See yesterday's post for notes on the first session, as well as for more information about the conference and this year's speaker, Andrée Seu. And thanks again to Kate Martin for taking these.
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Session Two: Believing God Over Your Own Self-Evaluation
Ezra 3:3 “They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.”
The Bible does not condemn you for being afraid. You will be afraid of many things that you will have to do but find God’s grace in doing it.
Addicted to Worrying?
Many of us women find problems even in the good days. We won’t let ourselves completely enjoy things because something bad might be just around the corner. And we fear that. As if worrying when things are bad and when things are good helps us.
Worrying has become an addiction. Even when things are just fine, we will still find something to worry about. We think we’ve found control or some distorted form of safety in our worrying.
It is stoicism to not allow ourselves to be completely happy or sad but tell ourselves we must always be in the middle.
The Proper Response
James 5:13 "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise."
Abandon yourself to enjoy the good gifts and give thanks to God.
Suffering is God’s way to purify us, so pain will come. But the proper response is to give thanks for the good gifts God gives us.
You Are in the Middle of the Story
Like Joseph, you can’t see all the end results when you’re in the middle of the story. But take heart that in end you’ll see. And have patience for those who are in the middle too and don’t know or see what may come of it.
Psalm 34:18, 19 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
God can’t rescue you out of trouble unless you’re in trouble. So you will be in trouble at some point and it may be that you’re there for a long time. There may be a few years between verse 18 and verse 19.
Past, Present, and Future
Eckhart Tolle, in the book The Power of Now, says that people spend most of their time either living in the past or in the future.
You cannot have contact with God in the past anymore and you cannot yet have contact with him in the future. But you can have contact with him now, in the present.
Are You in Agreement with Satan?
There are thoughts constantly swimming around our heads all day. And too many of us listen to those thoughts, which may not only be useless but also harmful.
Don’t find yourself agreeing with Satan and starting to believe the lies he would have you think on. You would never say out loud, “Yes, this is something I should start worrying about and stop trusting God in.” So why do that with your thoughts and then your actions?
Move from passive to active. Put that theology into action.
What We Do Not See
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."
All day long there are arguments that need to be cast down.
Genesis 4:7 “Sin is crouching at your door and its desire is for you. But you must master it.”
Women, be active in fighting against the thoughts that would tear you down and cause you to fear. Start by recognizing how often your thoughts will run wild and begin the disciplines of combating them with the word of God.
