Sometimes I get a wonderful opportunity to meet someone truly genuine. When I meet a writer who fits that description, I like to share her words here with you. My friend Kelly is a gem. She is authentic and real, and she knows how to share God's Word in a fresh new way. I am honored to join in announcing the release of her book, Fear Fighting. Kelly is sharing a little about it here for us today...
I stand agitated and angry; I made him upset yet again.
I stand bare and defenseless, saying, "What can I do to make you happy?"
I stand exposed and exiled, "I will never be enough for you."
I stand stripped and pleading, "Whatever you want me to be, I can be, you will see.
I stand raw and helpless; I am not liked me for me.
I stand before people knowing, they want to use me.
I stand before the playground mother thinking, "I talk too much, speak too quickly, she hates me."
I stand before injurers declaring, “I am not worth hurting again.”
I take a big stand. I morph into the woman that man wants me to be. I smile when I am supposed to. Hold the doors like a good girl. And, offer to help when appropriate. I do what people need me to do.
Yet, the scary part is - I stand before myself and realize I don't even know me.
With all my proving and posturing, I’ve lost me. Somewhere I’ve vanished.
Have you? Have you gotten lost somewhere behind the grand persona you project? Are people demanding you be someone you are not?
It’s easy to blame. The fact of the matter, however, is - blame is the biggest inhibitor to change. I don’t want to get so worried about changing them – I never change me. I’ve done that for so long.
What I want to do, is get so open to letting God change me, he rearranges me in new freedom. In a freedom where I am fearless and hopeful and graceful. Where man doesn’t dictate who I am, but where man is the object of all the love I have. There is a difference there.
This is why I wrote the book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears. It was my freedom-call to God.
So much, I’m finding, of battling against fear, is about submitting your heart to God. This verse summarizes it well: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Pet. 5:6)
When you get low below God, all he has moves over you. Some of it sinks into you.
This is what I’ve found. Less am I filling other people’s gaps and more am I going to God to fill mine.
What about you? Where is your love sourced from – a place of pleasing man or pleasing God?
Wherever you stand today, God’s grace stands taller, higher and wider. It is never too early or too late to start Fear Fighting. Learn the power of God’s love, the strength of his truth and the depths of new courage he wants to pour out on you.
Interested in fighting fear? Join the 4 Days to Fearless Challenge!
Author and Speaker, Kelly Balarie didn’t always fight fear – for a large part of her life, she was controlled by it. Yet, in her book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears, with God, Kelly charts a new course. Join Kelly, on the journey to go and grow with Christ’s bravery, the Spirit’s counsel and God’s unending love that squelches fear. This book reads like a love letter from God, while offering practical heart-calming prayers, anxiety-reducing tips, and courage-building decrees that will transform your day. www.fearfightingbook.com
Kelly is both a Cheerleader of Faith and a Fighter of Fear. She leans on the power of God, rests on the shoulder of Christ, and discovers how to glow in the dark places of life. Get all Kelly’s blog posts by email or visit her on her blog, Purposeful Faith. You can also find a variety of resources for your fight against fear here.
