cover your real. Let your dirt; your calluses, and your vulnerable self stand before God… There are lessons in this place… where you bare your feet and bow your head… Expect the spirit to move… to speak your unspeakable.” Kelly Balarie- Fear Fighter
In that holy place, friend… where we dare to stand, where we are willing to bare all, we can always expect God to meet us there. Because when our posture is stripped of all worldliness, of the trappings of self (control, people-pleasing, rejection, worry, comparison) miracles are monumental, they are multiplicative, they are exponential.
To be outside of self, outside the roles we etch loose to keep our hearts safe is to be In Christ.
Self-denial…self dying… getting real…this stripping of all that fear seems to latch onto leads to getting more of God in our every moment and fear begins to look diminished in the shadow of His mercy and grace. The only alternative to the decrease of self, is the increase of God.
We decrease as we bare our selves, as we remove the burdens that weigh heavy and deep within us. As the weight of the world decreases, He will increase in our every thing. There is no lack and there is no place that fear has a stronghold when we let His light in, as we let Him breeze in and blow grace and teach us the lessons of learning how to be the daughters who speak boldness and shine truth. We will learn as we meditate on His Word, Kelly says, to be those who not only ‘speak boldness’ but speak ‘despair-halting decrees’ against the false ideals fear has built in our hearts.
In Kelly’s book, Fear Fighting, she challenges us to look at those things that cause us to shrink and shake in the sight of our advance to the throne of grace seeking mercy and begging grace. She mixes a healthy dose of His Word into the real life confessions of her heart, the lessons she has learned, and the understanding she has gained by letting God lead her in this faith walk to combat fear. With transparent grace and winsome prayerful words Kelly walks us right into those barriers we all come upon: our need to control our situations, the nagging burden worry weighs us with, the unrealistic desire to please people,the grace-stealing comparison thief, and the overwhelming hold rejection can pin upon our hearts among others.
She doesn’t just offer a quick fix with a band-aid of scripture… though that is lovely. She walks with you like a friend who is holding up prayer hands together and pulls down walls with you by getting real and baring feet to stand on holy ground together. She reminds us that we are the beloved daughters of the King who is interceding for us, beckoning us near, and showing us there is a way to regain what fear has stolen in our lives by awakening truth and reminding us of the greater One who lives inside of us.
I have asked her to share a few words with you here, at the #GraceMoments Link Up. I hope you will take time to visit her at her place of grace, Purposeful Faith, and make time to get armed to fight fear courageously with her.
Fear Fighting: Do you Live Fear or Faith?
Just yesterday, my friend told me her daughter has lice.
I hugged that girl yesterday!
Would lice go from her hair to mine? Would I be cleaning the entire house, washing every sheet and stuffed animal, and pulling a thin comb through every inch of hair on my family’s heads from now until eternity? I can’t handle this thought. Next time, fist bumps will trump hugs.
Fear is the plumbing of discontentment.
It is the spillage of hesitation and loneliness.
It is the brakes to love.
It is the bulldozer to close relationships.
It is the boundary holding you back from God’s unlimited plan for you.
Fear is the rain cloud that always follows, the homicide to all God has, the breeding ground to insecurities, the shortness of breath that wakes you up at night, the cemetery of faith, and the artery blockage to the Spirit’s leading.
Fear is wildfire makes you run so far that you find galaxies of space between you and your great maker. It is the blocked artery to faith. It is the burden that keeps persisting. It is the laryngitis to the voice proclaiming God.
I hate fear. I’ve written all about it in my new book, Fear Fighting: Awakening the Courage to Overcome Your Fears.
It makes my eyes pulsate. I get angry at it.
But, here’s the thing about getting angry – the second Ido is the second I have a deep gnawing feeling God wants to say something. Somehow, I know, if I don’t listen to it I’ll miss out on – amazing.
So, I search and uncover God’s heart. What I come to is: “Faith, dear child, faith.”
Faith says, you can. Fear says, you won’t.
Faith ignites passion. Fear depletes it.
Faith brings hope. Fear fire hoses it.
Faith changes lives. Fear wrecks them.
Faith makes Jesus shine. Fear desecrates his name.
Faith charges lives. Fear zaps them.
Faith walks in hope of eternity. Fear cowers down to death.
Faith doesn’t have to be huge. Fears always are.
Faith exalts Jesus. Fear bows down to the devil.
Faith speaks humility. Fear listens to pride.
Faith accepts grace. Fear hugs shame.
Faith knows it’s not perfect. Fear thinks God leaves the imperfect.
Faith wins every time.
Faith takes I-am-going-over-the-cliff moments and turns them around. Suddenly, you realize you aren’t going over the cliff to die, but to fly.
Where do you need faith? How can you create a second of space, before rapidly responding in fear?
I’ve found if I can just halt my response for a second, I have a second to choose God. And, when push comes to shove, even if we make the wrong choice, God knows, we always have next time. He is full of grace. He is rooting for us. There is freedom for those in Christ Jesus.
Interested in fighting fear? Join the 4 Days to Fearless Challenge!
About the book, Fear Fighting, Awakening the Courage to Overcome Your Fears:
Author and Speaker, Kelly Balarie didn’t always fight fear – for a large part of her life, she was controlled by it. Yet, in her book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears, with God, Kelly charts a new course. Join Kelly, on the journey to go and grow with Christ’s bravery, the Spirit’s counsel and God’s unending love that squelches fear. This book reads like a love letter from God, while offering practical heart-calming prayers, anxiety-reducing tips, and courage-building decrees that will transform your day. www.fearfightingbook.com
About Kelly Balarie:
Kelly is both a Cheerleader of Faith and a Fighter of Fear. She leans on the power of God, rests on the shoulder of Christ, and discovers how to glow in the dark places of life. Get all Kelly’s blog posts by email or visit her on her blog, Purposeful Faith. You can also find a variety of resources for your fight against fear here.
IT’S YOUR TURN TO BE A GRACE COUNTER! SHARE YOUR GRACE MOMENT IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND THEN COUNT GRACE WITH A FRIEND WITH COMMENT ON A BLOG OR TWO.
If you are a blogger, link up here with a post about finding grace moments in your life or one of your favorite inspiring and encouraging posts from this week. Share your thoughts in the comment section telling me about the #Grace Moments you experienced this week. *(only 1 post per link please)*
Take time to visit your neighbor next to you, and if you want visit a few more friends on the journey. We all need a little encouragement and affirmation as we travel together.
If you don’t have a blog, you can connect with me via my Journeys in Grace FB page by sharing a photo or a comment. Or you can join the party by sharing your images on Instagram with #Gracemoments hashtag.
Each week I will try visit as many of your amazing posts as I can.This is a safe place to sit and dwell in grace together, friends. I can’t wait to pour a cup of friendship with you and take in the grace moments you have to share. Don’t forget to leave a comment below, I love to hear from you.
Dawn, lovely post. This one is on my “to read” list already as I continue to read so many wonderful thoughts about it. May you and yours have a blessed 2017!
Nodding in agreement, Dawn. Kelly’s book is no “band aid,” but instead, major surgery on the areas of our heart that need God’s holy scalpel.
Thank you for having me. It is a delight to be here with you today!
Loved the book, too, Dawn! This line of yours: “There is no lack and there is no place that fear has a stronghold when we let His light in…” YES. Thanks for sharing this encouragement!!
Kelly’s words were such a great reminder that we don’t have to give in to the fears that attempt to consume us and we have already overcome. So grateful you are here to encourage me as well. Thank you!
Blessings,
Dawn