But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
Psalm 5:11
God is my refuge and therefore I will rejoice in Him. For He protects me and never lets me slip away. Everlasting joy is in me because He is always there.
The LORD is my light and salvation – so why should I be afraid?
The LORD is my fortress protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
Psalm 27:1 (NLT)
I have many fears. Fear of failure, fear of losing people, fear of being unloved, fear of being left out, fear of this that this that this that. So much so, fear is the limiting factor of what I can do but meditating on this part of my devotion reminds me that I should cast my fears away. For good.
At the moment, I’m redoing my devotion of Psalm…and my strategy is to do 5 per day. Today I did just one and I kept cross referencing the Bible and OH MY GOODNESS…God was speaking to me!
Reading Psalm 27:1 led me to 1 John 4:18-19 (Amplified)
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].
We love Him, because He first loved us.
He loves us perfectly and by focusing on His immeasurable love for us and not on our flaws and shortcomings, His love will quiet our fears and give us confidence.
Speaking of confidence, I had a revelation! I always felt that confidence is the opposite of humility and so I tend to bash myself up in what I do so that I don’t take pride of the things I do so to speak. But after listening to Erwin McManus’ podcast (Expect, 03/11/08), my twisted mindset was straightened out. Confidence is not the opposite of humility but arrogance is and the fact is:
(from Dictionary.com)
Con”fi*dence\, n. [L. confidentia firm trust in, self-confidence: cf. F. confidence.]
1. The act of confiding, trusting, or putting faith in; trust; reliance; belief
Confidence means with faith. So when you live in faith, you gain confidence and not lose it. Hebrews 10:35 (AMP) says:
Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward.
Awesome, ain’t it.
Oh I have even more. I stumbled on Romans 8:38-39 while reading a blog of a friend of a friend of a friend and she was saying that she put all her relationships with friends etc into God’s hands and to me, while reading it, it was just a fleeting verse that may pop up to be a revelation somedayyyy.
While doing devotions this morning, cross referencing here and there, reflecting on 1 John 4:18-19 relates to Romans 8:38-39 (AMP)!
For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers,
Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE SEPARATED FROM CHRIST! His Great Love allows us to be totally secure in Him! How much does He love us? He died for us! That’s unconquerable love!
Me enlightened.
Me is in tune.
Me is flipping crazy now.
Pei Jet was talking about strength that comes within us when we face troubles. Is it after all God’s strength or is it ours alone? The answer was if it drains you…it’s yours.
I do recall having that strength. I do recall being able to handle my Mid Terms, driving test and MUET all at one go when I was in SAM. I don’t know how I did it but I did it because I had to.
This time around…I don’t know where the strength went to. I was scared because I don’t know if I could pull through.
I had revelation just a moment…I surrendered my strength to Him already. I only operate in His strength and though it may seem that I was stronger before…I think I’m heading towards something more this time because there’s no limit to His strength. He’s just BIG!
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
I had a minor panic attack yesterday while studying for ECE 4075. I’ve been reading up the stuff Kleeman put up and borrowed relevant books to enhance my understanding so to speak…and when I read the review questions, I got the shock of my life.
I called Richard up and then told him about the internal assessments and then he went on complaning, well we did it together la, not just him…just to comfort ourselves. After much complaining, we skyped and discussed the questions together. I felt so much better knowing that I’m not in this alone.
My prayer is that whatever that’s in the review questions will be in the exams because at least I’m more prepared in that sense because the thing about this unit is that it’s broad and it’s lab based and that the lecturer is sinister and cynical. I could go on but I shan’t.
I thank God for Li who comforted me when I was crying buckets.
I thank God for Em who prayed for me when I was confused.
I thank God for Richard who’s in this together with me.
I thank God for those who prayed for me.
My hope is in God not because I want to do well but because I need Him.
Woopdeedoodeedoo…I just sat for my IELTS that’s why I’m so happy and relieved. I’ve been o so stressful the past week for the next week (CAN U BELIEVE IT?!) but well, I’m looking to God because He’s my rock!
And yes, He’s YOUR ROCK too! As you work your way through reviews and all, look to Him and constantly tell Him that you need Him. I’ve been doing that over and over again and sometimes it might seem that I’m just grumbling to myself but I know deep down He’s with me.
God is here to bless you and He’s not holding back anything from you so ASK and you shall receive (Matt 7:7). This is not just the weekly email I am sending out but my heartfelt message to all of you. As stressful as I may sound, I feel that there is no better time than this to bring my faith to a greater level by really knowing who’s in control and who I can lean on. This is the same for you all.
On the 11th Oct, I remember praying specifically that I want to have an overwhelming touch from Him for at least a month, until 11th November…the time which I predict I would be most vulnerable because of the exams and guess what…It’s so happening! His overwhelming touch doesn’t mean that I’m HAPPY all the time…trust me, I’ve not felt shittier than this before but I come to realize that where my foundations are. But you know what, I have joy in me. I have joy that I am left to die alone (sorry for being drama) but in anything, I have Him. Like I said, there is no better time than this! And I can’t wait to give more testimonies as 11th November approaches!
Not to mention, I’ve been blessed by God because especially the past few days that I’ve been feeling confused and defeated, I’ve been showered with His love through His wonderful children who kept reminding me that His love endures forever (Psalm 136). I’m meditating on this and I’ve got my hope on Him.
Usually I wouldn’t want to say anything about exams until after the exams because I don’t want to jinx it but you know what, I’m going to do something different…I’m going to prophesy on my exams because I’m sick of living in the condition, I am going to live in position . I’m not born to fail because I’m made to be more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)! I’m going to do well in my exams! I will make God proud of me and my family proud of me. I believe that God has plans to prosper me (Jeremiah 29:11) and that He loves me! I will finish the year well and strong and 31st Dec 2008 is going to be a blast! I won’t be scared and intimidated by the lies of the enemy and I am breaking all of them. Not just for myself but for all of you! Because WE ARE SICK OF IT!!!
I’m not typing this out because I have all your emails and want to rant to you all but I want to encourage all of you to take the position that God has given to you…all of you are called His sons and daughters (Galatians 4:4) and are the co-heir in His throne (Romans 8:15) so come on, prophesy on your exams and life!
Feel free to prophesy on your own life, what you want to see in your life. Start from this email, if not, pray in your own room, or even better, do it during UL on Tuesday and we shall pray and prophesy together! Commit your plans to the Lord and your plans will succeed (Prov 16:3)
CarmenL
I haven’t seriously prophesied over someone let alone myself so this is a big step for me to take. I feel that this is what God wants me to learn to do now.
I’m desperate for Him and I’m not ashamed of it because my hope is in Him.
It’s not exams…it’s life that I need Him in. My life.
