CONQUERING FEAR

For months I have once more been dealing with situations in my life that have demanded my full attention and energy so have let my writing take a back seat for a time. Enough of that! I hope you readers are as excited to have me back as I am to be here.

Yesterday in my Sunday School class we had a lesson on Ecclesiastes that hit me between the eyes with its directness and on-target message for my writing as well as for my life in general. The so-called “perfect time” for any task will never come! I am to do what I can, when I can, and allow God the privilege of bearing the responsibility for the outcome. Living in fear is wrong, whether it is fear of the future or fear that my writing might offend rather than glorify the Lord. Both of these examples are huge tools in the hands of our enemy, holding us back when we should be bold and step out in faith. I had a lot of confessing to do at that moment, when God reminded me that His call to write for Him had not changed, no matter how hectic my life had become recently. No one knows what’s ahead but Him and I refuse to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about it. He will give me courage and wisdom to deal with each bend in the path and bumps along the way. What I have to do is MY job which is to write!

By hesitating and procrastinating I actually limit God’s power to be unleashed in my life. Do I really want this to happen? Of course not! And neither, I suspect, do you. How have you been limiting the Lord’s work with worry? What steps are you going to take to prevent this from happening any longer?

I am to bloom where He has planted me, not where He has planted others. Do you have the same problem I do in remembering this truth? I see others publishing left and right and wonder why this hasn’t happened to me. Yet, am I really working at it like they are? I think not. Should I? You bet! I don’t want to live constantly striving for more of anything but to learn to be content with what I have at the moment. But I have to remember that to reach any goal requires hard work and clear objectives. Someone said yesterday that when we are young teens we live to get our driver’s license; but now that we are aging quickly, we should remember to enjoy having one before they take it away. Oh, how true this is! Paul referenced contentment often in his writings but it is even more true today than back then. Patience has never been my strong suit but God keeps trying to teach me.

Our teacher ended the lesson by quoting a FEAR acronym that he had read in a commentary. What would you list as the traits we should exhibit to experience victory over fear in our writing lives, or perhaps one for contentment? I will be excited to read your ideas!