August 25, 2012 ~ Are you Afraid?

"I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." 

1 Corinthians 2:3

Thoughts ~

It seems that every time I opened email devotionals this week the authors talked about trusting God. My own blog posts have also been centered on this subject too. Probably because so many people that contact me are in need and want to trust God as they experience fear and hurt in the struggles of life.

Struggles are part of life for everyone, rich or poor and from every country around the world. Our struggles may differ, but they are certainly making our existence more difficult no matter where we live. Can you imagine not having God to talk to, to lean upon? It’s all about trusting God to hear us and then trusting He will act on our behalf. Even the spiritual giant we know as Paul struggled back in the days when he came to know Jesus.

Tonight I want to share a devotional called Grace Mail that I received today. It’s from Mark Martin, the Pastor from Calvary Church in Phoenix Arizona.

"I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." 1 Corinthians 2:3, NASB

Do you ever feel scared to do what God wants you to do? Did you know that the Apostle Paul felt the same way?

Paul is sharing his heart! He tells us that when he came to Corinth:

• He was WEAK.
• He was FEARFUL.
• He was even TREMBLING.

I'm sure you can relate to some of the troubles he had to overcome:

• He came to a strange city.
• He didn't know anyone.
• He didn't have a job waiting for him.
• He had to live with strangers initially.
• He shared his faith and was violently persecuted.
• People lied about him and threatened his life.

For a lot of us, even one of these problems would be reason enough for not serving the Lord, "I'm too weak," "I'm afraid," "I'm a bundle of nerves."

But nothing like that stopped Paul! He went on serving the Lord, understanding that these things were all reminders that he couldn't place any confidence in himself. He moved on, doing what he could for the Lord because his only confidence was in the Lord.

HERE'S WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE LOW ON CONFIDENCE:

Note the word "confidence" contains the key, it's the word "confide." When your faith or reliance is slipping, confide in the Lord. You can tell Him and He will help you.

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me." Psalm 50:15,

"I will call to you whenever I'm in trouble, and you will answer me." Psalm 86:7

"When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them." Psalm 91:15”

Action~ 

Confide in the Lord as Mark wrote above. Remember this trick when you are low on confidence: confide!

Also, read this portion of the scripture in context:

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴ and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

I especially love verse 5. “. . .so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

Pray~

Thank You, Lord, that our confidence can be in You alone. May I always confide in You when I feel fear, anxiety or start to worry. Thank You for Your POWER!

Trusting in Him,

Becky