God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

As Christians we have been given the gift of salvation and peace with God – our sins have been forgiven and we have been set free. Our primary purpose is to glorify God, to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him, to serve and love others, to esteem our brothers and sisters above ourselves, to share the gospel. He is our portion, our sustenance and joy. This life isn’t all there is; He has prepared an eternal home for us. We find comfort knowing that our future is in His hands, our God who is LOVE.

These are beautiful and clear truths for the one who believes.

Still, we can and do struggle. We can know all of the promises and hope contained in God’s word and still have a death grip on things that ensnare us.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The enemy of our souls tries to hit us with lies where we already hurt so that we won’t walk in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.

When the truth of the situation is the very thing that causes such pain and turmoil, we need to apply God’s Word and view it through the lens of the One who is Truth. God has the final say, and He has a future planned for His beloved that is victorious!

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worth of praise. Philippians 4:8

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:3, 4

Recently, I wrote in my journal, asking God to deliver me from fear that I have battled most of my life. I asked that He strengthen my faith and help me to pray. I expressed my need for His Truth and Light. Purely. Recognizable. Immediately after I closed my journal I turned to the front of my Bible and read a verse that I had written there some time ago and hadn’t noticed in a long time. It was Galatians 5:1.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 

Though in this verse, Paul was talking about how we can’t save ourselves through religious practices, the principle spoke so clearly to my heart. In any and every situation that threatens us we should stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and not be entangled with a yoke of bondage. My fear has entangled me; God wants my soul to be free to trust Him completely. I may always struggle with this, I don’t know, but this verse was a balm for my soul in the moment I asked for help from God. Light flooded in and my soul felt His comforting peace.

I also wrote in the front of my Bible some time ago:

What is this life but to know You and be known by You?

Without You I have nothing. In You, I have hope for every moment I’m alive.

In You, my soul has EVERLASTING LIFE.

You are my hope. You are my light.

FORGIVER, REDEEMER, HEALER, RESTORER.