Teaching Our Children (and Ourselves) Faith Not Fear:
1Jo 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
1Jo 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love.
I recently had a conversation with one of my teenage daughters. We discussed some of the 'scary' things her dad and I learn about when we see certain presentations about the state of the world and corruption in our own government.
Since her father and I try to stay on top of the local as well as national political scene (you have to chop your way through so much propaganda!) and attempt to educate Christians on issues of sovereignty , constitutional issues and how the Devil's crowd is pushing for one-worldism, you can imagine she gets a lot of information by simply living here. This would seem like a good thing most of the time but there is a flip side . My daughter expressed her anxiety about some of the things she has seen us watch or heard us talk about. Some of the information has caused her to be fearful and upset, something I had not counted on.
This incident also brought to mind people we have met along the way, who also were saved, Born-again folks but the whole counsel of God was 'too much truth'. Some can only handle the Sunday service and that's it.....dealing with the rest of the biblical application on their day-to-day lives is just more than they can chew. Now I'm not saying these folks are worse Christians then I am...believe me, I have more of my own downfalls than I care to number, BUT it points to out and out fearfulness which is a symptom of faithlesness in God's abilities.
I am no stranger to anxiety. Before I knew the Lord, my mental health was clearly lacking. At 21, I experienced such severe anxiety attacks and agoraphobia that it took at least a year for me to realize that I could deal with life at all. A few years later, right before my salvation, I was popping anti-depressants and seeing a therapist once a week. What helped? The Lord healed me...plain and simple. When I was saved and the Holy Spirit came into my heart and quickened me out of a certain death, He shoved out the fear, the anxiety and horrible memories that kept my mind hostage and replaced them with contentment, love and joy!
Of course, since then, there were many times when I walked off the path and allowed the enemy to take advantage but I never felt that God had deserted me-if anything, I had left his side myself. That was when I could feel the old feelings of fear and anxiety trying to take hold.
I have met many 'baby' Christians that have not allowed the Holy Spirit's healing to take place. They are fearful, pill-popping men and women who see life as a dangerous, scary place and want to will it all to just go away.
Then, I have met matured Christians who see the battle lines and come in full armour prepared for the battle. They see this life as a corridor to the everlasting one and are not anxious to meet the enemy but expect it and have their swords drawn when needed. These are the men and women we need to emulate.
Fearfulness affects ones' mind and ones' body but it is just a symptom of a relationship that lacks faith. This is what I tried to explain to my teenage daughter when she expressed her fears to me.
I tried to tell her how you need to have knowledge of the enemy you are fighting so that you can be aware of how he is undermining your efforts. I also told her that a Christian needs to be ready to fight and that faith is what will get you ready for that battle should it come into view (we all know it will eventually). The one thing I wanted to make clear to her was that inactivity is also the enemy. You have to be pro-active and care enough about lost people and scared Christians to physically do something about it. Pray,talk,write,study.....do something to call attention to God's strength and love. Point out the sin and the remedy and make time to gather up your own resources through prayer and thinking on those things which the Lord emphasizes:
Phi 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
A healthy spirit nurtured in God's Word, growing in His love and sharing that with those in need, is the balm that heals an anxious soul.
1Jo 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
1Jo 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love.
I recently had a conversation with one of my teenage daughters. We discussed some of the 'scary' things her dad and I learn about when we see certain presentations about the state of the world and corruption in our own government.
Since her father and I try to stay on top of the local as well as national political scene (you have to chop your way through so much propaganda!) and attempt to educate Christians on issues of sovereignty , constitutional issues and how the Devil's crowd is pushing for one-worldism, you can imagine she gets a lot of information by simply living here. This would seem like a good thing most of the time but there is a flip side . My daughter expressed her anxiety about some of the things she has seen us watch or heard us talk about. Some of the information has caused her to be fearful and upset, something I had not counted on.
This incident also brought to mind people we have met along the way, who also were saved, Born-again folks but the whole counsel of God was 'too much truth'. Some can only handle the Sunday service and that's it.....dealing with the rest of the biblical application on their day-to-day lives is just more than they can chew. Now I'm not saying these folks are worse Christians then I am...believe me, I have more of my own downfalls than I care to number, BUT it points to out and out fearfulness which is a symptom of faithlesness in God's abilities.
I am no stranger to anxiety. Before I knew the Lord, my mental health was clearly lacking. At 21, I experienced such severe anxiety attacks and agoraphobia that it took at least a year for me to realize that I could deal with life at all. A few years later, right before my salvation, I was popping anti-depressants and seeing a therapist once a week. What helped? The Lord healed me...plain and simple. When I was saved and the Holy Spirit came into my heart and quickened me out of a certain death, He shoved out the fear, the anxiety and horrible memories that kept my mind hostage and replaced them with contentment, love and joy!
Of course, since then, there were many times when I walked off the path and allowed the enemy to take advantage but I never felt that God had deserted me-if anything, I had left his side myself. That was when I could feel the old feelings of fear and anxiety trying to take hold.
I have met many 'baby' Christians that have not allowed the Holy Spirit's healing to take place. They are fearful, pill-popping men and women who see life as a dangerous, scary place and want to will it all to just go away.
Then, I have met matured Christians who see the battle lines and come in full armour prepared for the battle. They see this life as a corridor to the everlasting one and are not anxious to meet the enemy but expect it and have their swords drawn when needed. These are the men and women we need to emulate.
Fearfulness affects ones' mind and ones' body but it is just a symptom of a relationship that lacks faith. This is what I tried to explain to my teenage daughter when she expressed her fears to me.
I tried to tell her how you need to have knowledge of the enemy you are fighting so that you can be aware of how he is undermining your efforts. I also told her that a Christian needs to be ready to fight and that faith is what will get you ready for that battle should it come into view (we all know it will eventually). The one thing I wanted to make clear to her was that inactivity is also the enemy. You have to be pro-active and care enough about lost people and scared Christians to physically do something about it. Pray,talk,write,study.....do something to call attention to God's strength and love. Point out the sin and the remedy and make time to gather up your own resources through prayer and thinking on those things which the Lord emphasizes:
Phi 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
A healthy spirit nurtured in God's Word, growing in His love and sharing that with those in need, is the balm that heals an anxious soul.
posted by Eileen Slattery | 7:19 PM
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