Where Do I Begin

Here is this weeks devotional ladies!

Stay Blessed!
Megs

Where Do I Begin

I cannot seem to stop pondering the idea of dying to self. I’m ashamed to admit I think about it more often on some days than others.
Do you ever have days, maybe even weeks, where you are in limbo in your walk with the Lord? You are overwhelmed and you do not know where to begin. You become despondent and then fear sets in.
My tendency when I get this way is to withdraw. I call it ostrich syndrome. Stick your head in the sand and “it” will go away! You say, “Great defense their sister!” It is what I have done when I was afraid or overwhelmed since I was a little girl. Believe me when I tell you, it has NOT served me well.
So where do you begin? Beloved, you begin with Faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. Have you ever thought about that verse? The evidence of things not seen. Believing in someone, that you cannot see, but still knowing He is there because the evidence is there. A changed life, answered prayers, peace you cannot explain when your prayers are not answered the way you want them to be. This is all evidence of the One we cannot see.
I do not believe in coincidence. God oversees everything in my life down to the smallest detail. I finished this devotional early in the week. By the end of the week the Lord had let me know once again that He not only hears my prayers, but also is answering my prayers about a situation that has required a great amount of faith for me to endure.
Do you know an ostrich can run up to 35 mph and it can keep that speed for up to 30 minutes?! Why in the world would it stick its head in the sand when it knows the enemy is approaching? Fear beloved. “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.” 1 John 4:18. We all know where torment comes from and it is not from the Saviour. It is from that evil one who desires to destroy us, or at the very least, cripple us so that our work for the Lord is not what it should be.
Fear is the opposite of faith. Succumbing to fear is living by the flesh. Choosing faith is living by the spirit. Believing and trusting in what we cannot see, in what we cannot understand, that is faith. That is dying to self. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength”. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint”. Isaiah 40:29 & 31. I have experienced this power and strength. I have experienced the blessing of the peace that passes all understanding that comes from choosing to have faith in my Saviour. I have also experienced the crippling fear that comes when I see the enemy coming and I choose to stick my head in the sand.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Our faith and our fear not only affect our own life, but the lives of those we love most dearly. In the weeks to come we are going to look at some ladies in God’s Word who diligently sought Him. If these ladies had chosen to live by their flesh it would have cost them their lives and the lives of those they loved. These ladies chose faith sister. Will you?