What fear needs to be “cast out” of your life?

What fear is keeping you from exercising the spiritual gift God has given you?

What fear is so crippling that it grips you and renders you paralyzed and unable to move forward?

What fear in your life is becoming so debilitating that it is stronger in you than the spirit God has given you?

For me, it took a crumpled piece of yellowed paper for God to cast out the fear that was keeping me from accomplishing His purpose.

As I faced walking into a setting that holds opposition to me, I began to let fear take hold, and I became confused and even questioning what I was supposed to speak! 

I do not know what gift God has blessed you with and asked you to use for His glory and for the growth of His kingdom, but for me it is, ‘Speaking His Truth in Love.’ I had already said yes when asked to speak at this event and I had already spent weeks in prayer and study of God’s Word(His Truth), and was convinced that what I had prepared was what He wanted me to share!

But as the day drew near(the literal night before), the questioning turned to doubt, and the doubt turned to fear.

I had all these pages that I had prayed over and studied staring me in the face. I had a beautiful PowerPoint presentation with the perfect graphics and versus, but my fear was louder! It began pounding in my ears like a stick on a drum. 

BAM! BAM! BAM!

It became louder and louder until it sounded so deafening that I was sure I was supposed to change my message!

As I began “tweaking” this message, I was sure no one would receive, I was reminded that I had spoken years ago on a similar subject, and I had points prepared inside of the oldest Bible that I own.

This Bible sits by my bedside and is truly my “security blanket“ in every sense of the word! My grandma, my spiritual angel, gave it to me when I left for college. It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and it has served to be my CONSTANT in every way!

God gave me a beautiful FIND that day!

I know that’s a strange word, but I can’t think of it in any other way. 

As I was struggling through the “right“ way to say things and the “right“ versus to use and the “right” way to act,  I was praying for the right scripture and I went to my security blanket… My NASB Bible that my grandma gave me. 

It’s not leather bound and it’s completely falling apart! I’ve glued the back together and it has a cover on it, but I keep it by my bed and it truly is my security blanket. 

I begin leafing through the pages, even though so many of them are literally separated and falling apart almost frantically, like I am searching for some lost treasure or something! I needed God to say something to me!

For some reason, I decided to put my hands in the side where the cover is over the back of the Bible and I felt something crunching! It wouldn’t come out and I almost gave up, but I kept pulling at it and when I pulled it out, it was a piece of paper that had my maiden name on it. The paper was yellowed from age, and it said…

Lisa Dye

Read I John 4:18&19

People, I have been married this year for 40 years! I have not been Lisa Dye for a very long time! That means this crumpled up yellowed piece of paper had to have been in my Bible for over 40 years!

I walked out into the living room, and showed it to my husband, my personal “Bible Answer Man”, who was sitting at the table studying, and when I showed it to him, he almost got tears in his eyes. And he doesn’t cry hardly ever!!l He said, Lisa that’s your verse, that’s what God is trying to say to you!”

I opened it up and read it from my security blanket… 

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, Because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us.” I John 4:18&19

God was clearly speaking to me that He wanted me to cast away my fear and trust in His perfect love! And more than that…He wanted me to share that love with all those that day that we’re going to listen!

We’ve all been given different gifts and we are to use them for His glory. No matter what obstacles, oppositions, even cruelty stands in our way! 

“God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. “I Peter  4:10

TRUTH BOMB

THE ASSURANCE WE HAVE OF GOD’S LOVE CASTS OUT ALL FEAR!

I speak from personal experience when I say that stepping out in faith when we are afraid is anything but easy to do!

But I also speak from personal experience when I say that every single time I do step out in faith when I am afraid, always casts that fear out and holds me up and accomplishes His purposes through me!

You can trust Him friend to cast out all your fear so you can move forward in faith and love others because He loves you!

Speak Truth Love